Fall baseball teams for D1 hopeful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

It really isn’t obvious outside Power 4 D1. There are plenty of kids on the bubble of D1 and D3 and baseball is one of the most subjective sports that sometimes it’s surprising who ends up at lower level D1 (based on competitive level) vs D3 schools like JHU (which was ranked #1 for most of the year for D3).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, D3 is kind of a stepping stone for a lot of late bloomers these days with the transfer portal.

Except you are competing against kids at say Alabama that aren’t getting any playing time.

It will get worse with roster sizes getting cut by 15%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

Were ALL Power 4 D1 players on one of these teams? I really would love to see the actual numbers on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is entering HS this Fall, and we need to find a new baseball team for the Fall. Which area teams actually send kids to D1 - which is DS's ultimate goal. He's a really good athlete and plays higher level travel ball now with lots of showball. We're not baseball savvy enough to know if he ultimately has what it takes, but he's athletic and competitive enough that we want to help him reach for it.

TIA.

This is going to sound contrarian, but if he’s serious about D1, don’t waste your time with fall ball. Instead, spend those precious hours living in the weight room, weekly high quality position appropriate lessons, and monthly meeting with nutritionist. Do this for the next 24 months. In the past 3 years it’s become exponentially harder for a HS baseball player to get D1 recruited. There are literally thousands of proven college baseball players currently in the transfer portal. Unless he has a high ceiling as a pitcher or gifted middle infielder, he needs to get huge and get fast in order to have a shot without going the JUCO route to mature physically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Most baseball parents don't understand what it takes to play in high school, college, etc. Some do, most don't. If you are playing college baseball you're really good, understand the intricate nature of the game, and can execute at a high level.

No, they don't.

And most have no idea how hard college sports are. They think anyone who had a chat with a coach and got a verbal offer is going to sign a NLI to play for that team. The fact is that 85% of the kids who commit on signing day will never see meaningful play time and some will get cut from the team after their freshman year. They have no idea how hard it is to play for an Ivy or a Patriot league school. They bought into the travel scam of work hard and it will pay off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are many degrees of D1 talent.

If you are someone that Vanderbilt would recruit, then yes, your talent is clear.

However, if you are someone that is Fordham or Ivy or Patriot League D1 level (meaning, that would be your upper limit of athletic ability)...that's not such an easy call and it matters that a club coach knows those coaches, understands which schools are recruiting for what slots and makes sure you get in front of them.

You have to be an incredibly good player to attend any of these schools for baseball. I highly doubt a travel coach would do anything to sway the recruitment for these schools. D3 no name schools, maybe. Ivy's? Not a chance.

If you're not an All State player and a three year or four year varsity starter then chances are you aren't playing at an Ivy or Patriot league school.

Ok…but a kid good enough to get recruited at Vanderbilt would be the best kid on any Ivy team…in fact they wouldn’t even bother trying to recruit them they would be so good. It’s a completely different level.

My kid is on a team with a kid gong to play for Penn…he’s a great player, but not All State nor even made varsity until a junior. It absolutely helped that the club coach knows the Penn coaching staff well (the team has probably sent 5 kids to Penn over the last 7 years) and they have a track record with their kids.

Two things -

1. Go look at the Penn roster. Nearly every player on there was a stud in HS. I can't find one player who didn't have a shot at other high D1 schools. Playing D1 is very very hard and the difference between Vandy and Penn players is not as big as you think.

2. Going to Penn means nothing. Come back when the guy signed a letter, made the team and has playing time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are many degrees of D1 talent.

If you are someone that Vanderbilt would recruit, then yes, your talent is clear.

However, if you are someone that is Fordham or Ivy or Patriot League D1 level (meaning, that would be your upper limit of athletic ability)...that's not such an easy call and it matters that a club coach knows those coaches, understands which schools are recruiting for what slots and makes sure you get in front of them.

You have to be an incredibly good player to attend any of these schools for baseball. I highly doubt a travel coach would do anything to sway the recruitment for these schools. D3 no name schools, maybe. Ivy's? Not a chance.

If you're not an All State player and a three year or four year varsity starter then chances are you aren't playing at an Ivy or Patriot league school.

Ok…but a kid good enough to get recruited at Vanderbilt would be the best kid on any Ivy team…in fact they wouldn’t even bother trying to recruit them they would be so good. It’s a completely different level.

My kid is on a team with a kid gong to play for Penn…he’s a great player, but not All State nor even made varsity until a junior. It absolutely helped that the club coach knows the Penn coaching staff well (the team has probably sent 5 kids to Penn over the last 7 years) and they have a track record with their kids.

