Since it is not her top choice, but only “one of her top choices,” I would not apply ED, particularly since you feel she can get in with the regular pool.
Our D, also an athlete, was asked at a few of her D3 choices if she intended to apply ED. She always replied, “financial aid is important to my family, so I can’t apply ED.” She had all of her apps in by mid-October and started getting acceptances in November. She ended up being accepted to her 3 or 4 top schools with good merit aid, had the chance to go back, do overnights, attend classes and meet further with her coaches and potential teammates, and in the end was very confident in her final decision.
My daughter was recruited by several DIII schools. She did not apply ED, and, in fact applied to six colleges… Two where she was recruited and four where she would have played club or not at all. She was offered merit scholarships by both colleges that recruited her. The coaches were patient with her decision making process. She kept in touch with them throughout her senior year, updating them about awards, tournaments, her high school senior year stats, and reiterating her interest in the school and team. She spent a weekend with each team in the fall of her senior year. She did not commit to the college she will be attending until April of her senior year. She had no pressure from the coaches, but she was a top recruit for both coaches. She was up-front with them about not wanting to apply anywhere ED, but that she was very interested in the college and team, and that she wanted to make a thoughtful, well reasoned decision.
I know kids who verbally committed to DIII and DI schools in their sophomore or junior year, and who applied ED, but honestly, their results have sometimes been less than wonderful. They were just too young at that point to truly understand what they were committing to. Coaches take new jobs, kids change their feelings about the kinds of schools they want, and sometimes kids burn out and wish they had chosen to play club or not at all. Sometimes late in the game kids want to change direction, and committing really early locks everyone into a plan that may not meet the needs of a 20 year old adult.
(On the other hand, the athletes playing at the very highest level, who are nationally top ranked in their sport, are a completely different animal, and are driven by different priorities than my daughter, who was looking at academic and social fit as much as she was looking at the team, the team members and coaches of the schools when she applied. The coaches respected her approach. Not all coaches would.)
@mom22039 All D3. None were rolling admissions. Some EA and some RD. 2 or 3 were very aggressive in getting acceptance letters out. A few waited until Feb & March. D was not a recruited athlete but met with coaches at most of her schools.
The costs and benefits of waiting to commit will depend on your particular circumstances and luck. Our D had a friend who committed to play at a D1 school in the fall of her junior year in HS. A few months later, she tore her ACL. This was not a problem. She got healthy and joined the team on time. Another friend tore her ACL at the beginning of her junior year in HS. She had not yet committed to a school (her “market” was a bit weaker). With coaches not being able to see her play during junior year, all D1 interest vanished. While this was D1, I could imagine something similar happening in DIII. The top academic conferences such as the NESCAC have “tips” that coaches can use to help players with admission. If I were a NESCAC coach who offered a tip to a player who subsequently tore her ACL, I would continue to support her. If I still needed to see more before offering a tip, an ACL tear would unfortunately eliminate her chance for a tip. Of course, if a player is an easy admit without the coach’s help, there is no need to rush.