I have heard stories of this happening, but in the stronger academic/athletic conferences specifically NESCAC and Patriot League.
The sport is Track and Field.
BUMP
I’m not as familiar with these leagues, but this can happen at the Ivies which also obviously have strong academics. In that case the pre-read is often to see if a recruit’s academics are good enough for the school, prior to an official visit.
However not everyone who gets a positive pre-read/official visit will ultimately be offered admissions support by the coach - each team has a limited number of athletes they can support - and without that support athletes are in the general applicant pool where 5-10% get in.
With that support people generally seem to get in, although I’m sure there are exceptions, e.g. if someone has bad letters of recommendation in their application, or doesn’t take the essays seriously, etc.
We are in the midst of this for my son, a rising senior. At least in D3 soccer, there are still a few steps between the pre-read and the coach’s decision to support the applicant in admission. A positive pre-read is necessary, but not sufficient, for admission. Once the coach knows where the applicant stands in terms of admissibility, they still will make the decision about who, among the positive pre-reads, to invite to campus. Presumably, not all positive pre-reads are invited to campus, at least not early in the season.
We are already seeing different practices among programs about the significance of the visit. Some programs have said something along the lines of – if we invite a student to campus for a visit, we have made the decision there is a roster spot for that student – unless they demonstrate poor character during the campus visit. Other programs seem to see the visit – including staying with team member, watching game etc. – as another step in deciding whether the candidate is right for the program.
But, if the coach is supporting the applicant, and the applicant has already gotten a positive response on the pre-read, barring any other red flags, things should look good. Even so, you can read these threads every year to see that families still, understandably, stress about the outcome. I wish there were a clear formula that led to certainty, but absent D1 binding commitment letters, that doesn’t seem to exist.
I have heard of it happening in the NESCAC for football, with one former teammate of my son’s specifically. I also had several NESCAC coaches tell me that it has happened when the kid does a very poor job on the application, or if there are serious issues with the recommendations. All of these stories though were told as the exception that proves the rule. I don’t get the sense it happens very often.
I don’t know how formal the pre read process is with the Patriot schools, and I only know a couple kids who committed to those schools (again, for football), both of whom ultimately attended.