D1 prospects

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the new rule that allows a player to go the Junior College route and not lose eligibility? Am I correct in understanding this new rule?

Seems like the landscape of getting into a 4-year college situation will be limited to those who are ready, while others might need to consider a slightly longer path including a graduate degree worth of eligibility. I personally as a parent went he route of Junior College and haven't suffered a single bit from graduating from the top Public School in the Nation with the same degree as all those who went there 4 years. The benefit of having 2 extra years of eligiblity for potentially a grad degree seems astronomically more beneficial than even getting into a Div1 program as a freshmen.

Don’t forget, 50%+ of any collegiate team are going to be international students.

Can someone get Trump working at limiting student visas for Soccer. Maybe this would give Baron a chance to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college sports landscape is blowing up and IMO, it's not necessarily for the better.

There are no guardrails, limits, etc in place for any of the NIL funds and the "settlement" with the implementation of roster limits is just throwing things sideways.

Louisville in men's hoops this year pumped in $7.5M into transfers, etc and went just to the top of the ACC. Good for them, I guess?

Heck, you have more limits with newly drafted professional NFL players than you do with college kids in terms of salary limits, time at a club, etc.

On top of that, now there is discussion of eliminating red-shirts, etc and implementing a 5 in 5 system (5 years of playing in 5 years of school) just further erodes incoming players securing spots - the non-unicorn 2026 girls in soccer are getting crushed between roster limits, the transfer portal, etc.

More and more players are dropping from D1 mid majors to D2 and D3. While that pulls those programs higher, it pushes those that would have played D2 and D3 out.

Now, all of that being said, my DD is a 2027 and is now actively involved now in all this stuff so it will be interesting to see what happens with her friends that are 2026s and what comes once her official window opens in June.

Good luck to all.

Watching both women’s and men’s college soccer the thing that amazed me was how low level college soccer is. There is little pressure to win and the game is slow. In the professional leagues they would have cut/not offer contracts to 99% of the players by this age.

Yes that’s why they are in college. Because college is where people go to get educated. It is not a pre-professional soccer league. The best soccer players with hopes of going pro do not go to college. College soccer is the end of a youth soccer career not the start of a professional one.

100% Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college sports landscape is blowing up and IMO, it's not necessarily for the better.

There are no guardrails, limits, etc in place for any of the NIL funds and the "settlement" with the implementation of roster limits is just throwing things sideways.

Louisville in men's hoops this year pumped in $7.5M into transfers, etc and went just to the top of the ACC. Good for them, I guess?

Heck, you have more limits with newly drafted professional NFL players than you do with college kids in terms of salary limits, time at a club, etc.

On top of that, now there is discussion of eliminating red-shirts, etc and implementing a 5 in 5 system (5 years of playing in 5 years of school) just further erodes incoming players securing spots - the non-unicorn 2026 girls in soccer are getting crushed between roster limits, the transfer portal, etc.

More and more players are dropping from D1 mid majors to D2 and D3. While that pulls those programs higher, it pushes those that would have played D2 and D3 out.

Now, all of that being said, my DD is a 2027 and is now actively involved now in all this stuff so it will be interesting to see what happens with her friends that are 2026s and what comes once her official window opens in June.

Good luck to all.

I totally agree.

NCAA is pi$$ing on our heads and telling us that it's raining.

By limiting rosters to 28 but allowing D1 colleges to give unlimited scholarships, it hurts the number of players but gives none of the benefits. Colleges are not going to give more scholarships to soccer programs. I've heard multiple college coaches state that their budgets are not changing for soccer. There is no extra scholarship money because, in most cases, colleges do not make a profit from soccer. In fact, the coaches stated they don't want to have extra scholarships. If they did have 28 full scholarships to hand out, that puts pressure on them to win the national championship every year; and if they didn't win the national championship, they lose their jobs.

Plus if you look at roster sizes between professional sports teams and D1 programs, it's ridiculous:

- NFL roster size: 69 total (53 active, 16 practice squad) / D1 Football: 105 players
- NBA roster: 15 total / D1 Basketball: 15 players
- MLB roster: 26 total / D1 Baseball: 34 players
- NHL roster: 23 total / D1 Hockey: 26 players
- MLS roster: 30 total / D1 Soccer: 28 players

So of the 5 major sports, Soccer is the only one with less rostered players.

So all the NCAA has done is limit the number of American players that will get to experience to play college soccer at the D1 level. And it really makes no sense especially with the fact that it is the fastest growing sports in the country of these 5.

Is NCAA aware of all this? Or do they represent the future NFL and NBA prospects? NCAA charges $100/prospect player for a number registration and several players not even play in college. It looks like a scam.

[Anonymous]

Some NCAA schools considering a professional NCAA league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college sports landscape is blowing up and IMO, it's not necessarily for the better.

There are no guardrails, limits, etc in place for any of the NIL funds and the "settlement" with the implementation of roster limits is just throwing things sideways.

