To help you navigate the college recruiting process, I've developed a simple yet effective steps-to-follow guide for high school recruits. These five steps will help eliminate much of the guesswork for you and free up your time for more important things.

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1. Gather Prospects - Coaches and staff will go through and gather a list of prospective athletes from across the globe.

2. Athletes Contacted - Schools will then send out recruiting letters, camp invtes, and questionaires to prospects.

3. Evaluations from Coaches - Next, coaches will make evaluations, including times (facts) and overall current ability, potential, and academic abilities.

4. Offer Time - Here's the time for coaches and schools to make verbal offers and scholarships to their top talent prospects.

5. Signing Day - Last, but surely not least, the schools will sign atletes to join their team.

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EXPLAINED STEPS

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Step 1: Compile a Prospects List - College coaches begin their recruiting process by compiling a huge list of potential recruits based on certain criteria such as position, height, weight, academics, grad year, and location. The majority of coaches use third-party recruiting services like CaptainU to compile their lists, where millions of high school athletes have already made connections with college coaches. Coaches will use recruiting media sites like 247Sports and Rivals, meet players at large camps and events, receive recommendations from high school or club coaches, and occasionally receive direct letters from recruits in addition to using recruiting services platforms like CaptainU.

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The amount of players on these lists will vary based on the size of the schools or programs, as this is the start of the college recruiting process funnel.

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Athletes should follow the coach's lead and begin their recruiting campaign with a big list of prospects. To begin, we propose that you make your own prospect list of universities that you believe might be a good fit for you. Then you'll start editing that list based on your demands and the institutions' interests.

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We also suggest going to as many camps and events as possible hosted by coaches from your list of potential institutions. You may build a free CaptainU recruiting profile so that college coaches can find you in their searches and see all of your stats and highlight videos. You'll get a free two-week trial of our premium silver plan with your free recruiting profile, which allows you to see which coaches have found you in searches and viewed your profile, as well as the option to message coaches directly. Creating a recruiting profile and thoroughly filling it up with photos, data, and highlight videos for coaches is critical to your recruiting success and takes very little time.

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Step 2: Contact Athletes — After that, coaches will typically contact large groups of potential athletes to measure interest. Coaches will normally send a request to complete a recruiting questionnaire, invite them to a camp or event, and potentially even send a general letter of interest from the college to players who show some interest up front.

 

Coaches will then proceed to reduce their list based on the number of responses and levels of interest they receive, which will be determined by the size of the college program.

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It's critical to take any form from a coach that includes questions, event invitations, or general interest letters carefully. To let them know you're interested in their program, we recommend responding to each coach directly and thanking them.

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If you receive an email or any form of mail from a coach, it's evident that you're being evaluated as a recruit, so send a personal message right away.

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Step 3: Assessments – Coaches need to start reducing down their prospect lists, which they do through evaluations. They want to get to know the athlete better, so they'll normally start by contacting the player's high school and club coaches for an assessment or recommendation. They may also attend camps and competitions to keep an eye on prospects or invite them to their own camps.

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Official and unofficial visits can and will take place throughout this time.

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Coaches will develop a ranked list of the top recruits after they have completed their evaluations. The size of these lists varies based on the sport, division, and program size.

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The importance of athletes being proactive throughout the college recruitment process cannot be overstated. Athletes may sometimes wait for coaches to find them, although this never happens. It's up to you to thoroughly fill up your recruiting profile and begin receiving exposure. Add a couple more universities to your prospect list, send yourself messages from more coaches, and make sure your profile information is up-to-date and accurate, as well as that you have fantastic highlight footage of your most recent performances. You can also ask your high school and club coaches to contact college coaches on your behalf and provide a positive reference, or pay colleges an unofficial visit and tell the coach you'd want to meet them while you're in town.

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Step 4: Offers – Coaches have whittled down their list of potential recruits and assessed their best candidates. Then they begin making offers to athletes and extending scholarships in order to begin receiving commitments. Typically, they will begin at the top and work their way down the list. It's possible that they'll still want you to come to campus, so be prepared.

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When it comes to college coaches making you an offer, it differs. Non-binding verbal offers can be made at any stage during the recruitment process. It's critical to remember that with a verbal offer, either the athlete or the coach can withdraw at any time. As a result, having backup universities is always a good idea in case a verbal offer is rescinded. The player must sign a National Letter of Intent before the offer becomes official. The athlete's senior year of high school is usually when the letter is signed.

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After all offers have been made, a typical recruiting class size might range from 2 to 30 athletes.

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On the athletic side, it's best to have a solid knowledge of what scholarships you might be eligible for, as well as specifics on all of your offers and how financial aid works if you need it. Make sure you've rated your institutions in the order in which you'd like to enroll.

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Stage 5: Sign - The final step in a college coach's recruiting process is to ensure that their best prospects sign their letters of intent and complete all eligibility requirements.

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Typically, the process of committing and signing begins with the athlete's verbal pledge to the school. The athlete is then presented with an official offer from the coach, which he or she accepts. The student must continue to meet all eligibility standards throughout this time frame.

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It's not uncommon for athletes to have everything in place, including a formal offer, only to be ruled ineligible to compete. It's critical that the athlete put in the effort on the academic front as well in order to meet these requirements. If you don't meet them, another recruit will likely take your spot, and you'll have to play in a junior college to regain your eligibility.