Anonymous wrote:OP here. 13U. Been playing at the top of his non-elite travel team since 10U and in LL All Stars. We've chosen his current team based on convenience but think it's time to reassess.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the national event invite-only tournament websites and see which local teams are playing there. Yes, there are the Stars, Canes, and Richmond Braves, but there are many other DMV teams competing and helping kids with college recruiting (Prime Time, MVP, XPress, US Elite, Mid Atlantic Red Sox, G's Lions all good teams with excellent players).

You're looking for teams competing in the national WWBA events in the fall in Jupiter and Ft Myers, not winning 6-team tournaments in Fredericksburg.

Also, some showcase teams don't have many team practices - so location may be less of a factor because he may do a lot of training on his own.

Agree with this. The top travel teams that have good college connections are all showcase teams that attract kids from a wide area and don't practice. For a team like the Richmond Braves, you need to play on their Platinum team (or sometimes they call it the National team at other organizations). Same with the Canes.

These teams are all very transactional and it really is the Summer of 16u and the 17u seasons that matter for college recruiting. I am aware of many teams that have basically the same players for 14u - 16u...but then get rid of 50% of the kids and get new kids at 17u because that team is the most important for college recruiting. They also treat their 17u team very differently than the years prior to 17u. If you look at the stats, nearly 70% of college commitments happen between the Summer before your senior year of HS and Spring of senior year of HS.

I also agree that you want to look at the winners of the WWBA events (sponsored by Perfect Game) in late September or early October. Those teams have to win from a field of as many as 250 teams nationwide. That said, those teams will often have several players that are drafted straight into the MLB. FYI...nearly 50% of the 1st round MLB draft picks came straight from HS. You will see those teams aggregating kids from CA, TX, GA, etc. who all just get together on weekends to play in these tournaments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to the national event invite-only tournament websites and see which local teams are playing there. Yes, there are the Stars, Canes, and Richmond Braves, but there are many other DMV teams competing and helping kids with college recruiting (Prime Time, MVP, XPress, US Elite, Mid Atlantic Red Sox, G's Lions all good teams with excellent players).

You're looking for teams competing in the national WWBA events in the fall in Jupiter and Ft Myers, not winning 6-team tournaments in Fredericksburg.

Also, some showcase teams don't have many team practices - so location may be less of a factor because he may do a lot of training on his own.

Just FYI...MVP is really just Madison HS players. Maybe they also have non-Madison players, but that is effectively their travel organization.

Madison is a top baseball HS. One of their players was drafted by the SF Giants in the 1st round in the latest MLB draft.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. 13U. Been playing at the top of his non-elite travel team since 10U and in LL All Stars. We've chosen his current team based on convenience but think it's time to reassess.

Anonymous wrote:Go to the national event invite-only tournament websites and see which local teams are playing there. Yes, there are the Stars, Canes, and Richmond Braves, but there are many other DMV teams competing and helping kids with college recruiting (Prime Time, MVP, XPress, US Elite, Mid Atlantic Red Sox, G's Lions all good teams with excellent players).

You're looking for teams competing in the national WWBA events in the fall in Jupiter and Ft Myers, not winning 6-team tournaments in Fredericksburg.

Also, some showcase teams don't have many team practices - so location may be less of a factor because he may do a lot of training on his own.

Anonymous wrote:Go to the national event invite-only tournament websites and see which local teams are playing there. Yes, there are the Stars, Canes, and Richmond Braves, but there are many other DMV teams competing and helping kids with college recruiting (Prime Time, MVP, XPress, US Elite, Mid Atlantic Red Sox, G's Lions all good teams with excellent players).

You're looking for teams competing in the national WWBA events in the fall in Jupiter and Ft Myers, not winning 6-team tournaments in Fredericksburg.

Also, some showcase teams don't have many team practices - so location may be less of a factor because he may do a lot of training on his own.

Anonymous wrote:The top baseball players in the DC area tend to play for the Stars - especially baseball players who live in Virginia. Their top team does have impressive commitments every year plus draft picks. However, they have several teams at every level and unless you are on the "A" team, you don't get the same exposure.

The Richmond Braves are the same with more than one team per age group but I'm pretty sure most of their players are coming from the I-95 corridor in Virginia (think Prince William County and further south.)

Bradley Baseball Academia is an excellent option IF your player is looking to go to a high academic school (mostly D3.) Andy Bradley runs a top notch program with exposure to numerous coaches. He only has one team per age group so if you're on his 15U team, its only one and not 3 or more teams like the Stars. He routinely places players in the NESCAC schools and the Centennial Conference schools - Haverford, Swarthmore, Hamilton. But he also gets a handful of players that go D1.

Anonymous wrote:What are the top travel teams in the area? We’ve been with a DC team since the beginning but think we need to find a more elite team as he’s nearing HS since he hopes to play in college. Prefer to consider the ones most convenient to NW DC. Location is one thing, good people and coaching is also high on the list.

TIA!