That is not accurate.
This also is not accurate, or at least not generally accurate.
@collegevisit, the way you framed your original question seemed to be about schools where the coaches do not have allocated spots (subject to AO final sign off). The 2 top academic schools that come to mind are Caltech and MIT where being a recruited athlete is âworthâ a really strong EC. That was the way the coaches (and the AD at Caltech) explained it to us. Based on Sâs ACT score and academic record (all well within the range for non-recruits) the most they could commit to was 50/50. There was nothing S could do/could have done athletically to increase his chances. He ended up not applying to these 2 schools because he got into his first choice school EA and not as an athletic recruit, so we donât know what would have been the outcome. But to the extent the coaches could only say 50/50, we can safely assume there are rejections of athletes they supported because of whatever deficiencies in the app, objective and/or subjective.
In terms of academic schools where the coaches do have slots, the process and general possible twists and turns are covered well by the other posters. @Ohiodad51 should âcanâ his post above and reuse it every time a question comes up on the athletic recruiting process for Ivies and academic D3âs. Also concur with his post #14 based on personal experience, there are more kids who get pre-reads, including positive ones, than those who get verbal commitment of support for both Ivies and academic D3âs.
What we would do differently applies to our experience with D (who went through this process before S). We were not attune to the timing of when coaches started to build their recruit list for her sport. We had naively assumed the prime period was summer between junior and senior years. This turned out not to be the case, and we should have started the targeted camp/showcase circuit at least 1, if not 2 years earlier. A number of coaches approached D after camp and told her they liked what they saw, but their recruit list for her class was already full for her position, but to keep in touch in case there was any fall out. It all turned out for her, but it was clear that she would have had more options if we started earlier. I am pretty sure the timeline for womenâs sports is earlier because they physically mature earlier than the boys. From other posts, it also seems the recruiting process starts earlier for some sports than others. So anyone serious about being an athletic recruit needs to know at what point coaches are building their lists (and where they are going).
Ohiodad, what I wrote about the verbal commitments being offered on July 1 by NESCACs is 100% accurate for my daughterâs sport.
^ @turnandrake, that may be, which is why I said ânot generally accurate.â I know nothing at all that I donât read here about womenâs lax (which I assume is your daughterâs sport given your handle). I try real hard to be general in the statements that I make, or if I am being specific, limit it as best I can because I know that many people read these threads over time, and I donât want to cause undo heartburn to parents or recruits who are already going through a very stressful time.
I can comfortably say that for the sports with which I have personal knowledge; namely football, wrestling and baseball, along with a smattering of other sports I have some familiarity with through private messaging here, it is not accurate to state 1)that offers do not go out in the NESCAC until July 1 before senior year or that 2)recruiting classes are completed in the NESCAC by the middle of July before senior year.
When it comes to recruiting, itâs all apples and oranges depending on the sports and the schools. In my kidâs sport, for the Ivy league, none of the coaches would offer an official pre-read until the end of July. They would tell us by reviewing the stats if we were viable candidates, but would not guarantee whether we are going to pass the pre-read until it was done officially by the admissions liaison in July. If the coach thinks the athlete is viable, a verbal commitment is given for the slot and submits the athleteâs name to the admissions liaison for the official pre-read.
@ohiodad51 thanks for providing a very detailed answer that elaborates on the process in considerable detail.
@BKSquared, MIT is much less clear as they have very strong teams in certain sports so I think it depends on where they are putting their emphasis. XC & Volleyball are both top-10 nationally ranked D3 teams - that canât happen with athletics viewed as another EC.
^No doubt certain sports/coaches have varying degrees of influence, especially in the non-slotted/band situations (including the âran out of slots but can write you a support letter scenarioâ which has been raised in some other threads recently).
I would just weigh in here in support of what @Ohiodad51 is saying about the unpredictability of it all. My DS was recruited by two Ivy swim teams and he did a pre-read (all good) at both and official visits to both. But one school made a likely letter offer and the other did not. And it was opposite of what we expected. The more aggressive of the two did not offer. The other seemed downright indifferent through much of the process, and they were the first to offer a likely letter. So, the process can be a bit unpredictable and depends heavily on the personality of the coach. As youâll hear over and over again, donât get too wedded too early to any one team. Itâs easy from a distance to misread intentions. Until you sign on the dotted line, something can change. In the end, my DS chose a top D3 instead anyway and could not be happier. So it usually works out.
@turnandrake and @Ohiodad51 â that must be sport specific. In my kidâs sport, he was among the very first in the NESCAC to commit to his team, and that happened in October of his senior year in high school. I would say the vast majority committed in November and December. So far as I know, none had done so by July.
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@SwimDad99, I agree with the above. In the sports I know, NESCAC and D2 and D3 recruiting generally happens later than D1 recruiting, because a lot of those schools are in the position where they are waiting on kids like yours to decide which way they will go. I really think that based on what we see here from some posters, womenâs sports seem to commit somewhat earlier than menâs, and that womenâs lacrosse specifically seems to be a real outlier.
