Perfect Game began the
National Academic Showcase in 2004 to fill a need brought up to the PG Staff
by many of the top academic schools in the country. They knew Perfect Game's
reputation for being able to get talented players to their events but pointed
out that many of those players don't have the academic requirements to get
into the top schools.
The coaches at these schools,
which include most of the Ivy League schools and other similar institutions
from around the country, don't have the time or the budgets to watch players
who have little or no chance of being admitted to their schools. This event
is designed for talented players who want to continue to play baseball in
college and meet one of the following academic criteria: 3.3 grade point
average, 1100 SAT score or 24 ACT score.
The event is held at the
Boston Red Sox Spring Training Complex in Fort Myers, Florida and is held in
conjunction with the Unsigned Senior Showcase, enabling college coaches to
double up their recruiting/scouting efforts with 2 distinct groups of
players. The dates for the 2005 National Academic Showcase are June 13-14.
The 2004 Academic Showcase
featured approximately 50 players and nearly as many college coaches. With a
year to plan and get the word out among prospects, the 2005 event has grown
tremendously. Perfect Game is expecting 125-150 student athletes at the 2005
Academic Showcase. Our staff has found that many parents especially are
focusing on this event as a top priority for son's academic and baseball
futures.
Perfect Games list of college
commitments is hardly complete but some of the schools that we have confirmed
that 2004 Academic Showcase attendees have signed with include Dartmouth,
Vanderbilt, Georgetown (2 players!), the Navel Academy, Emory, Davidson,
Virginia and Brandeis.
