Recruiting Student Athletes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has been getting recruited for baseball since 6th grade at many of the top programs in the area, both WCAC and independent. Some started recruiting him after seeing him play at a local tournament. Some started after he attended their summer camp. Most good programs have some sort of recruiting coach who keeps an eye out for top MS talent. The only way to guarantee they see your kid is for them to attend one of the schools prospect camps.

He’s been invited to private workouts, personal
invitations to attend summer camps, private tours given by the coach(es) themselves, invites to recruiting nights at football games, etc. A handful of the same kids who play for top travel programs in the area have been getting this same attention. Coaches who really want your kid and are willing to advocate for them with admissions and FA, and will let you know that. They will guide you along the way of the admissions process, get your kid in front of the right people, make sure you have everything in on time, etc.

This is good advice on camps. It’s not like coaches can go out to watch MS players at their travel games with their busy schedule.

I wonder if it makes a difference which travel program the student comes from? Which are considered top for baseball?

You will likely catch a school or two with coaches at most majors PG tournaments at Patriot Park. I’ve seen some at Rockburn too for Elkridge’s tournament.

Regarding travel programs, there are a few strong travel programs in the area. But the quality of each team can vary greatly between age groups. So it’s hard to name a program that’s good top to bottom. Ole Liners has a few good teams, USA Prime, FTB, Mid-Atlantic Red Sox, Mid-Atlantic Canes… I’m sure I’m missing a bunch. But a lot of the top players play for regional or national teams that aren’t based here in DMV.

A lot of the top players in the DMV don't play for national teams (not even sure what a regional team may be...Richmond Braves?...but even those teams are mostly local Richmond kids at like 13 or 14 with a couple DMV-area players sprinkled in). I would be shocked if more than 3 kids on all the WCAC rosters played for a national team prior to HS.

That's not to say the top DMV players are generally the best in the country...they are not since no surprise you get tons from FL, GA, TX, CA, AZ and other warm weather states.

WCAC isn’t the only conference with good baseball players. I can name five local 29s and 30s playing for national teams whose teams play/played at Beast of the East, National Team Championships, etc. Almost double that if we include 28s. One of the best 28s in the world plays in the MIAA.

I do agree that the DMV isn’t concentrated with top players but there are some very talented players in this area. And many of them don’t play locally very often.

This area has some really solid ball players. More known for basketball and football, but there are quite a few kids from the WCAC, Independent, and MIAA playing big-time ball. Some have even gone the route of IMG, PDG, or Pro 5 (baseball academies) and will likely be drafted in the next few years. DC/MD has a pretty strong 2030 class of baseball players coming through the ranks. Not sure where they will all end up, but there is some talent for sure that can compete nationally.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We are curious about the private high school recruiting process for student athletes and how we can get our DC exposure to either a football or baseball program? How do student athletes get identified and is there a higher percentage of acceptance if they are being recruited for sports?

If you are recruited to a WCAC school
It’s 100% acceptance unless you score something crazy low in the HPST…like in the 40s.

We reached out to the baseball coach at SJC and he watched a tournament where my son was playing and my son also did the Summer camp for middle schoolers at SJC.

May I ask what your son’s financial package was?

Zero…there are no athletic scholarships and we are very much full pay.

That’s correct they don’t offer athletic scholarships but they absolutely find a way to get kids money depending on how bad they want you whether you need it or not. We know a few kids in the WCAC that don’t qualify for need based aid but because they want a kid, they offer financial assistance.

If financial assistance (i.e. a scholarship) is awarded due to sports performance and isn't need based, that's called an athletic scholarship.

No. It’s called Financial Aid.

A concept few on here understand. The school can give whatever FA they want for whatever reason.

Financial need is just one thing they look at. This isn’t some government program where they look at a table for the amount applicants get.

It’s their money. There are NO rules that require them to distribute the funds in any way.

If you don’t know what FA is and how it is administered, it’ll remain a mystery to you.

It’s not a poverty program, it’s an enrollment management tool. If they could get a class with all the attributes they want without offering FA, they would.

Unless a school is completely crooked (and their conference rivals would absolutely report them)...if you are a BigLaw partner in DC and your kid is legitimately the next Bryce Harper, you aren't receiving a nickel of financial aid. Unlike Stanford where you can be Elon Musk's kid but if your kid is the next Bryce Harper he still attends for free (because they award athletic scholarships).