Lacrosse and soccer were the early recruiting sports, and the higher the rank of the school the more likely it was to commit sophomores (and a few freshmen). Now thatâs changed for lax, and no one can commit before Sept 1 of junior year. Juniors will commit at all levels, and at all schools but especially at the ranked schools in each division. July may be when things are finalized but girls, families and coaches will all consider commitments to have been made before that date even at schools that are very restrictive in admissions like Navy, Ivies, NESCAC. Itâs never official until the admissions office sends the letter, but thatâs true for ALL schools.
It is trickle down economics. The top schools in each division pick the top players, and then the next group takes a sweep, the music starts again, everyone dances and fills in the rest. The top D3 schools are just as likely to be a first round choice for someone as a D1.
I can speak personally about menâs NESCAC swimming and Womenâs NESCAC( and Ivy) softball. Recruiting for 2018 grads( rising seniors) is still going on.
The schools my DS were interested in were not fully sure who they were getting or what the hierarchy would be at this point in his senior year because of the wait for the IVY recruits, team dynamics from OVs, and those all important ACT scores that hadnât hit the mark yet, but might.In fact, he didnât commit until 2 days before the ED deadline, tho thereâs a long back story on that one!
For Softball, only Williams in the NESCACs does the whole deal on July 1. Everyone else is more like mid-August for top 2-3 recruits(for whom they have âstrong supportâ or a âslotâ) and then the process goes on as the OVs are completed and the coaches see who meshes better with their team, and their recruiting needs.Until the established players return in the fall, as the NYU coach commented-it isnât entirely sure what roster spots might be needed, as there is no athletic scholarship or requirement to play, and some players decide they have other priorities.
For the Ivies, HPD were all done early, Yale a little later, and Cornell and Columbia might still be âlookingâ, tho this is for players already on the radar in some way. And then thereâs other high academics like Pomona and Carleton-they were still looking in September. Lesser known high academics like Kenyon and Franklin and Marshall are still evaluating their options.
It really is all like a giant house of cards, or dominoes. Coaches think a recruit is âsolidâ and then she gets an offer she likes better because the current upperclass catcher at a more desirable school has decided not to come back this year, and that coach now has to forget about that extra outfielder and go all-out for a catcher. Now the outfielder prospect has to look elsewhereâŠ
It ainât over til itâs overâŠJust think long and hard before you hit that âsendâ button on the ED application.
^ The above is very similar to how recruiting works in the sports I know well. The names of which schools may jump earlier are gonna vary by sport, but the process laid out by @OldbatesieDoc tracks with my experience. Especially this part
@twoinanddone When you refer to rank, do you mean rank in the sport or the schools rank on something like USNWR?
@twoinanddone Has there been no announcements of freshman or sophomore verbal commits since the new rule went in effect for lacrosse? Asking because I still see them for gymnastics and wondering how they are getting around the rule (itâs the same as lacrosse). :-?
Agree with @OldbatesieDoc on the house of cards / dominoes concept at the academically highly selective D3 schools, which in many cases are the top athletic programs as well - NESCAC schools, MIT, Carleton, amongst others.
For example - student athlete doesnât get enough support in ED1 and gets deferred and then they are back in the game through at least ED2 and maybe RD; all of sudden, coaches that thought a prospect was spoken for is back in the mix!
Iâd say one other thing. If you are an excellent pitcher, especially a LHP, there is usually a spot or two open right up into the early summer. Some pitchers, especially long bodied ones, often take quite a while to develop into their bodies, and the progress isnât evident till their HS senior year(spring and early summer).
Coaches know this, and are always on the hunt for the late developing pitcher.
@crimsonmom2019, for w-lacrosse there were a few 2019s who were announced after the rule change but before 9/1 and maybe 1-3 2020s that I saw. I heard that there was an informal grandfathering in place for girls who had or were clearly getting offers to accept during that period for this year only. But by and large if 2020 and 2021 girls are committing it is not hitting social media.
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In the prior years for lacrosse, the blogs and webpages (like on Heros or laxpower) would put up a page for 2019 or 2020 grads and the âannouncementâ were just people posting on those pages (usually the recruits, parents or club coaches; the colleges donât usually post until the NLI is signed or the ED is in). The pages went up during the sophomore year, and usually the first day they went up there were already 200+ names on the list so someone had been keeping an informal roster. As Bobcat said, a few more commits drizzled out during May and June (new rule in April) with the assurance that the offer had been made before the new rule. Whatever. All rising juniors, no younger kids. Itâs all informal commitments anyway, but no, no announcements of the star 8th grader committing to Maryland or Syracuse. The lists for 2020 grads wonât be posted in January as in years past, but after Sept 1 so there is no where for those recruits to post âIâm committed!â
My daughterâs already in college so Iâm not following the recruiting as much, but no, I havenât seen any announcements on laxpower or other lax forums and blogs.
Sports rank, although they are often highly ranked in academics too. Someone might commit to Gettysburg or Middlebury early because the school is what they want and the team is too. Same with Ivies and Top D1 schools (Hopkins, Northwestern). The NESCAC can restrict their schools from making any offers before July 1 senior year, but I doubt they do because theyâd be at a real disadvantage by waiting that long. It sounds like they have all their recruits lined up and just submit for an official pre-read on Jul 1. The Ivies call it âcommitting to the processâ but the lacrosse world considers those commits. Iâve never heard anyone say âIâve committed to the process at Princeton.â They say âIâm going to Yale!â