Do walk-ons still exist in college sports?

[Anonymous]

Yes, they exist. DC walked onto one of the top D3 teams. But it is very dependent on what the coach is interested in. Someone with similar stats tried out and was not offered a spot on the team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

Hahahaha. Maybe water polo or something esoteric. In a revenue sport, or even a main Olympic sport like track and field or wrestling, the NESCACs would be slaughtered by most D1 sports. The ivies are D1 and it’s an even when they beat a P5 team.

In tennis, they are more often than not athletes who could easily play D1 at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

Hahahaha. Maybe water polo or something esoteric. In a revenue sport, or even a main Olympic sport like track and field or wrestling, the NESCACs would be slaughtered by most D1 sports. The ivies are D1 and it’s an even when they beat a P5 team.

In tennis, they are more often than not athletes who could easily play D1 at other schools.

Unlikely since most DI tennis players are international

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

Hahahaha. Maybe water polo or something esoteric. In a revenue sport, or even a main Olympic sport like track and field or wrestling, the NESCACs would be slaughtered by most D1 sports. The ivies are D1 and it’s an even when they beat a P5 team.

In tennis, they are more often than not athletes who could easily play D1 at other schools.

There are now D1 players that are literally pro tennis players that sometimes have tournament fees paid by their schools. There was a recent article about a UNC player that was allowed to win prize money but somehow went sideways with the NCAA for getting reimbursed for restringing her racquets. It was strange.

You claiming that D3 tennis players are that level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

Hahahaha. Maybe water polo or something esoteric. In a revenue sport, or even a main Olympic sport like track and field or wrestling, the NESCACs would be slaughtered by most D1 sports. The ivies are D1 and it’s an even when they beat a P5 team.

In tennis, they are more often than not athletes who could easily play D1 at other schools.

There are now D1 players that are literally pro tennis players that sometimes have tournament fees paid by their schools. There was a recent article about a UNC player that was allowed to win prize money but somehow went sideways with the NCAA for getting reimbursed for restringing her racquets. It was strange.

You claiming that D3 tennis players are that level?

Pp is way wrong about d3 vs d1 tennis

The gap between d3 and d1 tennis is larger than soccer.

D3 and d1 tennis players physically don’t even look like the same species such is the divergence in height / limb length (on the men’s side)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

This is not true.

To the person who posted this, to which sport or sports are you referring ? (Certainly not the case in football, track, cross-country, and tennis.) Are you referring to swimming, soccer & lacrosse ? Doubtful re: baseball.

I’m referring to lacrosse which I have frequently watched and I know it’s true from talking to the athletes.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]30 years ago, my DH walked on to the lacrosse team at a NESCAC. Is that still a thing, or are all athletes recruited these days?[/quote]

Yes friends kid had a BS Coach call an ivy coach and get him off the WL to be a walk on to the crew team, which has 5-6 strings so the bottom kids are usually “favors” . Happens all the time[/quote]

Happened with the varsity blues scandal, so….

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of volleyball players from this region who are walk-ons at D1 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a walk on exactly?
I’d never heard this phrase until last night when I watched a football movie with DD. It was a true story about Brandon Bowlsworth and how he played for Arkansas as a walk on initially. I understand he didn’t have a scholarship birth does it mean? Can anyone just join the team?
It’s funny how I never heard it now it’s here on dcum. lol. I didn’t go to school here.

Means you weren’t officially recruited and admitted as an athlete but you gain admission on your own, tryout and make the team. Football teams have practice squads so you can walk onto the team, but not a scholarship position (ie you don’t dress for games).

Football is unique that nearly 100% of the players that dress get scholarships. Sounds like he moved from the practice squad to the actual team.

This isn’t exactly accurate. If you do a search for “walk on” and any given team, you’ll find that there are a good number of athletes that are recruited and play in games but are described as a “walk on” because they’re not on scholarship. They are sometimes described as a “preferred walk on” because they are non-scholarship, but guaranteed a roster spot. There are also “recruited” walk ons that are on the coach’s radar, but not guaranteed a roster spot. Division 1 FBS teams are limited to 85 scholarships, can have as many as 130 athletes on the roster, and can dress out as many roster players as they want, but can only have up to 80 actually participate in any game. Allowing for freshmen red shirts, injuries, holding some scholarships in reserve for transfers, etc, they’re going to have a good number of “walk ons” playing in any game. JJ Watt was a “walk on.” Baker Mayfield was a walk on and won the Heisman.

Teams will have open try outs for students that aren’t recruited at all, as well. Those are usually, but not always, on the practice squad. I know someone who was an unrecruited walk on for a Division 1 FBS team who became a starter.

If any of the “walk ons” do well, they can be put on scholarship. During the football season, it’s not uncommon to see emotional videos of walk ons being told that they’re getting a scholarship because of impressive game play.

https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/football/2022/12/17/texas-walk-on-football-player-michael-taaffe-earns-scholarship/69737183007/

[Anonymous]

I have several friends who kids are walk ons or preferred walk on in the last 3 years. And one who is starting as a freshman in the fall. I see this more often than scholarship recruitments in my circle.

[Anonymous]

Rowing

[Anonymous]

Track

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely NOT for basketball.

It was about 8 years ago, but two guys walked onto U of Dayton's basketball team, a D1 team. One was Jay Gruden's son, Joey Gruden. Jay was the Redskins (Commanders) coach at the time. Joey and the other guy, Jeremiah Bonsu, got a lucky break - the team had lost several players due to injuries and discipline problems so there were a couple of openings. They were sophomores at the school at the time and got tryouts and made the team. They only played in blow out games but they weren't cut and remained on the roster until they graduated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My suspicion is that at a NESCAC, probably not. Those guys are all DI caliber athletes who chose to attend those schools. Probably more likely at other DIII schools.

This is not true.

To the person who posted this, to which sport or sports are you referring ? (Certainly not the case in football, track, cross-country, and tennis.) Are you referring to swimming, soccer & lacrosse ? Doubtful re: baseball.

I’m referring to lacrosse which I have frequently watched and I know it’s true from talking to the athletes.

So…one sport. Of course hard to refute or support this as D3 and D1 teams rarely play each other and never in a setting where each team is playing their top players (ie a tournament).

However, I gather you are saying the best D3 could beat one of the lowest competitive tier D1. If you are trying to argue that a top 5 D3 could beat a top 5 D1, well that would be false.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recruit- guaranteed spot

Preferred walk on-late applicant missed their teams "guaranteed spots"

Walk on-long shot, but in most cases if you have the game, they'll find a spot for you

Hope that helps!

Unfortunately there is no guaranteed spot even for recruited athletes at DIII. My son is in the process as a baseball player and we are hearing about how many of the schools he is interested in over recruit and then cut in Freshman year.

+1

Same with my son at Washington College in Chestertown. He was late to the game applying there and the freshman roster was 'full' when he reached out to the coach. My son could easily compete there but the coach wouldn't commit to him before the year started, so we bailed on the school. Scholastically it was below him and they are one of those schools hanging on by a thread so they offered him boatloads of money to pretty please come.

I actually wrote a note to the AO saying the coach effed this one up. My kid would have gone there had a spot been offered, but he's not going to a 1000 student school in the middle of bumf**k without something to do. I'd love to know what the AO said to the coach.