Now, if you legitimately qualify for say $5,000 based on what they see on paper, then it's easy to start factoring in other "life circumstances" to show that in fact you actually deserve $25,000. You can claim you are caring for your sick parent that needs a FT nurse or all kinds of things...unclear how closely anyone is checking that if again your kid is the next Bryce Harper.

I can’t let this go.

PP wrote “and their conference rivals would absolutely report them”

Hilarious! Who would they report them to? The commissioner of the IAC or MAC? There isn’t any.

Only the WCAC has any staff. And they don’t have any real power.

All these schools can give FA to whoever they please. There are no rules.

[Anonymous]

Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

It's funny how people either play ignorant or really don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Athletes not only get preferential treatment in admissions, but they also get significant FA, even if they don't need it at some of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

It's funny how people either play ignorant or really don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Athletes not only get preferential treatment in admissions, but they also get significant FA, even if they don't need it at some of these schools.

Very funny. It’s a hard pill to swallow if your doesn’t also have that hook. I hope my kid uses sports to their advantage for as long as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

Hard to imagine when baseball games have such small crowds watching them. Which reflects student, alumni and local sports fan lack of interest, which Admissions is aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

Hard to imagine when baseball games have such small crowds watching them. Which reflects student, alumni and local sports fan lack of interest, which Admissions is aware of.

You can have a hard time imagining it all you want, but it’s still the truth. Admissions is also aware of the banners hung and trophies won by those programs and promptly place them in their advertising. If you can get FA and admissions preference for playing an instrument you can damn sure get it for playing baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

I didn’t see any other program ranked in the top 25…what other programs were ranked?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

Hard to imagine when baseball games have such small crowds watching them. Which reflects student, alumni and local sports fan lack of interest, which Admissions is aware of.

You can have a hard time imagining it all you want, but it’s still the truth. Admissions is also aware of the banners hung and trophies won by those programs and promptly place them in their advertising. If you can get FA and admissions preference for playing an instrument you can damn sure get it for playing baseball.

Sure. A few, maybe. But let's not start comparing it to sports the schools, the students, alumni, and local sports fans actually care about like football, basketball and lacrosse. Here in this area in these private schools, baseball is a second or third tier sport. Admissions and Athletic Directors know this. So when the Athletic Director goes to Admissions each year with their prioritized list, it reflects this.

Besides the schools are only going to give a preference to so many athletes in an admission cycle. They've got other competing priorities that include people who play instruments. Top students, full pays, and URMs are a few of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

Hard to imagine when baseball games have such small crowds watching them. Which reflects student, alumni and local sports fan lack of interest, which Admissions is aware of.

You can have a hard time imagining it all you want, but it’s still the truth. Admissions is also aware of the banners hung and trophies won by those programs and promptly place them in their advertising. If you can get FA and admissions preference for playing an instrument you can damn sure get it for playing baseball.

Sure. A few, maybe. But let's not start comparing it to sports the schools, the students, alumni, and local sports fans actually care about like football, basketball and lacrosse. Here in this area in these private schools, baseball is a second or third tier sport. Admissions and Athletic Directors know this. So when the Athletic Director goes to Admissions each year with their prioritized list, it reflects this.

Besides the schools are only going to give a preference to so many athletes in an admission cycle. They've got other competing priorities that include people who play instruments. Top students, full pays, and URMs are a few of these.

You got it, buddy. You’ve clearly got all of the answers. And I couldn’t care less about lacrosse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

I didn’t see any other program ranked in the top 25…what other programs were ranked?

Spalding is consistently up there. Calvert Hall and John Carroll possibly too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait a minute. You are talking about baseball, at best the 4th or 5th most important sport in this area?

I can’t imagine many baseball players are getting preference in admissions or FA. They would be in line behind football, basketball, lacrosse and maybe soccer.

Baseball prospects in the US are clustered in California, Texas and Florida.

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this… There are multiple baseball programs in the area that rank top 25 nationally (SJC is top 5), and their recruits absolutely get preference for admissions AND FA.

I didn’t see any other program ranked in the top 25…what other programs were ranked?

Spalding is consistently up there. Calvert Hall and John Carroll possibly too.

What ranking are you looking at? The PBR 2025 end of season rankings had SJC as #5…and not a single other DMV school in the top 50.