Let’s not sugarcoat it: recruiting can often be an overwhelming and confusing process. A lot of that comes from just not having a good handle on where you’re at and what to do next. To make things easier, just identify your current situation below and we will help you determine what your next move should be.

You haven’t started yet  

This is the perfect time to tackle the most critical question: Do you really want to participate in college sports? Before you begin the recruiting process, you want to make sure it’s the right fit. Think about what you want in a college experience and how being a college-athlete will impact you and your education.

You can start by researching. Look up colleges you’re interested in, explore various majors, learn about the different divisions, visit a local university, or reach out to a college-athlete from your high school who can help you understand what being a college-athlete is really like.

At the end of all your research, you should have a better idea of whether a college sport is right for you. Even more, you can start creating a list of target and safety schools based on where you fit athletically and academically.

Learn more about searching for colleges

You’re getting some recruiting questionnaires

The recruiting process is like a funnel. At the top, college coaches build a list of hundreds of prospective athletes. Then, through the evaluation process, they identify the recruits they will offer and sign. But in order to build their initial list, they need important details like contact information, links to online profiles and NCAA ID numbers. Recruiting questionnaires are the best (and easiest) way for them to do this. So, if you receive a recruiting questionnaire, be sure to fill it out.

Then, you’ll want to loop in your high school or club coach, especially if you’re an underclassman. College coaches will often reach out to a high school or club coach first to learn more about a recruit.

This is also a good time to start putting a highlight video together, which helps college coaches determine if they want to evaluate you in person. Juniors and seniors should always include a link to their highlight video in their emails to college coaches. Freshmen and sophomores may have more time to create theirs, but it really depends on which division they want to play. Division I and some Division II college coaches tend to recruit early and evaluate freshmen and sophomores.

Learn how to create a highlight or skills video

You’re getting interest from a college coach

This is a great sign! Receiving personalized coach interest means you’re on a short list of recruits and the college coach is most likely hoping they can evaluate you in person. The best move here is to let them know when they can see you, so make sure you send your game schedule and any big tournaments or showcases that you will attend.

Don’t forget to take note of which divisions are showing interest, too. A good way to gauge which programs would be a good fit for you is to evaluate which division is reaching out most. Plus, it can help you refine your list of target and safety schools.

Learn more about emailing coaches

You’ve been evaluated in person  

At this point, you’re in the homestretch of your recruiting. You want to start narrowing down your list of top schools. One of the the best ways to do that is by visiting the campus, whether it’s an unofficial or an official visit.

As a recap—you can go on an unofficial visit at any time, but you need to cover all related expenses (travel, food, accommodations, etc.). College coaches are not allowed to recruit you on an unofficial visit. But even though you can’t get a scholarship offer, you can still get a better understanding of the school and if it’s right for you.

Official visits, on the other hand, can start during a student-athlete’s junior year and the trip is completely paid for by the school. The college coach who evaluated you may invite you to attend a visit, which can lead to a scholarship offer. Keep in mind, you should be prepared to respond to an offer when you are on an official visit.  

You received an offer   

Congratulations, a college coach offering you a scholarship and roster spot means your hard work paid off. But your journey may not be over just quite yet—for Division I and Division II programs, you still need to sign the National Letter of Intent (NLI). A verbal commitment is a non-binding agreement that tells other college coaches you’re no longer looking at college programs. The NLI is a binding contract that you sign your senior year, which guarantees a scholarship for the school year.

So, if you receive a verbal offer and accept, you’re essentially telling college coaches that you’ve completed the recruiting journey. Therefore, you should never accept a verbal offer with the impression that you can continue being recruited by other schools.