Two things -

1. Go look at the Penn roster. Nearly every player on there was a stud in HS. I can't find one player who didn't have a shot at other high D1 schools. Playing D1 is very very hard and the difference between Vandy and Penn players is not as big as you think.

2. Going to Penn means nothing. Come back when the guy signed a letter, made the team and has playing time.

Dude..I am quite familiar with the Penn baseball team, the coaches and their recruiting.

The kid committed to Penn is a 2025 grad…so he has signed his letter and it would be shocking for him to not make the team.

You are crazy to think those kids had much of a shot at a Power 4 D1. The Penn coaches will even admit this.

I mean, I guess everybody has a shot…but no way in hell that Penn and Power 4 programs are actively trying to recruit the same kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

Were ALL Power 4 D1 players on one of these teams? I really would love to see the actual numbers on this.

Usually at some point…but it is possible to take a very focused D1 approach.

There are a couple of kids that are D1 commits to Georgetown and UMD that play for top DMV high school teams (one is SJC).

Those players have HS coaches that are very well known (and SJC has its own Cadets program) and there are multiple opportunities for UMD and Georgetown to see them locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

Were ALL Power 4 D1 players on one of these teams? I really would love to see the actual numbers on this.

Usually at some point…but it is possible to take a very focused D1 approach.

There are a couple of kids that are D1 commits to Georgetown and UMD that play for top DMV high school teams (one is SJC).

Those players have HS coaches that are very well known (and SJC has its own Cadets program) and there are multiple opportunities for UMD and Georgetown to see them locally.

Though Georgetown isn’t Power 4 (which are ACC, SEC, Big10 and Big 12).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are many degrees of D1 talent.

If you are someone that Vanderbilt would recruit, then yes, your talent is clear.

However, if you are someone that is Fordham or Ivy or Patriot League D1 level (meaning, that would be your upper limit of athletic ability)...that's not such an easy call and it matters that a club coach knows those coaches, understands which schools are recruiting for what slots and makes sure you get in front of them.

You have to be an incredibly good player to attend any of these schools for baseball. I highly doubt a travel coach would do anything to sway the recruitment for these schools. D3 no name schools, maybe. Ivy's? Not a chance.

If you're not an All State player and a three year or four year varsity starter then chances are you aren't playing at an Ivy or Patriot league school.

Ok…but a kid good enough to get recruited at Vanderbilt would be the best kid on any Ivy team…in fact they wouldn’t even bother trying to recruit them they would be so good. It’s a completely different level.

My kid is on a team with a kid gong to play for Penn…he’s a great player, but not All State nor even made varsity until a junior. It absolutely helped that the club coach knows the Penn coaching staff well (the team has probably sent 5 kids to Penn over the last 7 years) and they have a track record with their kids.

Two things -

1. Go look at the Penn roster. Nearly every player on there was a stud in HS. I can't find one player who didn't have a shot at other high D1 schools. Playing D1 is very very hard and the difference between Vandy and Penn players is not as big as you think.

2. Going to Penn means nothing. Come back when the guy signed a letter, made the team and has playing time.

Dude..I am quite familiar with the Penn baseball team, the coaches and their recruiting.

The kid committed to Penn is a 2025 grad…so he has signed his letter and it would be shocking for him to not make the team.

You are crazy to think those kids had much of a shot at a Power 4 D1. The Penn coaches will even admit this.

I mean, I guess everybody has a shot…but no way in hell that Penn and Power 4 programs are actively trying to recruit the same kid.

You're making it sound like playing a Penn or Brown isn't that hard. Every single player on the roster was a stud in high school and not some role player on their varsity team. The gap between the Penn players and your average Varsity/youth travel ball player is huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are many degrees of D1 talent.

If you are someone that Vanderbilt would recruit, then yes, your talent is clear.

However, if you are someone that is Fordham or Ivy or Patriot League D1 level (meaning, that would be your upper limit of athletic ability)...that's not such an easy call and it matters that a club coach knows those coaches, understands which schools are recruiting for what slots and makes sure you get in front of them.

You have to be an incredibly good player to attend any of these schools for baseball. I highly doubt a travel coach would do anything to sway the recruitment for these schools. D3 no name schools, maybe. Ivy's? Not a chance.

If you're not an All State player and a three year or four year varsity starter then chances are you aren't playing at an Ivy or Patriot league school.

Ok…but a kid good enough to get recruited at Vanderbilt would be the best kid on any Ivy team…in fact they wouldn’t even bother trying to recruit them they would be so good. It’s a completely different level.

My kid is on a team with a kid gong to play for Penn…he’s a great player, but not All State nor even made varsity until a junior. It absolutely helped that the club coach knows the Penn coaching staff well (the team has probably sent 5 kids to Penn over the last 7 years) and they have a track record with their kids.