Louisville in men's hoops this year pumped in $7.5M into transfers, etc and went just to the top of the ACC. Good for them, I guess?

Heck, you have more limits with newly drafted professional NFL players than you do with college kids in terms of salary limits, time at a club, etc.

On top of that, now there is discussion of eliminating red-shirts, etc and implementing a 5 in 5 system (5 years of playing in 5 years of school) just further erodes incoming players securing spots - the non-unicorn 2026 girls in soccer are getting crushed between roster limits, the transfer portal, etc.

More and more players are dropping from D1 mid majors to D2 and D3. While that pulls those programs higher, it pushes those that would have played D2 and D3 out.

Now, all of that being said, my DD is a 2027 and is now actively involved now in all this stuff so it will be interesting to see what happens with her friends that are 2026s and what comes once her official window opens in June.

Good luck to all.

Watching both women’s and men’s college soccer the thing that amazed me was how low level college soccer is. There is little pressure to win and the game is slow. In the professional leagues they would have cut/not offer contracts to 99% of the players by this age.

THIS. My kid trains with professional players, environment off season. He said his D1 team is such a lower level. Low IQ too

[Anonymous]

For girls what's is roughly the level of college teams? Like for example:

Top P4 -- national pool players
Middle of P4 -- ECNL starters
Bottom of P4 -- ECNL bench
D3 -- ECNL bench

Is this accurate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For girls what's is roughly the level of college teams? Like for example:

Top P4 -- national pool players
Middle of P4 -- ECNL starters
Bottom of P4 -- ECNL bench
D3 -- ECNL bench

Is this accurate?

It isn’t. Not all ECNL teams have the same level of talent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For girls what's is roughly the level of college teams? Like for example:

Top P4 -- national pool players
Middle of P4 -- ECNL starters
Bottom of P4 -- ECNL bench
D3 -- ECNL bench

Is this accurate?

It's not just soccer talents which determines the makeup of college rosters. It is a mix factors and not a simple formula. Because colleges are not just pre-professional sports leagues.

1) Soccer talent
2) Grades
3) Ability to pay

There are very talented soccer players who choose to attend high academic, but bottom or non-P4 in terms of soccer.
There are very talented soccer players who don't play at high academic schools because their grades are good enough.
There are not as talented soccer players who attend P4 schools because they can afford full pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole college sports landscape is blowing up and IMO, it's not necessarily for the better.

There are no guardrails, limits, etc in place for any of the NIL funds and the "settlement" with the implementation of roster limits is just throwing things sideways.

Louisville in men's hoops this year pumped in $7.5M into transfers, etc and went just to the top of the ACC. Good for them, I guess?

Heck, you have more limits with newly drafted professional NFL players than you do with college kids in terms of salary limits, time at a club, etc.

On top of that, now there is discussion of eliminating red-shirts, etc and implementing a 5 in 5 system (5 years of playing in 5 years of school) just further erodes incoming players securing spots - the non-unicorn 2026 girls in soccer are getting crushed between roster limits, the transfer portal, etc.

More and more players are dropping from D1 mid majors to D2 and D3. While that pulls those programs higher, it pushes those that would have played D2 and D3 out.

Now, all of that being said, my DD is a 2027 and is now actively involved now in all this stuff so it will be interesting to see what happens with her friends that are 2026s and what comes once her official window opens in June.

Good luck to all.

Watching both women’s and men’s college soccer the thing that amazed me was how low level college soccer is. There is little pressure to win and the game is slow. In the professional leagues they would have cut/not offer contracts to 99% of the players by this age.

THIS. My kid trains with professional players, environment off season. He said his D1 team is such a lower level. Low IQ too

I remember seeing an EPL game(good tickets close to field) and returning home to see Georgetown play when they won the NCAA. They had a bunch of playoff rounds at home. The speed, speed of play, technical skill and IQ difference was shocking. I was sitting next to parents of a player. They point to one kid and said he is definitely going pro. I thought to myself good luck.

It would be extremely hard to show up at a pro camp having only played college soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For girls what's is roughly the level of college teams? Like for example:

Top P4 -- national pool players
Middle of P4 -- ECNL starters
Bottom of P4 -- ECNL bench
D3 -- ECNL bench

Is this accurate?

Look there are a lot of ECNL starters who will ride the bench in college for 1-4 year. Just because you start on an ECNL team does not mean you are the best player at that position on your ECNL team. Now look at the teams you regularly play. Even a bottom team will have players that are better vs starters on your team. In college many coaches change players positions.

On any team only the 2-3 players matter. You take those players off your team and your team is in trouble. The difference between the bottom 5 starters and the bench players is not that big. It is usually a coaches preference- one player is a little bigger, another is a little faster, player reminds coach of another player, etc.

So no this is not accurate. What is accurate is if your kid is playing ECNL(bench or starter) they can play in college. There is not much difference in the talent level because 70% of P5 and 90% of women college players are from the ECNL. College soccer is a continuation of ECNL.

