Do walk-ons still exist in college sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I’m sure there are just such walkons on most rosters, but in my daughters experience - coaches recruit for a reason and walk ons just don’t play.

[Anonymous]

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.

My DC is at a NESCAC and it depends on the sport-his best friend is a track walk-on as are about 30% of the team per this friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I’m sure there are just such walkons on most rosters, but in my daughters experience - coaches recruit for a reason and walk ons just don’t play.

My son walked onto a top-4 d3 team and ended up as the captain 10 years ago. He was 1st team all-state in hs, but not from a hotbed state. Recruits had to take a back seat for him, so he almost got cut as a frosh just because of promises made to recruits and their parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC did walk-on for UVA rowing

Women’s or men’s? That’s a big diff since men’s is considered a club team.

[Anonymous]

ODU has some sports that would take athletes in certain sports fairly easily. They are D1. I know someone who plays there and was put on the team fairly easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I had a family member walk on to a d1 lacrosse team that is a perennial top 20 team, I definitely think one could walk onto a nesac team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

yep exactly - my kid is about to graduate from nescac after 4 years and graduating a captain - DC is close with the coach so can confirm this - coach said they will always have endless supply of private school kids who’s parents will pay full boat to keep playing after hs - and let’s be real folks NESCAC is nowhere near the athletic quality of any academically competitive D1 program - not even close

[Anonymous]

What is a “high level NESCAC”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a “high level NESCAC”?

DCUM snob-speak for “not Connecticut or Trinity”.

[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.

Nescac men’s soccer are NOT d1 players

I don’t know about other sports but the gap is pretty large. NESCAC players specifically do not play transitions and counter attack nearly at the speed and precision of d1

I don’t know if the gap is smaller between nescac and d1 on the women’s side

I don’t think so. DD played travel for years but didn’t pursue recruitment. A number of her travel team mates did. The only one who made a D1 team was 5’ 10”. The others played for a range of D3 schools, including a few NESCACs.

[Anonymous]

DC was offered rostered walk-on spots by 7 coaches, one from a NESCAC. Not easy but not nearly as impossible as some suggest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In D3 it depends on the sport. In D1 most "walk ons" are the recruited kids for whom there wasn't scholarship money.

Not necessarily. During the recruitment process athletics may not make the top cut. They may decide they will to attend the school in question regardless of the athletic decision. You never know what athletics drop out, are injured, on academic probation etc until the fall season starts. Walk ons are another way coaches can get talented players without the recruitment time and money to fill a gap in their program. When you look at available scholarship per sport for Men's sports https://scholarshipstats.com/ncaalimits. Its really like threading the needle to receive one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I’m sure there are just such walkons on most rosters, but in my daughters experience - coaches recruit for a reason and walk ons just don’t play.

Not my son's experience. Many are walk-ons due to injuries during their recruiting year. They missed the window. One on my son's team was on a top academy team, but missed end of Sophomore and Jr year and is now a starter after walking on Freshmen year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I’m sure there are just such walkons on most rosters, but in my daughters experience - coaches recruit for a reason and walk ons just don’t play.

Not my son's experience. Many are walk-ons due to injuries during their recruiting year. They missed the window. One on my son's team was on a top academy team, but missed end of Sophomore and Jr year and is now a starter after walking on Freshmen year.

Look at some of the breakout stars in March Madness that had zero recruits after them and didn't start in D1, walk ons. Same happens in Football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI, just posted above re: NESCAC recruiting. I am reading about over recruiting in some posts and it does seem like that is a thing in some schools. That is not the case from what I saw with NESCAC. The schools are hard to get in and expensive. There are a lot of interested players who want to play but by the time you narrow the pool to those who can get in (even with coach support you need good grades/scores/etc.), afford the school (most NESCAC do not have merit and though most are need blind, they are very expensive schools if full pay), and play at the competitive level, the numbers shrink dramatically. Therefore, I don’t the coaches are over recruiting which is why I think they welcome walk-ons (if you have the talent).

This is exactly right. For many sports, they can only offer 2 or 3 spots each year. They count on walk-ons. And I'm talking high level NESCACS. I know you NESCACS dads want to believe your kid is above playing with walk-ons. As a parent of a NESCAC recruited lacrosse player, I promise you, there are walk-ons.

I’m sure there are just such walkons on most rosters, but in my daughters experience - coaches recruit for a reason and walk ons just don’t play.

Not my son's experience. Many are walk-ons due to injuries during their recruiting year. They missed the window. One on my son's team was on a top academy team, but missed end of Sophomore and Jr year and is now a starter after walking on Freshmen year.

Look at some of the breakout stars in March Madness that had zero recruits after them and didn't start in D1, walk ons. Same happens in Football.

You may be correct...but give one example. I have heard of the kids where their only offer was School X in a lower-division conference...they did great and then started transferring through the portal to better and better schools. However, I have not heard of any player in March Madness that started as a walk-on.

Again, would be curious for one name from just the last year or two (since prior to the transfer portal, a walk-on is meaningless).