They came with dreams of playing for a college softball or baseball program.

Some of them will one day soon wear the purple and gold of LSU Eunice.

“I have already signed 12 players for next season,” LSUE head softball coach Andy Lee said. “With 45 kids there I was looking mainly at graduates from 2013 and 2014.”

Lee said he usually recruits five to six players he has seen at each camp.

“The camps are very important, it is hard to get out and see games during the season due to conflicting schedules,” Lee said

“It's great to put them through a series of drill and evaluations on the field,” the coach said of the tryouts.

“When your out watching a game, sometimes they might only get two or three balls hit to them, and they might only get three at bats.

“At the camps you can hit them 20 ground balls and give them 20-30 swings, plus you can better idea of there work ethic, personalty, and coach ability,” Lee said.

For LSUE head baseball coach Jeff Willis, the prospect camps are an important aspect of their recruiting process.

“We will be pushing more than 450-500 guys who have come through our prospect camps this year,” the coach said. “Every year, we do pick up kids through the camps.

“We don’t have the finances or the manpower to go out and see every single kids who has an interest in our program,” Willis pointed out.

“This gives the kids an opportunity to get on our campus to see what we are about and it give us an chance to evaluate their skills.”

Willis said the camp includes players from every year of high school including recent graduates.

“I would say about 20 percent of our roster has come through our prospect camps,” the coach said.