College coaches and Left handed pitchers

[learning]

I have a son who will be playing baseball in college next year and I did a lot of reading about recruiting when he was deciding if he wanted to play in college or not. He is not a pitcher, but during my reading, I saw a ton of information about how in baseball, left handed pitchers can have lower velocity than RHP when it comes to what coaches are looking for/will accept - for example, a LHP might have ~5 MPH slower speed than what coaches are looking for in an RHP, and they would still be highly desirable.

My question is this: is this true for softball pitching too? 1) is LHP highly desired by college softball coaches, and 2) can the LHP have a lower velocity than the RHP, and if so, by how much.

My daughter (age 15) is an LHP - started late to it - good athlete, plays first base and outfield as well - good hitter, speedy, etc., and pitching velocity continues to improve (at mid-50s now). We are trying to gauge where she might fit in for college - I am confident she can play in college, but not sure of the level (DI, II, or III), etc. -we need to start targeting schools and this summer will be very important for getting noticed. I'm just trying to get an idea of what might be realistic for her.

 

[JJsqueeze]

The reality is all of the above, I mean Prairie View is a DI softball school right? but if she wants to play on a regular basis on a team that can compete then probably DIII/NAIA. A lot depends on her control and movement and mastery of a CU (and her bat) but just based on pitch speed this is what I am seeing as we start our research into colleges. Make that mid-high fifties with good control and movement and a LOT more options open up, especially for a lefty.

On the lefty note, I don't see the same drooling over lefties in softball that I see in baseball so I don't know if they get a handicap on speed at the college level but coaches like to have one on the staff for the look change.

 

[JJsqueeze]

oh yeah...one other thing...I have no direct knowledge of this. My opinion is based solely on preliminary research for my pitching kids pending recruiting and conversations with some org presidents that have been around for a long time.

 

[JAD]

Tall LHP are always in demand, but I do not think the are as prized as they are in Baseball.

 

[learning]

Thanks for the feedback. Coincidentally and interestingly I was watching the Georgia softball game yesterday and in the 5th inning (they were up 10-0) they brought in a 5 foot tall lefty freshman pitcher - pitched mid-high 50s from what I saw. Who knows the story there but it shows that there are always exceptions.

 

[JAD]

Thanks for the feedback. Coincidentally and interestingly I was watching the Georgia softball game yesterday and in the 5th inning (they were up 10-0) they brought in a 5 foot tall lefty freshman pitcher - pitched mid-high 50s from what I saw. Who knows the story there but it shows that there are always exceptions.

The lefty freshman for UGA is Kylie Bass. She is a junk ball pitcher and a good change of speed after a flame thrower. Her dad coaches an 18U TB coach for one of the Big 3 organizations in GA.

 

[learning]

Being relatively new to this I was not familiar with what a 'junk ball' pitcher is - been reading and there is a great thread here about it - very interesting discussions on pros and cons. Sounds like velocity in 60s is going to be key though for college level play. DD has broken down mechanics and worked from there to make significant gains - I think there are still more tweaks to go there so she just might get there!