[Anonymous]

What you end up finding when going through the process is that depending on what your end goals are, you may start looking at certain schools that you didn't previously consider. DD has interest from (4) P4 schools so far, (3) are automatic no thanks because she has high GPA and high SAT so for example not willing to go to anything but the top 4-5 Academically ranked SEC schools. Take LSU ranked around 50 soccer wise but 180th academically.....vs Florida ranked 120 soccer but 30 academically. Guess which one we are interested in, because we are coming at it from an academic perspective. As a stretch also considering Ivys since her AI is within range. So don't be surprised when you see talent further down in the soccer rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the new rule that allows a player to go the Junior College route and not lose eligibility? Am I correct in understanding this new rule?

Seems like the landscape of getting into a 4-year college situation will be limited to those who are ready, while others might need to consider a slightly longer path including a graduate degree worth of eligibility. I personally as a parent went he route of Junior College and haven't suffered a single bit from graduating from the top Public School in the Nation with the same degree as all those who went there 4 years. The benefit of having 2 extra years of eligiblity for potentially a grad degree seems astronomically more beneficial than even getting into a Div1 program as a freshmen.

Don’t forget, 50%+ of any collegiate team are going to be international students.

Can someone get Trump working at limiting student visas for Soccer. Maybe this would give Baron a chance to play.

50%?! Try 99% of starting line up! Definitely needs to have NCAA intervention to curb this abuse of the system by American collegiate coaches.

A dropout from a European Academy has full wealth and power of a Nation supporting him in development. Even a wealthy player like Gabe Segal’s clan would be hard pressed to advance his career in the face of this tariff. Has to be a quota - one or two players tops. They often get full rides as well. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the new rule that allows a player to go the Junior College route and not lose eligibility? Am I correct in understanding this new rule?

Seems like the landscape of getting into a 4-year college situation will be limited to those who are ready, while others might need to consider a slightly longer path including a graduate degree worth of eligibility. I personally as a parent went he route of Junior College and haven't suffered a single bit from graduating from the top Public School in the Nation with the same degree as all those who went there 4 years. The benefit of having 2 extra years of eligiblity for potentially a grad degree seems astronomically more beneficial than even getting into a Div1 program as a freshmen.

Don’t forget, 50%+ of any collegiate team are going to be international students.

Can someone get Trump working at limiting student visas for Soccer. Maybe this would give Baron a chance to play.

50%?! Try 99% of starting line up! Definitely needs to have NCAA intervention to curb this abuse of the system by American collegiate coaches.

A dropout from a European Academy has full wealth and power of a Nation supporting him in development. Even a wealthy player like Gabe Segal’s clan would be hard pressed to advance his career in the face of this tariff. Has to be a quota - one or two players tops. They often get full rides as well. Ridiculous.

Why should inferior domestic players make college teams over better players from abroad? Are they entitled to these spots? Don't we want a merit system based on talent and talent alone? It sounds like what you want is DEI for college soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you end up finding when going through the process is that depending on what your end goals are, you may start looking at certain schools that you didn't previously consider. DD has interest from (4) P4 schools so far, (3) are automatic no thanks because she has high GPA and high SAT so for example not willing to go to anything but the top 4-5 Academically ranked SEC schools. Take LSU ranked around 50 soccer wise but 180th academically.....vs Florida ranked 120 soccer but 30 academically. Guess which one we are interested in, because we are coming at it from an academic perspective. As a stretch also considering Ivys since her AI is within range. So don't be surprised when you see talent further down in the soccer rankings.

How do you know your DD has interest from the schools? Do they tell your coach? Or do they communicate some other way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the new rule that allows a player to go the Junior College route and not lose eligibility? Am I correct in understanding this new rule?

Seems like the landscape of getting into a 4-year college situation will be limited to those who are ready, while others might need to consider a slightly longer path including a graduate degree worth of eligibility. I personally as a parent went he route of Junior College and haven't suffered a single bit from graduating from the top Public School in the Nation with the same degree as all those who went there 4 years. The benefit of having 2 extra years of eligiblity for potentially a grad degree seems astronomically more beneficial than even getting into a Div1 program as a freshmen.

Don’t forget, 50%+ of any collegiate team are going to be international students.

Can someone get Trump working at limiting student visas for Soccer. Maybe this would give Baron a chance to play.

50%?! Try 99% of starting line up! Definitely needs to have NCAA intervention to curb this abuse of the system by American collegiate coaches.

A dropout from a European Academy has full wealth and power of a Nation supporting him in development. Even a wealthy player like Gabe Segal’s clan would be hard pressed to advance his career in the face of this tariff. Has to be a quota - one or two players tops. They often get full rides as well. Ridiculous.

Why should inferior domestic players make college teams over better players from abroad? Are they entitled to these spots? Don't we want a merit system based on talent and talent alone? It sounds like what you want is DEI for college soccer.

So America first is DEI now? American colleges for American kids. Get your priorities in order 🤡