How to Get Recruited for College Sports

Where to begin

Starting the college recruiting process is an exciting time, and it’s the first step toward playing the sport you love at the next level. But it’s also overwhelming!

Wondering where to even start the recruiting process? What is the right time to start contacting coaches, and when can they start contacting you? Wondering if coaches should be contacting you? Which colleges have scholarships to offer in your sport, and how can you land on their radars? 

Don’t panic: You’re not alone. Thousands of high-school student-athletes successfully match with college athletic programs every year. With a little bit of guidance, you can take the right steps to raise awareness of your recruitment and find schools that match your profile.

The details of your college recruitment timeline depend on your sport and your level, but top freshmen competing at varsity or elite club levels may already be getting on the radar of colleges – especially in team sports, which tend to start recruiting earlier. 

Although you can start reaching out to coaches as early as ninth grade, you should have some recruiting education and an overall understanding of timelines first. 

It is important to target well-fitting programs and diversify your outreach across the NCAA divisions. 

Young athletes develop at different speeds, and there are routes to college recruitment for players in every season of their high-school career. It’s best to start early, and we recommend that all athletes intending to play college sports begin the process before the start of their junior year. But it’s never too late. 

Even if you’re not absolutely sure you’re going to play in college, or you don’t believe you’re ready to start contacting college coaches, you should still be proactive if you want to keep your options open. 

How college coaches approach recruiting

College coaches also need to start the recruiting process somewhere! Their first step with each new class is doing preliminary evaluations of a huge pool of potential players that come from a variety of sources. Top power-conference football programs might start with lists of nearly 8,000 players before narrowing down the group based on factors like height, weight, position and graduation year. 

From there, a school’s pool of potential recruits gets smaller at every step. Check out this guide for more details about the college recruiting process and timeline. 

How to get noticed by coaches to get recruited 

So you’ve started researching schools and filling out questionnaires, and you’re having a great year in your sport. But how do you get college coaches to notice you over thousands of other student-athletes vying for a spot? Start by making sure you’ve got something to show them – have your NCSA profile and a recent highlights video ready for their inspection.

Be proactive! There are no rules for when student-athletes can contact college coaches - just when the coaches can reply. Start by sending introductory emails expressing your interest and explaining concisely why you feel you would be a good fit to college coaches to catch their attention early in the recruiting process. Learn more about contacting coaches here.

Pro Tips: Use specifics and measurables wherever you can when it comes to academic and athletic achievements. Telling a coach you have a 3.8 GPA sounds better than only saying that you have good grades. If you’re looking to run track, share your personal records. A football program would rather know how much weight you can squat than hear you’ve got a strong lower-body. And so on. 

Understand the college divisions and scholarships offered

Making sense of the college divisions isn’t as hard as it might seem, even though there’s a variety to choose from, all with different acronyms.

Let’s start with the basics: NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. When you think of a premiere college program in your sport – UConn women’s hoops, LSU baseball, etc. – you are most likely thinking of an NCAA D1 school. It is the highest level of play available and has the largest percentage of athletes that go onto play at the next level. It is also the most competitive division to get full scholarship money. 

Even inside NCAA D1, there’s a broad range of schools and levels of competition. 

NCAA programs also compete at the Division 2 and Division 3 levels. Division 2 programs can still offer scholarships and a high level of play, but with more of a balanced student-life than many high level D1 schools. 

Division 3 cannot offer athletic scholarships, but can still be a great avenue for high-performing athletes to continue to compete in college. 

NAIA is a separate athletic governing body from NCAA but also offers athletic scholarships with a competition level similar to that of Division 2 NCAA schools. 

NJCAA, or junior college, offers two-year degrees and scholarships and can be a great option for student-athletes looking to build their athletic and academic resume or cut down on costs. 

College sports divisions: Number of schools, athletes, and scholarships

Explore your options, see how each college level stacks up in size and scholarship opportunities below.

How to know what division level is right for you

For all prospective college athletes, the recruitment process must include a realistic assessment of your potential and your abilities. Some of it may seem obvious: If you’re 5’7,” you’re not likely to find yourself in the front court for a D1 basketball program anytime soon. But in most cases, the picture is a bit blurrier, especially for freshmen and sophomores trying to guess how they’ll develop. 

How to get a better sense of how you stack up

• Watch games at every level: The first step toward assessing yourself is simple: Check out what college sports could look like for you. If you can, get out to local colleges and universities at different levels and watch games in person. Compare yourself to the athletes you see in action. Be honest with yourself. If you can’t imagine matching their skill level or physicality, look into some lower levels. 

• Read rosters and see how you measure up: Once you’ve got an initial sense of what level you think you should target, cross-check by looking at online rosters for the types of programs where you’re hoping to play. Find the players at your position and see how you compare in terms of size and high-school accolades. If the best players on a team were All-Conference and you’re on track for All-State, maybe you’re aiming too low. More often it’s the opposite, but that’s OK: You can aim high, just keep your expectations realistic.

• Know where you are academically: Can you qualify for a NCAA scholarship academically? Talk to a guidance counselor to ensure you’re taking the right courses and have the grades you need.

To learn more, check out this guide to college sports divisions.

How to know if you’re eligible for college sports

Every division of college sports has different eligibility requirements. The NCAA Eligibility Center (formerly known as the NCAA Clearinghouse) reviews prospective student-athletes transcripts to ensure they have the grades and course requirements for eligibility to play NCAA sports. 

Athletes must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center during the recruiting process. Similarly, NAIA athletes must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center to ensure they comply with eligibility rules to compete in NAIA athletics. Individual schools also have their own entrance requirements. 

As a high-school student athlete, the best way to maintain eligibility across the board is to keep your grades up. Maintaining a good GPA and scoring your best on standardized tests will keep your options open. You cannot be academically overqualified for a program, and your athletic efforts will go to waste if you haven’t developed the right habits to succeed in the college classroom. 

How to get a college scholarship

Many college student-athletes get full or partial athletics scholarships from their schools. Full scholarships are rare, and partial scholarships vary in size – some may cover half your tuition, others may just cover the cost of your books. NCAA D1 and D2 schools offer scholarships, as do NAIA and JUCO schools. NCAA D3 schools do not offer athletics scholarships. The rules around NCAA athletics scholarships are in flux, but the process for high-school student-athletes to land them won’t change. To get it started, check out our in-depth guide to athletics scholarships.

Attend camps and combines

Beyond playing your sport for your high school or club team, attending camps and combines can be a valuable way to raise your profile and help you get recruited to play college sports. Camps are run by both schools or third-party organizers, and it’s important to be choosy when picking one. 

Students in middle school and early high school should target camps that develop skills, like IMG Academy sport camps. 

Upperclass student-athletes seeking the chance to perform for college coaches at exposure-style camps should look for ones appropriate for their skill level and targeted schools. 

While some camps and showcases may be invite-only, a general invite to a school’s camp does not necessarily mean you’re a top recruit, as camp tuitions help colleges financially support their programs. It’s up to you to choose wisely.

Combines are usually run by third-party organizers. They’re not often attended by coaches, but they give recruits an opportunity to get verified measurements that coaches trust. 

Check out this guide for more information about camps and combines.

Key Takeaways

• Educate yourself on the recruiting process.

• Start early and stay academically eligible.

• Research programs and coaching staff.

• Develop a realistic list of target schools.

• Build and maintain an online recruiting profile.

• Proactively contact college coaches.

• Attend camps, showcases, and recruiting events.