Are baseball prospect camps worth it

Attending college baseball camps is a great way for a prospective college baseball player to build exposure. We’ve found that university camps and clinics are underutilized, and for some players, these events return the best results from a recruiting standpoint.

They shouldn’t be an automatic addition to your strategy to build exposure though. Unlike showcases, camps and clinics offer a much more focused level of visibility. Instead of playing in front of 50 coaches, you’ll be showcasing your skills for a single coaching staff. A prospective college baseball player needs to be aware of their situation before making a decision to attend a camp or clinic. This article should help guide players and parents through that decision.

Why College Baseball Programs Hold Camps and Clinics

Running clinics is a great fundraising method for a college baseball program. The money generated often helps out with travel and other expenses incurred throughout the season. Coaches also utilize these camps to assist with their recruiting efforts.

Due to recruiting calendar restrictions, coaches are limited with their recruiting activities during certain parts of the year. During the quiet period, coaches can only have in person contact and scout players on their university campus. At the Division I level, this period runs from mid October through February, so these programs often hold camps and clinics during that time. By doing so, coaches can continue with their recruiting efforts, while raising money for their program and sharing their baseball knowledge with prospective college baseball players. Win, win, win.

How Players Can Benefit

A college baseball camp is a great option if a coach can’t watch you play in person or if you aren’t able to find showcases that the coach is attending. There are some coaches that avoid showcases altogether, so this scenario does happen.

We would also recommend the camps and clinics route if you have your sights set on a few schools. The best way to get exposure to a very specific set of programs is to attend their camps. On the other hand, if you’re casting a wide net with your college baseball search, you’ll probably get the most value from your time and money by attending showcases, which will have a wider range of coaches in attendance.

The instruction component is also a really nice benefit to university specific events. More often than not, you’ll be receiving quality advice that will better prepare you to play at the next level. Additionally, a coach will be able to assess your ability take instruction and implement it. Coaches are always looking for talent, but they also look for coach-able players. On the flip side, it also gives players the opportunity to evaluate a program’s coaching style, which is really important.

In most cases, the current student-athletes work the clinic, which allows attendees to interact and work closely with potential future teammates. Depending on how many current players you work with at the camp, you may be able to evaluate the team chemistry and if you see yourself being a good fit. Prospective college baseball players will also get a first hand view of the athletic facilities at the institution.

It’s also worth noting that there are some camps and clinics that actually have multiple college programs in attendance. It doesn’t compare to the level of exposure of a showcase, but it’s something to keep in mind.

A player’s situation ultimately determines if a camp or clinic aligns with their strategy to build exposure to college coaches. Showcases have become so popular over the past few years that alternate forms of exposure often fly under the radar. University specific camps and clinics can be an effective tool to get in front of college coaches, so it should be something that you keep in mind throughout your college baseball search.

While there are more than half a million high school baseball players in the United States, only about 12% of them will go on to play at any collegiate level. And only about 2% of those players will be recruited. That means, if you want to be recruited to play college baseball, you’ll need every edge you can get. And one big way to get that edge is to attend baseball camps.

Now, before you start signing up for baseball camps, it’s important to know the details about college baseball scholarships. As an equivalency sport, college baseball coaches in Division I only have 11.7 scholarships to divide among the team. That means any scholarship you do get will likely be a partial scholarship. And that means, if you’re counting on baseball to pay for college, you’ll likely need additional financial aid or solid grades to qualify for academic scholarships. A solid academic record can also make you a more attractive recruit, as it shows coaches that you can handle a college course load. Plus, if you also qualify for an academic scholarship, you offer a coach more flexibility in meeting those 11.7 scholarships elsewhere.

Skill Development

The primary benefit to any baseball camp is the opportunity to fine-tune your baseball skills and receive quality instruction from, top-end coaches. While there are general baseball camps, there are also plenty of specialized camps and clinics for hitting, fielding, base running, as well as for pitchers, catchers, infielders, and outfielders. Your choice of camps may depend on where you are in your recruiting process but, if you have a few schools on your target list that match up with your skill level, look for camps at those schools. Just be sure to check out the camp details beforehand to be certain that the camp has a low staff-to-camper ratio and that it will benefit your development, whether you’re a freshman-to-be or entering your senior year of high school.

Exposure

In addition to sharpening your baseball skills, a baseball camp is an ideal way to get in front of college coaches. Remember that, with half a million high school baseball players out there, most college baseball coaches don’t have a huge budget for nationwide recruiting. Therefore, showing off your skills at a camp run by a school you’re interested in, or attending a camp or clinic that will have several coaches in attendance, can raise your recruiting profile. In fact, many baseball camps are referred to as “Exposure Camps,” as that’s what they’re designed for.

In addition to providing you more exposure to coaches, attending a camp run by a specific program offers two additional benefits. The first is you, attending that camp provides you with a reason to reach out to that coach, introduce (or reintroduce) yourself, and give that coach a heads up that you’ll be attending that camp. And from there, you can introduce yourself to a coach or coaches in person at the camp and build a relationship with that coach. On top of that, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with not just coaches, but most likely the current players, assistants, and training staff, while also having the time to check out the athletic facilities and the campus.

Camps vs Clinics vs Combines

While the terms may be used interchangeably, baseball camps, clinics, and showcases all offer participants something a little different and they can all help you in different ways. As we’ve covered how different baseball camps may work, make sure you know the differences between clinics and combines.

Baseball clinics are a good way to meet college coaches and give them the opportunity to evaluate your skills and see where you can improve. You’ll receive one-on-one instruction that’s focused on improving your fundamentals in each part of the game.

Baseball combines, which are also referred to interchangeably as showcases, are more about gauging your overall athleticism to provide objective data for recruiters. Those gauges can be clocking your pitching speed or your 40-yard dash time. Combines are often held to help you raise your profile through the data you provide, but coaches are rarely in attendance.

While showcases hold drills comparable to what you see at combines, they also feature competitions and scrimmages that provide an opportunity to display your skills in a game environment. Though showcases offer little instruction, they do give you the opportunity to show off the skills you already have.

The baseball camp, clinic, or combine that’s right for you will depend on your skill level and where you stand in the recruiting process. Just remember to choose the camp that will help boost your skills while you build relationships with coaches so that you’ll be ready to swing away when you begin your college baseball recruiting process.

Did you enjoy the article ‘How Baseball Camps Can Benefit You’? If so, check out more of our articles HERE.

Get Started With Us Today

We’ve been athletes. We’ve been college coaches. We’re parents. We’re fans. And we’re here to help you succeed.

What are the best baseball showcases to attend?

Are showcases worth it?

What is a showcase team?