Tell us your child's D3 recruiting story

[Anonymous]

My DS is a baseball player. From his freshman year, he attended showcases/tournaments. At every tournament/showcase he attended, there were multiple D3 coaches watching him. Since their recruiting rules are not as strigent as D1, he was receiving communication from D3 coaches as early as the summer between his sophomore and junior year. He had significant interest from D3 coaches. They would approach him at tournaments and talk to him, send him texts and emails. DS also saw quite a few schools when going to these tournaments. So by the spring of his junior year, he knew what type of school he wanted. The interest was so strong that if he was not interested at all in the school, he would ignore the texts/emails (for example, he had no desire to go to school north of the DMV.)

Fast forward to the summer between junior and senior year. I know DS received at least four verbal offers from coaches (those were the ones he told us about.) He only seriously entertained two of them. One was a very high academic school, extremely low admission rate. DH and I talked to the coach and asked him point blank if he had looked at DS' grades. DS is not a "stupid jock" but in this area, he is an average student (B+) and pigs would have to fly before DS would ever get admitted to this school But the coach really wanted him and assured us that the school was holistic and looked at the entire student. So he sent in an unofficial transcript for a pre-read. As suspected, a couple of weeks later, he found out he would not be admitted. The other school he seriously considered, we knew he would be admitted on his own accord. But he also did a pre-read. We received a pre aid package (which ended up being more than the pre-read.) He did ED admissions - the only school he applied to.

[Anonymous]

D3 women's soccer. We had the dumb luck of attending a summer soccer camp near where we summered from when my child was in elementary school. We signed up as they had a 1/2 day program for the young kids and thought it would be a good break.

This was our introduction to soccer and my kid loved the camp so we kept at it - and established relationships that were not only about being recruited. It could not have worked out better for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is a baseball player. From his freshman year, he attended showcases/tournaments. At every tournament/showcase he attended, there were multiple D3 coaches watching him. Since their recruiting rules are not as strigent as D1, he was receiving communication from D3 coaches as early as the summer between his sophomore and junior year. He had significant interest from D3 coaches. They would approach him at tournaments and talk to him, send him texts and emails. DS also saw quite a few schools when going to these tournaments. So by the spring of his junior year, he knew what type of school he wanted. The interest was so strong that if he was not interested at all in the school, he would ignore the texts/emails (for example, he had no desire to go to school north of the DMV.)

Fast forward to the summer between junior and senior year. I know DS received at least four verbal offers from coaches (those were the ones he told us about.) He only seriously entertained two of them. One was a very high academic school, extremely low admission rate. DH and I talked to the coach and asked him point blank if he had looked at DS' grades. DS is not a "stupid jock" but in this area, he is an average student (B+) and pigs would have to fly before DS would ever get admitted to this school But the coach really wanted him and assured us that the school was holistic and looked at the entire student. So he sent in an unofficial transcript for a pre-read. As suspected, a couple of weeks later, he found out he would not be admitted. The other school he seriously considered, we knew he would be admitted on his own accord. But he also did a pre-read. We received a pre aid package (which ended up being more than the pre-read.) He did ED admissions - the only school he applied to.

Many thanks for this! Did your DS do specific showcases like Head First? Or did he just do the usual Perfect Game/Dynamic/PBR showcases with the D1 bound boys on his travel team?

Our DS has good grades (4.0 UW at FCPS as a freshman) but is not a pitcher and relatively short (5'10" in cleats, like Mookie Betts). Exit velocity is upper 80's. D1 is not likely but we hope he can get an Ivy or D3 highly selective offer.

[Anonymous]

My daughter went through the (sometimes grueling, often stressful, always expensive) recruiting process and felt very fortunate to land at a T3 SLAC which would otherwise have been a longshot. The entire time we were so worried that she would get injured and would immediately go off the recruiting rails. The other day she blew out her ACL and her first thought was ‘so happy this didn’t happen last year!’. Heartbreaking ending to her high school sports experience but she’s hopeful that she’ll be ready for her first college season next spring.

Good luck OP! Lots of good advice here.

[Anonymous]

Coach called and e-mailed ds. Coach invited ds to visit. Coach reassured DS that he will get playing time.
Coach informed DS that he has been accepted to Business school at their college.
Coach organized ds spend the night at college and with the team.
DS accepted and became a student and a team mate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS was a swimmer so he had recorded times. He contacted coaches and visited the summer before Senior year. He had a high SAT and GPA. Ended up with acceptances from Bowdoin, Williams, and Swarthmore.

