Jake Sale, Dave Garcia look to create recruiting opportunities with baseball showcase

The August before his senior year at Putnam County, Jake Sale attended a baseball showcase in Champaign.

After that event, Sale was recruited by Parkland College where he played for two years before finishing his career at Illinois State University.

“I think showcases can be very beneficial and it’s absolutely something I wish that we had (in our area) when we were in high school,” Sale said.

Sale’s experience planted the seed that later turned into the Central Illinois Collegiate Showcase.

“Looking at the area, we’re trying to create as many opportunities as possible for kids to get recruited,” Sale said.

Sale and his high school coach, Dave Garcia, who is now the head coach at Southwestern Illinois College and previously coached at Parkland and Western Carolina University, created the showcase.

“Obviously, baseball has been a part of my life since I was young and I was fortunate enough to play in college and I think one of the best things is just being able to give back to kids in our area and be able to impact them.

—  Jake Sale, on Central Illinois Showcase and Illinois Valley Baseball Academy

This year’s showcase is Aug. 11 at Schweickert Stadium in Peru. Last year, the event sold out in July. To register, visit bit.ly/shwcsae24.

“For a long time Dave Garcia and I had been talking about ways we could bring more recruiting to the Illinois Valley and how we could provided more opportunities for kids in the area with a showcase event,” Sale said. “We were talking about it for a few years. There’s really nothing like it within a 50-mile radius. We got together and decided to start reaching out to schools and we had a ton of interest with schools wanting to come and recruit kids in the area. With coach Garcia’s connections and our connections with some of the local high school coaches, we started putting it together.”

The first Central Illinois Showcase was held in 2021 and has grown annually.

“We have a really good following on social media (@Cntrl_ILShwcase on X),” Sale said. “That’s how we’ve grown it for the most part. We’ve also done a lot of reaching out to travel ball coaches across the state as well as high school coaches. It’s been pretty crazy how much it’s spread.”

The event draws about 15-20 schools per year with 20 committed to this year’s event, including NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III schools along with NAIA schools and junior colleges.

“The very first year we did it, reaching out to schools was a little bit more difficult because they didn’t know how we run it, if it’s efficient, how many kids would be there,” Sale said. “The first year it was calling them and introducing ourselves and explaining what we were trying to do for the area. It’s sort of an untapped area for recruiting as far as having events like this. At first, I think some schools may have been a little bit hesitant. But once we had our first showcase, and I think we had 95 (players) at the first one, every year since we’ve kept some of the same schools and we’ve had schools start reaching out to us asking if they can come because of how many kids we’ve had in the past and they’ve felt the talent level was where it needed to be for them to recruit kids.”

At the showcase, players will listen to a talk from college coaches about the recruiting process.

“The coaches will talk about some of the things they look for when recruiting guys and when guys are reaching out to them or posting videos on social media,” Sale said. “They give them some tips as far as what’s the best way to get noticed.”

There’s an instructional portion of the event where players break into positions and have college coaches working with them.

Players can come as a pitcher, a position player or a two-way player.

Pitchers will throw a bullpen session, position players will take batting practice, field from their position and run a 60-yard dash.

The showcase takes data for players, including 60-yard dash time, exit velocity for hitters and throwing velocity for pitcher and position players.

“The showcase is open to anybody who’s currently in high school, so incoming freshmen all the way to seniors,” Sale said. “Talent level, it’s open to anyone. For guys who are a little bit older and maybe a little bit more advanced, sometimes it can be more beneficial for them. However, I think it’s good for other kids who have never been to a showcase to come and get some experience and see how they’re run because they are a little bit nerve racking. So your first one, even if you’re not necessarily ready for it, I think it can be a good experience for years to come when you go back when you’re in that prime time for recruiting.”

Sale and Garcia also run a showcase in the fall in Normal and Sale does a showcase in Kenosha, Wis. in the winter.

Sale also runs the Illinois Valley Baseball Academy that runs youth camps and offers lessons from players ages 8-18.

“For me, it’s just a way to stay involved in the game,” Sale said. “Obviously, baseball has been a part of my life since I was young and I was fortunate enough to play in college and I think one of the best things is just being able to give back to kids in our area and be able to impact them. I’ve had some kids who have been with me since they were 12 who are now playing in college. I think helping the kids and guiding kids to get where they want to go in the game is the most rewarding part for me.”

The showcase and baseball academy started as a side gig for Sale but he said it’s potentially becoming a full-time job.

“I’m currently debating if this is something I want to do full time,” Sale said. “This summer has been full time. We have 100 kids who take lessons from us and I have a couple instructors. It’s definitely something that’s continuously growing.”