Two things -

1. Go look at the Penn roster. Nearly every player on there was a stud in HS. I can't find one player who didn't have a shot at other high D1 schools. Playing D1 is very very hard and the difference between Vandy and Penn players is not as big as you think.

2. Going to Penn means nothing. Come back when the guy signed a letter, made the team and has playing time.

Dude..I am quite familiar with the Penn baseball team, the coaches and their recruiting.

The kid committed to Penn is a 2025 grad…so he has signed his letter and it would be shocking for him to not make the team.

You are crazy to think those kids had much of a shot at a Power 4 D1. The Penn coaches will even admit this.

I mean, I guess everybody has a shot…but no way in hell that Penn and Power 4 programs are actively trying to recruit the same kid.

You're making it sound like playing a Penn or Brown isn't that hard. Every single player on the roster was a stud in high school and not some role player on their varsity team. The gap between the Penn players and your average Varsity/youth travel ball player is huge.

They do have to be strong players…but the number 8-10 recruits could just have easily dropped down to play at a JHU and vice versa. There isn’t some obvious dividing line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

Were ALL Power 4 D1 players on one of these teams? I really would love to see the actual numbers on this.

Usually at some point…but it is possible to take a very focused D1 approach.

There are a couple of kids that are D1 commits to Georgetown and UMD that play for top DMV high school teams (one is SJC).

Those players have HS coaches that are very well known (and SJC has its own Cadets program) and there are multiple opportunities for UMD and Georgetown to see them locally.

So just take your word for it? No actual data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My unpopular opinion is that it doesn't matter what team you play on.

D1 level talent for baseball is either you have it or you don't.

Also, I hope your kid has some size to him. College coaches love big kids. I've seen some undersized kids get pushed aside for some 6'0+ kid who lacked skills but had athleticism. Coaches think they can fix the skills but you can't fix athletic ability.

I kind of understand what you are saying, but you need to play on a team that has some D1 relationships. A D1 coach won't just randomly decide to attend a local tournament where they never recruit anyone and then "discover" you, nor will they happen upon a random Twitter feed on your kid. They need some college coach that they respect to get your kid on their radar.

Certainly if you play for SJC, then your HS and Travel team are one-and-the same (for the most part) which makes life kind of easy.

To answer OP's question, here are teams to think about...BTW, I wouldn't worry about these teams until at the earliest Summer after Freshman year (15U)...but you can even skip that too and consider starting on the Summer 16u team, or start Fall of your sophomore year to get acclimated to the program:

Mid-Atlantic Red Sox (current 2025 HS graduates include WV, NC State, 2 UMD (one likely to be a high MLB draft pick), 1 UCF, 1 Upenn, 1 UMBC, and like 3 other D1 recruits...nearly all other kids are D2 or D3 recruits)...Mid-Atlantic Red Sox only have 1 team per age group which makes like simple; and
Richmond Braves National Team (Richmond Braves have many teams for each age group...only the National team is worthwhile)

These teams don't practice, and will pull kids from all over the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast...they will expect you to train/practice on your own. That's fairly typical for these teams that get a bunch of kids recruited to D1.

The OP's son is a freshman. It doesn't matter.

If he is a true D1 talent then it will be obvious and a high level org will try and recruit him. 99.5% of freshman travel ball players aren't D1 talents so OP should proceed accordingly.

Is this even remotely true? Were ALL D1 baseball players actively recruited by a high level travel organization while in high school?

I find that incredibly hard to believe, but I would absolutely love to see your data! Along with your definition of “high level org” while we’re at it…

Power 4 D1 players will find their way onto these teams.

It’s different for other D1 levels and there is a fairly clear differential in the average talent level of a Power 4 team vs a Fordham or Farleigh Dickinson D1.

Were ALL Power 4 D1 players on one of these teams? I really would love to see the actual numbers on this.

Usually at some point…but it is possible to take a very focused D1 approach.

There are a couple of kids that are D1 commits to Georgetown and UMD that play for top DMV high school teams (one is SJC).

Those players have HS coaches that are very well known (and SJC has its own Cadets program) and there are multiple opportunities for UMD and Georgetown to see them locally.

So just take your word for it? No actual data?

I was supporting your assertion that not all kids play on these national travel teams.

There is no definitive information…Google AI says that 90% of Power 4 coaches find their players through relationships with travel coaches.

If you play for Corona high school in CA that has 3 kids expected to go first round in the MLB draft this Summer than you probably could get recruited by just playing for your high school team…but of course you would have to somehow make the varsity team without playing for an elite club team.

Those 3 kids play for BPA which is the #1 ranked travel team in the country for 2025s.

[Anonymous]

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