Are recruited D3 swimmers consistently making state (or national) cuts or is it possible to be recruited if making regional cuts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC went through this for track, which is a little easier because there is a national database of times/performances. DC got direct inquiries from a couple of schools, and strong interest from a couple of highly ranked SLACs where he filled out the online recruiting form. He did that mostly in the summer before senior year because that's when he had his best times. Did some recruiting visits in the fall but decided he didn't love the schools enough to apply ED, which basically took him out of the running. So he ended up just applying to the schools he wanted to attend, without worrying about sports, and it worked out fine because he had a very strong academic record.

I forgot to mention the admissions pre-read. DC got a pre-read at 3 schools before the visits.

If you receive a likely letter, is that only “likely” admission during the ED round? DD is looking at a handful of schools that do not meet 100% of financial need so we will have to wait for RD and see financial aid packages. Will this keep her completely out of getting recruited or having the coaches support with admission help?

[Anonymous]

Can someone describe what a “pre-read” is? Do they look at the transcript only, or does your child have to complete an application with essays, etc? Did you have SAT/ACT scores for the pre-read?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS was a swimmer so he had recorded times. He contacted coaches and visited the summer before Senior year. He had a high SAT and GPA. Ended up with acceptances from Bowdoin, Williams, and Swarthmore.

Are recruited D3 swimmers consistently making state (or national) cuts or is it possible to be recruited if making regional cuts?

My DS had regional cuts in multiple strokes, but you need to look at the times (and strokes) at each school to see if your child is competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone describe what a “pre-read” is? Do they look at the transcript only, or does your child have to complete an application with essays, etc? Did you have SAT/ACT scores for the pre-read?

Transcripts, SAT/ACT scores and often a resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC went through this for track, which is a little easier because there is a national database of times/performances. DC got direct inquiries from a couple of schools, and strong interest from a couple of highly ranked SLACs where he filled out the online recruiting form. He did that mostly in the summer before senior year because that's when he had his best times. Did some recruiting visits in the fall but decided he didn't love the schools enough to apply ED, which basically took him out of the running. So he ended up just applying to the schools he wanted to attend, without worrying about sports, and it worked out fine because he had a very strong academic record.

I forgot to mention the admissions pre-read. DC got a pre-read at 3 schools before the visits.

If you receive a likely letter, is that only “likely” admission during the ED round? DD is looking at a handful of schools that do not meet 100% of financial need so we will have to wait for RD and see financial aid packages. Will this keep her completely out of getting recruited or having the coaches support with admission help?

DD’s read indicated in the very top group for likely admission if ED and second most likely group if RD. So we had a decent indication that she would also get in RD. She did opt to apply ED and also received a decent merit package, which we had not been expecting.

[Anonymous]

Two key points

ED is the time when a coach has the most influence. Definitely av key decision point.

Listen carefully to what the coach says. If he or she says the v coach "wil support " the application, then you're good. They will use their pull to get your kid in. If it's early decision and your kid is roughly in range for admissions, you're all good. But if the coach doesn't say he or she will support the application, then your on your own with admissions. The coach may be good for advice and your kid may very well end up on the team, but the coach isn't using any chits to get your kid admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two key points

ED is the time when a coach has the most influence. Definitely av key decision point.

Listen carefully to what the coach says. If he or she says the v coach "wil support " the application, then you're good. They will use their pull to get your kid in. If it's early decision and your kid is roughly in range for admissions, you're all good. But if the coach doesn't say he or she will support the application, then your on your own with admissions. The coach may be good for advice and your kid may very well end up on the team, but the coach isn't using any chits to get your kid admitted.

This is very helpful. Thank you. In the scenerio where a coach says to a recruit that they "will support" are there coaches that then do not do so? Are coaches' word something to trust? I would think it is but would like to hear what others think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two key points

ED is the time when a coach has the most influence. Definitely av key decision point.

Listen carefully to what the coach says. If he or she says the v coach "wil support " the application, then you're good. They will use their pull to get your kid in. If it's early decision and your kid is roughly in range for admissions, you're all good. But if the coach doesn't say he or she will support the application, then your on your own with admissions. The coach may be good for advice and your kid may very well end up on the team, but the coach isn't using any chits to get your kid admitted.

