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.
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.