Hi, I am currently a sophomore and I play basketball in college at the naia level. I was looking to transfer. How would that process work if I wanted to go across the country? Would I need to fly out to try out? And what can I do to make sure I get a school I really like? The school I am currently at the coach talked it up a lot and once I got there the program was completely different in a negative way. We literally have 20 min practices. Also one of the schools I’m interested in is a NCAA d2 and I current play at a NAIA d1
My D transferred for basketball, D3 to D3, but she considered D1 and NAIA schools as part of the process, so I’d looked into things a bit. There are permission to contact and release rules that need to be followed. I assume the info in these articles is current and correct, but best to double check things on your own:
https://www.athleticscholarships.net/college-transfer-4-4.htm
http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211041913
It’s so hard to know how a basketball program and a school will be until one is actually there. I don’t think there’s a magic formula for picking the ideal situation. My D had a similar experience to yours, where the first coach made some misrepresentations. My D liked the school fine, but she likes her new school better. Season starts today, so we will see if the new basketball program turns out how we think it will.
For transfer, D reached out to coaches that had recruited her out of HS, sent updated film, and told them she’d be applying for transfer. So maybe a starting point for you would be similar–reconsider some of the other options you had coming out of HS.
Ask the coaches of the schools you’re interested in what their tryout process is. Here’s some general info on D2 tryouts:
https://www.gobigrecruiting.com/blog/2014/06/ncaa-dii-tryout-rules-updated/
When transferring, it really is all on you to get noticed, to send game video, etc. You can look up the rules for transferring from NAIA, but I don’t think it should be difficult. See if you need your coach’s permission before contacting other NAIA coaches. If you didn’t register with the Clearinghouse, you may have to do that to switch to NCAA schools.
Thank you so much. So when she was starting to consider transferring did she start reaching out right after her season or during the season? My coach waits until May to tell us if he is bringing us back to the team.
Thank you so much. So when she was starting to consider transferring did she start reaching out right after her season or during the season? My coach waits until May to tell us if he is bringing us back to the team. @sanmln
@kaywestt She had an unusual situation that involved having to withdraw from school right after season due to health issues. She went to a JC in the fall for one semester, didn’t play there b/c she wanted to transfer to the new D3 in the spring, which she did. She was able to do spring workouts with the new D3 team once their season was over, and actually could have joined the team mid-season, but chose to wait until this new season to actually be rostered.
My point of all of that is our situation won’t parallel yours enough for me to give you a truly helpful answer. But I don’t think you can start reaching out to coaches during season since you’ll need to get a release/permission to contact, and that would be really awkward during season. You don’t want to burn any bridges.
If my D had been in your situation, I would have told her to get through this season. If she still wanted to transfer after sophomore season regardless of being brought back to the team or not for junior year, I’d have had her start the basketball transfer process as soon as sophomore season ended. If transfer hinged on what the current coach said in May, then I would have told her to wait until May to start the basketball transfer process.
All that being said, you have to look at the academic side of this, too. I think a lot of NAIA and D2 schools may have rolling admissions, so that would make things easier. But check out transfer application deadlines for the schools you’re interested in, b/c the dates could be in May or June.
@sanmln okay thank you so much for your advice and I’m very glad you daughter loves her new school!
You’re welcome! Good luck with everything, and I hope you find the right fit going forward!
@sanmln Thank you and I have one more question. How do you make sure you have enough credits to transfer and qualify as a junior?
Academic status to qualify as a junior will vary by institution, as far as I’ve seen. For basketball transfer purposes, you generally have to have been enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits per semester before transferring. But that number of credits could be add up to be less than what you’d need to academically be a junior at your new school.
So basically, if you qualify academically at the new school to be a junior when you get there, that should be enough for you to be qualified athletically, the way I understand it.