I’ve been doing a lot of this. I’ve noticed some big variances. for example, Oberlin right now has 21 freshman and 16 upperclassman. we’re focusing on schools that bring in smaller classes.
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Excellent!!
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Actually the way those tests are built now, he should score higher on the SAT. Wait and see.
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You might also have him try a few practice ACTs. Each of my kids had a strong preference between the two tests - and scored better on one over the other.
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I think many of these might be realistic as a recruited athlete, especially if he is the catcher they want. Rochester is maybe the most realistic though because admissions and baseball is just a hair lower - although both still very good. I think it is because of the cold more than anything else.
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I guess I’ll be the contrarian here. Are they remotely possible? Yes, but only if your kid is a very prized recruit and/or gets a very good SAT score. Wesleyan and Hamilton are in the NESCAC conference and I don’t see your son passing an academic pre-read there. Same for Vassar and NYU.
As a junior, if he hasn’t gotten much traction beyond a “come to our camp” email response, I’d recommend focusing energy elsewhere.
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There are plenty of 3.6 test optional recruited athletes at these and other similar schools, again, it just depends on how good the player is/the level of coach interest. I agree a strong test score would help though.
Lots of baseball recruiting still to come, it’s the nature of the timing of the spring season…2026 recruits have had only two HS seasons so far, many haven’t even played on the varsity team yet. It does sound like OP’s S has had positive conversations with a handful of coaches. A not insignificant number of D3 2026 baseball recruits probably haven’t had much coach contact yet…May thru August timeframe will be very active.
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This, of course, is just my opinion. The kids I know that were successfully recruited at these schools were all 3.9-4.0/1400+ students. And also very good athletes. There are many threads on high academic school recruiting for OP to read through. Here is one:
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I understand. And my lived experience has seen plenty of students with OP’s GPA be recruited at highly rejective schools. As I’ve posted before, some of the NESCACs are more strict on GPA than the Ivies, but it doesn’t sound like OP’s S is looking at Ivies. I don’t know OP’s son’s baseball skill level, or where they fall within their HS class in terms of academic performance/rigor both of which will be important in their recruiting process. Regarding OP’s S, all he can do is control what they can control…have a good junior season, continue to reach out to coaches with highlight film, and see where those conversations go.
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I appreciate this.
just to clarify, the schools that I mentioned that are recruiting him, we either sent video and/or they saw him at a showcase, game, etc. a few have already called him or are arranging future calls, which is a great sign this early.
the schools we were wondering if we should get in front of (Vassar, Wesleyan, etc) we have only sent an email sharing grades, ecs, classes, etc. wanted to see if he passed the academic test first. No video yet or showcase in front of them.
thanks !
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Not an athlete parent but couldn’t you easily share video with any coaches ?
if someone saw something in video that intrigued, why not let them make the call as to pursue or not ?
Just wondering.
Ps - edited out LeBron James as I was making the same point @Mwfan1921 did below.
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Many coaches won’t tell a student this info without knowing the whole picture. I strongly encourage your S to send highlight video (2 min max) with all introductory emails. He could also pin the highlight video to his twitter account, assuming he has one, and follow teams/coaches and connect with that way too.
LeBron did not go to college. I don’t know his HS GPA, but if he had a 2.0 he would not have been eligible his first year and would have had to be an academic redshirt. IMO he made the right choice by skipping college!
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And I know a soccer player who was recruited to Williams with a 3.4 gpa. It is SO wildly variable you can’t really offer a blanket rule. The OP’s son will have to reach out to schools and see!
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Just to be clear, I’m not stating a blanket rule. I’m just giving MY opinion based on the facts as presented here. I’ve been very clear that this is MY opinion. Obviously, others feel differently.
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As mentioned above, with his GPA and being TO likely, he will need to be an “impact” player to get full support for many of your listed schools.
IMO, it is worth the money to send him to Headfirst or Showball. It maximizes his looks vs school camps, unless it is a big one like Stanford’s where multiple schools send coaches. You will get a clear sense of how your son stacks up. Also based on our experience at Headfirst and Stanford, you will know clearly which coaches are interested based on various interactions with them. Summer before senior is the big year for D3 recruiting. Kids grow and there is an obvious sorting based on physicality.
Sending video is key. It should comprise mostly of skills video with some game video. So for pitchers, front, back and side views with velocity shown. Infielders, forehand, backhand, at player, slow roller, with velo shown on throw from SS to FB. OF, fly, line drive, throw from RF to 3B, RF to home. Catcher, block balls in dirt and pop time. Hitting, from behind and from side with if possible exit velo readings.
Best of luck.
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NESCAC parent. And, my kid went through the recruiting process with 5 of the 6 schools that you listed (different gender and sport). All sports and all coaches are different but some quick observations. At the two NESCACS they are a B band recruit at either one of those schools and B bands are very limited in supply; outside of football and hockey a coach might get one at that level and typically it would only be used on an immediate impact player. If your S could make an immediate and significant upgrade to the team it could happen but a NESCAC coach would be making a big bet because getting that profile in the door may require a significant shaping of the rest of their recruiting class. I am not as familiar with baseball relative to other sports but have seen the process for a few. I know one Rochester recruit well but their academic stats were fine for regular admission so they didn’t come into play.
A challenge that I see for the listed schools is a level of rigor that is lower than typical for the schools in that list. Combined with TO the AO is going to have a harder time making a call. Of the schools on your list that I am familiar with the two UAA schools (Rochester and NYU) seemed more flexible in the discussions that we had (again different sport) than the NESCACS though we are talking degrees of difference, not huge swings.
I would email your targets with good film, grades, mention of TO, etc. and go from there. If the response is an invitation to camp you can ask about the academics but keep in mind that camps are a profit center for the coach so they might be a bit evasive. Being invited to a camp and getting excited about a school that is well out of reach is not a good use of time but you might be surprised.
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Thank you! I agree.
last summer as a rising Junior he went to HF. then 3-4 schools reached out to him.
i was hoping to just do school camps this summer. but. probably best to play it safe and keep the net wide. so considering back to HF or PTW. I really hadn’t considered Showball until now.
he will have more video once his spring hs starts and we will up our “video game”
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very helpful. thank you!
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But would you say that those 3.6 kids have something else to boost the academic profile? Test score, obvious course rigor, prep school background, etc.?
I would hazard a guess that a 3.6 would work for a kid who was very highly sought after but also had something to boost the read with admissions, and if it’s not test score and the kid isn’t coming from Exeter or Choate then it has to be the quality of the transcript, and I’m not sure 3 honors classes does that at those schools. IB Diploma or something like that would help a lot. Just my take.
I’ll also add, as I have in the past, that Vassar is the least likely of the schools mentioned to move the needle that much for athletics. They’re just not as interested in sports as are the schools in the NESCAC. Vassar looks, walks and talks like a NESCAC but in terms of sports they are different. That’s from a lot of direct contact with them.
Last thing (for the OP): I wouldn’t take the limited response of “just come to camp” as good or bad. Most coaches don’t want to invest time with a pre-discussion about admissions viability and grades until they get a look. As @Mwfan1921 said, it’s partly financial for them … it’s a good fundraiser … and in fairness they get to see what they’re being asked to think about. You’re lucky in that baseball is a sport where athletes can show up and really be evaluated. So I think it would be worthwhile to strategically pick a few camps and make sure he’s ready to show out. It’s kind of a “now or never” deal. If they like him, trust me, you’ll hear from them.
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