Getting Recruited for Athletic Scholarships is All About Knowing the Numbers

baseball scoreboard representing knowing the numbers of athletic scholarships in getting recruited

baseball scoreboard representing knowing the numbers of athletic scholarships in getting recruitedThis shouldn’t be a surprising statement to anyone involved in sports and trying to get recruited. After all, every sport starts off with the most basic of numbers, wins and losses, or first, second, and third place. Potential college players and their families have probably spent a significant amount of time and money the last few years trying to improve their personal numbers to increase their odds (more numbers) of getting an athletic scholarship. But you need to pay attention to more than your personal numbers if you’re serious about getting recruited to play in college.

The following are four sets of numbers you need to be aware of if you really want to get recruited for an athletic scholarship.

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5 Things to do Before Completing Another College Recruiting Questionnaire

baseball mom thinking about completing another recruiting questionnaire on computer

baseball mom sitting at computer completing recruiting questionnaires.I know the college recruiting process can seem overwhelming. Maybe your kid made the high school team and is racking up stats that people are telling you are good enough for playing in college. So you start completing recruiting questionnaires on the various college athletic program websites. Or maybe making it to the college level was always the plan for your player and you’ve been focused on filling out as many recruiting forms as possible. But it can all be wasted effort if you haven’t completed five preliminary steps first.

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College Athletic Recruiting Strategy: Going Where the Teams Are

Map representing college baseball programs by state

map with pins showing college baseball teams by stateIf you are a high school athlete and already have five coaches from D1 schools showing up when you play and you’re only a junior-congratulations! You need not read any further. For those of you who aren’t nationally ranked athletes but still want to play at the college level-read on.

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Getting Recruited: What You Might Have Forgotten

athlete thinking about college recruiting issues

athlete trying to remember something about the recruiting processIt’s easy to get caught up in the recruiting process. You’ll spend some time chasing a shiny that turns out not to be. Or maybe you’ll become fixated on improving hand strength and start neglecting other parts of your workout routine. And as you go through the process, you’ll have things pop-up that you know something about but could really use more information. But there are all these other things you’re trying to take care of. It’s completely normal.

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Strength and Conditioning Programs for Incoming College Athletes

athlete working out representing strength and conditioning programs for college athletes

incoming freshman starting college stength and conditioning programsIf you read any books on college athletic recruiting, you’ll come across a section that discusses the biggest surprises to new college athletes coming from high school. I can’t think of a single one that doesn’t mention the dramatically harder college strength and conditioning programs. In fact, I’m willing to bet it would come in first by a wide margin over any other freshman surprises.

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When Will College Coaches Start Contacting Me?

student mimicking a phone call representing when colleges with contact you

Student wondering when college coaches start contacting him(Updated for 2020) If you’re serious about playing college athletics, you need to understand how and when college coaches can start contacting you (officially) and when you can contact them. I remember sitting in the bleachers in April and listening to one parent’s angst that the baseball coach from a particular college hadn’t called them yet. The fact was that this was April of the player’s junior year–according to the NCAA recruiting periods and contact rules at the coach couldn’t call him until July.

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What Athletes Need to Know About the Ivy League Academic Index

A brown dachshund stands on its hind legs and looks intently at the screen of an open laptop on a desk, perhaps analyzing the ivy league academic index.

dog on computer looking up ivy league academic indexIf you’re interested in playing your sport for one of the Ivy League schools, you need to understand the Academic Index. I’m assuming that you already know that the Ivy League does not provide athletic scholarships and that you’re hoping to use your athletic abilities to help you get admitted. After all, recruited athletes have approximately a 30 percentage point advantage in being admitted compared to non-athletes with no legacy status. And a recent analysis of data from Harvard showed that “Athletes with the highest or second-highest academic rating on an internal Harvard admissions scale have an acceptance rate of 83 percent—compared to 16 percent for non-athletes.”

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50-50 Highlights: NAIA Colleges

Football stadium representing 50-50 colleges

Stadium on football field representing NAIA CollegesThe NCAA is not the only college athletic organization with sports programs. The National Association for intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has over 250 members. Like the NCAA, the NAIA regulates the number of scholarships available and students must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center.

NAIA offers fewer sports than the NCAA but does offer more scholarships in some sports. The maximum number of scholarships allowed in baseball, men’s golf, men’s soccer, and men’s tennis are higher in the NAIA. The NCAA offers more scholarships in women’s sports compared to the NAIA.

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50-50 Highlights: NCAA D2 Colleges

A yellow softball sits on the dirt infield near home plate on a softball field, typical of the facilities found at many NCAA D2 colleges.

Softball on a field representing D2 CollegesThe NCAA Division 2 is the smallest of the three NCAA Divisions. Division 2 colleges, like Division 1 schools, offer athletic scholarships. However, they do not offer as many scholarships in many sports and are not required to sponsor as many varsity teams as D1 programs. They also tend to offer more partial scholarships. However, since they aren’t required to offer headcount scholarships, you will often find D2 colleges actually sponsor more varsity teams than required.

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