Everything you're writing makes sense. The one thing you have to remember though is that the mid-low level D1 schools are also there to watch their targets. The top 20 schools are not the only ones going to tournaments. The bottom line is that attending showcases and ID camps is significantly more important than tournaments.
You're right on many points - but I disagree on one thing - the mid-low schools are there, but the majority are on the 2024 sideline right now - except the young, stary-eyed dreamer assistant coaches.
I completely agree that camps are the way to go. We've hit a bunch, and it made it really easy to see which coaches were a good fit and which to scratch off the list, regardless of how interesting the school may be. There was one school my daughter really liked for the academics and the major she's interested in; she came off the field and said, "there's no way I can spend 3 hours a day, 6 days a week with that coach. I'll be miserable. I can't go here."