This is very helpful. Thank you. In the scenario where a coach says to a recruit that they "will support" are there coaches that then do not do so? Are coaches' word something to trust? I would think it is but would like to hear what others think.

The majority of coaches act with integrity and keep their word. But as another poster said, they don't necessarily volunteer details unless asked. The answers are often very nuanced, and I suspect many 17 year olds may have trouble parsing through.

There are cases where the coaches give their wholehearted support but do not have enough influence. MIT has the reputation (read college confidential dot com) that half their supported recruits gain admission, which is quite a boost from 7% for unhooked applicants. They are generally up front about it, saying there are no guarantees because their admissions office do not do pre-reads. The coaches won't put a candidate on their ordered lists to admissions unless they have some confidence the student will get in, but admissions still get to pick & choose. Sometimes coaches game the system by putting a less qualified candidate higher on the list, and sometimes that strategy doesn't work.

The other cases are where the coaches change their minds when a better candidate comes along. I heard from a reliable source that there was a case where HYPS rescinded an agreed upon offer (not due to grades or social media), after the candidate had turned down offer(s) from at least one another HYPS school. There was enough communications in writing that the parents sued and won. The judgement amounts to first HYPS school paying the student's tuition for the second HYPS school, which luckily still had a spot open on the team.

Both above situations are very bad for the student since he/she can only accept one verbal offer. The D1's usually require a verbal commitment from the student in the junior year while D3's require commitment demonstrated by an ED application. In both cases, the student must scramble to find another team with unfilled roster spot at a time when all spots are likely taken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is a baseball player. From his freshman year, he attended showcases/tournaments. At every tournament/showcase he attended, there were multiple D3 coaches watching him. Since their recruiting rules are not as strigent as D1, he was receiving communication from D3 coaches as early as the summer between his sophomore and junior year. He had significant interest from D3 coaches. They would approach him at tournaments and talk to him, send him texts and emails. DS also saw quite a few schools when going to these tournaments. So by the spring of his junior year, he knew what type of school he wanted. The interest was so strong that if he was not interested at all in the school, he would ignore the texts/emails (for example, he had no desire to go to school north of the DMV.)

Fast forward to the summer between junior and senior year. I know DS received at least four verbal offers from coaches (those were the ones he told us about.) He only seriously entertained two of them. One was a very high academic school, extremely low admission rate. DH and I talked to the coach and asked him point blank if he had looked at DS' grades. DS is not a "stupid jock" but in this area, he is an average student (B+) and pigs would have to fly before DS would ever get admitted to this school But the coach really wanted him and assured us that the school was holistic and looked at the entire student. So he sent in an unofficial transcript for a pre-read. As suspected, a couple of weeks later, he found out he would not be admitted. The other school he seriously considered, we knew he would be admitted on his own accord. But he also did a pre-read. We received a pre aid package (which ended up being more than the pre-read.) He did ED admissions - the only school he applied to.

Many thanks for this! Did your DS do specific showcases like Head First? Or did he just do the usual Perfect Game/Dynamic/PBR showcases with the D1 bound boys on his travel team?

Our DS has good grades (4.0 UW at FCPS as a freshman) but is not a pitcher and relatively short (5'10" in cleats, like Mookie Betts). Exit velocity is upper 80's. D1 is not likely but we hope he can get an Ivy or D3 highly selective offer.

Different PP with two D3 baseball players. Clarification - Ivies are considered D1, just no athletic money (you can still get need based aid). First of all, know your HS and travel coaches will most likely not help in getting your kid recruited despite what they say/rumors. So know this is on your kid/you. D targeted Showcases and school specific camps. Fill out the online recruiting questionnaire and email the recruiting coach with a short, polite summary of stats/academics. Follow up, esp with updates around great performances/"all team" posting and grades/test scores. No doubt you will get invites to camps, don't think your kid is special - lots of schools just use them as money makers, but if your kid is targeting that school and a fit you should go. One of my kids basically recruited himself by targeting a HA school hard, my other was hoping to go D1 but a D3 school chased him hard and offered significant merit money. It's your kids journey to control. There's also a website/message board called HSBaseball Web (you can google the actual name) that has some helpful advice if you can wade through it. Good luck.