Families reach out all the time regarding opinions on travel ball vs legion ball...

If the player is willing to leave the region to play in college then I suggest they play travel ball. Families, including the players, talk a big game but when push comes to shove - a majority of them want to stay within a 5 hour drive of home. So don't play travel ball then - every single school, regardless of the level (D1, D2, JUCO, etc) will & do come to Omaha & Lincoln to scout during legion season.

FFS, it wasn't too long ago (circa 2019) Rob Childress (aTm) & Rick Vanderhook (Cal State Fullerton) attended 4 legion games in a 3 day period. They were here to watch Max Anderson & Tristan Gomes, caught wind of some other guys, then stuck around to watch them. At one of the games, they were joined by Schlossnagle (then TCU), Heller (Ioa), & Price (then Kansas). Heck, DVH & Holliday (Oklahoma State) have been in Omaha watching legion ball.

I strongly suggest folks spend their money going to a schools camp. Get in front of their coaching staff, on their campus. Especially now with the portal, roster limits & how teams are focused on staying old.

PonyBoy said:

Johnny & Joba are 20+ years removed from high school ball. Times have changed though, with more opportunities. Way too many families are bought in to the "you must play travel for your son to get a D1 look." That's wrong, especially regionally. Jake Meyers played legion, as did the Waldron twins. Nate Fisher too. Hagge as well. Max Anderson too. Aaron Palensky too. Cade Povich too. Griffin Everitt as well. Perry, Gomes x2, Burnham, Bunz, Feekin, Evans & the list goes on & on. Same for those that chose travel ball, it's a long list.

IMO, no high school graduated senior signed with a D1 should be allowed to play legion ball. All D1 schools have connections across the country to get them on to a college summer team. And the expenses are very limited for the most part.

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Do kids care less about Legion ball these days? When I was playing we cared more about legion season than the Spring. Spring was too cold, not enough practice outside beforehand, etc.

HCFord1 said:

Do kids care less about Legion ball these days? When I was playing we cared more about legion season than the Spring. Spring was too cold, not enough practice outside beforehand, etc.

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I believe this is true. My son is helping coach a legion team and he says the kids cared about the a spring a lot more. Plus their #1 pitcher was shut down by his JUCO school this summer which makes little sense going into fall.

clifscales said:

I believe this is true. My son is helping coach a legion team and he says the kids cared about the a spring a lot more. Plus their #1 pitcher was shut down by his JUCO school this summer which makes little sense going into fall.

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IMO Spring Ball is for the benefit of the team, Summer ball is for the players, to develop and get recruited. a HS State Championship should mean WAY more than a Legion one or any travel tourney win.

in Nebraska the debate is Prospects vs Legion.

Better players that want to play prospects should be encouraged to go play, They face better competition and get better themselves, Legion in turn gets more AB and IP's for bench players who would get less if these players stayed for legion. Thus the following spring, you now have more players developed to help you win.

from a player development perspective, playing on a team full of better players may show a kid a different perspective of what work really is to play at the next level , especially because it causes you to leave the comfort zone of working with your buddies.

also just my opinion but College players who come back and play legion aren't serious and are afraid of competition.


should also note that Prospects has gotten weaker due to Spects National taking the top Nebraska players all summer so I dont know what the alternative going forward will be.

HuskerBaseball said:

IMO Spring Ball is for the benefit of the team, Summer ball is for the players, to develop and get recruited. a HS State Championship should mean WAY more than a Legion one or any travel tourney win.

in Nebraska the debate is Prospects vs Legion.

Better players that want to play prospects should be encouraged to go play, They face better competition and get better themselves, Legion in turn gets more AB and IP's for bench players who would get less if these players stayed for legion. Thus the following spring, you now have more players developed to help you win.

from a player development perspective, playing on a team full of better players may show a kid a different perspective of what work really is to play at the next level , especially because it causes you to leave the comfort zone of working with your buddies.

also just my opinion but College players who come back and play legion aren't serious and are afraid of competition.


should also note that Prospects has gotten weaker due to Spects National taking the top Nebraska players all summer so I dont know what the alternative going forward will be.

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This is the problem. Nothing was broken in the first place but now everyone is chasing the dragon of playing on the most elite team possible. Now Prospects isn’t good enough and you won’t be seen as serious unless you’re on a national team.

You argue in your first post that Legion ball is watered down but now you’re also advocating for it as a developmental league. But if the best players aren’t playing in it, then how well are we developing the remaining kids?

It seems like this may be something that is marginally helpful to some of the kids who are going on to play d1 ball, while being detrimental to the development of guys who might be d2-NAIA players and are still playing Legion. Nothing was wrong with our development of baseball players before Prospects was created, but now it’s begun a cycle that allows college programs to take over these kids’ lives entirely at an even earlier age. Hooray.

clifscales said:

I believe this is true. My son is helping coach a legion team and he says the kids cared about the a spring a lot more. Plus their #1 pitcher was shut down by his JUCO school this summer which makes little sense going into fall.

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That used to be the type of thing that would completely burn a bridge for that Juco to ever try to recruit at a school again, but I guess now everyone is so desperate to get recruited that they’ll do anything they’re asked.

HCFord1 said:

This is the problem. Nothing was broken in the first place but now everyone is chasing the dragon of playing on the most elite team possible. Now Prospects isn’t good enough and you won’t be seen as serious unless you’re on a national team.

You argue in your first post that Legion ball is watered down but now you’re also advocating for it as a developmental league. But if the best players aren’t playing in it, then how well are we developing the remaining kids?

It seems like this may be something that is marginally helpful to some of the kids who are going on to play d1 ball, while being detrimental to the development of guys who might be d2-NAIA players and are still playing Legion. Nothing was wrong with our development of baseball players before Prospects was created, but now it’s begun a cycle that allows college programs to take over these kids’ lives entirely at an even earlier age. Hooray.

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Developmental for kids who would otherwise be on the bench if every spring player played Legion., Hence it is watered down as all the rosters are void of their top 2-6 players during legion. add in seniors who played Varsity in Spring and wont be playing in College so they wanted their summer to work/hang out/done with ball .

each family should do what they think is best for them. Legion wasn't the best choice for my kids, Prospects was until they were committed, then National teams/showcases for pro ball opportunities. That schedule doesn't fit most families. it was perfect for us

HCFord1 said:

That used to be the type of thing that would completely burn a bridge for that Juco to ever try to recruit at a school again, but I guess now everyone is so desperate to get recruited that they’ll do anything they’re asked.

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It's Cockeye Western so I believe they can get away with it. Not sure the reasoning going into fall ball where Pitchers don't throw a ton.

HCFord1 said:

Do kids care less about Legion ball these days? When I was playing we cared more about legion season than the Spring. Spring was too cold, not enough practice outside beforehand, etc.

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I don't think so overall.

clifscales said:

It's Cockeye Western so I believe they can get away with it. Not sure the reasoning going into fall ball where Pitchers don't throw a ton.

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IWCC did it to protect themselves and not have D1's all over him this summer. I was waiting on Nebraska getting back with him but obviously it didn't happen.