NCAA age limits proposal

[Anonymous]

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/ncaa-proposing-major-changes-to-eligibility-rules-including-age-limits-121509806.html

How would this affect soccer recruiting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/ncaa-proposing-major-changes-to-eligibility-rules-including-age-limits-121509806.html

How would this affect soccer recruiting?

Hopefully people pick better schools for themselves than what is happening in the transfer portal.

[Anonymous]

This may slow the early commitments next year. People should be paying more attention to it.

[Anonymous]

There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

but makes coaches rethink the 20-22 yr old failed pro European and south American freshmen on mens side. The clock starts at 19 or HS graduation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

This is "kind of" true but also not true.

If schools cant have 40 player rosters and are all limited to 28. It gives smaller schools the ability to compete or even start soccer programs. So it might mean more players overall because colleges view soccer as a better investment with things being more fair.

Imagine what would happen in youth soccer if clubs could run 40 player rosters and provide free soccer to their best players. Theyd always win. College soccer is the same way.

The thing that I hate about college soccer that isnt addressed is coaches just look for the biggest and fastest. Skilled play isnt emphasized when you can shuffle the deck every year with new players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

but makes coaches rethink the 20-22 yr old failed pro European and south American freshmen on mens side. The clock starts at 19 or HS graduation

It would be just as easy to not allow foreign players on college rosters. Or just say no scholorships to foreigners.

With the clock starting at 19 you wont get any more feel good stories about the 40 year olds that are reliving their youth attending college later in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

but makes coaches rethink the 20-22 yr old failed pro European and south American freshmen on mens side. The clock starts at 19 or HS graduation

It would be just as easy to not allow foreign players on college rosters. Or just say no scholorships to foreigners.

With the clock starting at 19 you wont get any more feel good stories about the 40 year olds that are reliving their youth attending college later in life.

they should but a college coach wants to win. Failed pros from outside US will just always be better. But now it’s a risk to recruit a 20+ yr old.. especially if they got to sit a year because of upper classmen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

but makes coaches rethink the 20-22 yr old failed pro European and south American freshmen on mens side. The clock starts at 19 or HS graduation

It would be just as easy to not allow foreign players on college rosters. Or just say no scholorships to foreigners.

With the clock starting at 19 you wont get any more feel good stories about the 40 year olds that are reliving their youth attending college later in life.

they should but a college coach wants to win. Failed pros from outside US will just always be better. But now it’s a risk to recruit a 20+ yr old.. especially if they got to sit a year because of upper classmen.

I dont think thats how it will work.

5 years after 19 basically means 24 is the oldest you can be. College coaches can still bring over 22 year old foreign academy washouts. But they can only play for 2 seasons. (Until they're 24)

If as a coach youre planning to burn through most players in 1-2 years and replace them with new. This doesnt stop recruiting foreign players.

[Anonymous]

This is going to be great for college football kickers who were soccer players!

It used to be colleges would have walk ons as kickers who were former soccer players.

That changed and now colleges use players older than 25 to be kickers who were pros in other sports. There are roughly 60 Australians on D1 rosters this season—making up nearly 40% of all D1 programs. The biggest source of older players is ProKick Australia, an academy that converts former Australian Rules Football players into college punters.

Like:

Billy Gowers who was a 29-year-old true freshman during the 2025 season. Before coming to Hawai'i, he played professional Australian Rules Football (AFL) for five years. He was named a Freshman All-American and actually transferred to Indiana in January 2026. He will be a 30-year-old sophomore this upcoming season

Sam Vander Haar (BYU) who is currently 28 years old and a former AFL player.

Daniel Leah who kicks for the Maryland Terrapins. He is a freshman kicker from Dublin, Ireland native who is 6'6"and 225 lbs.

[Anonymous]

The hope is people make wiser decisions. This puts it more in control of college coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

but makes coaches rethink the 20-22 yr old failed pro European and south American freshmen on mens side. The clock starts at 19 or HS graduation

It would be just as easy to not allow foreign players on college rosters. Or just say no scholorships to foreigners.

With the clock starting at 19 you wont get any more feel good stories about the 40 year olds that are reliving their youth attending college later in life.

they should but a college coach wants to win. Failed pros from outside US will just always be better. But now it’s a risk to recruit a 20+ yr old.. especially if they got to sit a year because of upper classmen.

I dont think thats how it will work.

5 years after 19 basically means 24 is the oldest you can be. College coaches can still bring over 22 year old foreign academy washouts. But they can only play for 2 seasons. (Until they're 24)

If as a coach youre planning to burn through most players in 1-2 years and replace them with new. This doesnt stop recruiting foreign players.

thats exactly what i said. Before all those players got at least 4 years. Now they age out. It’s a risk to roster management and scholarships.

[Anonymous]

They should put in a restriction to foreign born scholarships less than 3 a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

i follow her too. some really good advice from a lens of an insider

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a good thread on X that was started by one of the assistant coaches for W&M women's team. - she has some good insights.

It's going to be a mess, IMO, with the 28 player roster cap in place. Now, from potentially 7 players per class, if everyone sticks around you are now at 5.6.

Less spots and more cuts. Messes up recruiting for sure with schools that have larger classes.

i follow her too. some really good advice from a lens of an insider

She's really transparent about things which I appreciate. We have friends with players at the program and they have good things to say overall. Nice to see when so many other coaches just want to pump everyone's tires.