<p>First, all of this varies by school & sport. but here is how I think it works in many places, based on my D's recruitment experiences as well as based on the insider info I got from a good friend of mine who is D1 volleyball coach.</p>
<p>Most coaches have some sort of understanding with the admission office. There is a "bar" for SATs & grades below which the school won't go, even for a great athlete. This "bar" is a different height for each school and each sport, and maybe even a different height for a major superstar player-- you have to ASK. There is also, in non-Ivy D-1, a # of scholarship dollars that a D-1 Coach has to "spend" to entice players. Finally, in some schools but not all, there is a # of coach-selected automatic admits-- of course provided that these kids are over the school's academic "bar." </p>
<p>Beyond this, the coach can still give 'support' to a ranked list of players-- players the coach does not intend to use a coach-selected admission slot on, but would still like to have for a deeper team, if possible.</p>
<p>To illustrate, say it is D-3 mens basketball at a strong academic school with a great basketball program. Let's say the coach has 4 designated picks (for kids whose grades & SATs are sufficiently high.) If your kid's grades & SATs are "above the line", and your kid is the #2 most wanted kid, the coach can say with a high degree of certainty that your kid will probably get in, because the coach knows that he would use one of the coach's designated slots on you to make sure that you are admitted.</p>
<p>However, this is NOT a 100% guarantee. OBVIOUSLY the adcom would reserve the right to ding the kid due to a dip in grades, any infractions at school, etc. Also, the coach could get fired or something, and a new coach might have other favored applicants. And finally, three better players could arrive at any time & thus bump you out of the top four recruits. But barring something like that, the kid would be very secure.</p>
<p>Now, if your kid was #5 on the list-- the coach could still be very, very enthusiastic (not knowing if one of the #1-4 kids might have their eye on another school & thus free up a slot...) Or if your kid was #8 but had superior academics that would qualify him for admission <em>even without</em> basketball, the coach might also be very enthusiastic-- thinking, this kid'll get in without my help... & I want him to choose my school when he does. In this case, the enthusiasm might be high but, for a variety of fluke reasons, the admission might not actually happen, and the coach would not be using a slot for you.</p>
<p>Finally, one of the "top 4" kids could be admitted for a whole different reason, without the coach's help (for example, one could be a URM or a development admit.) This would then free up a coach-designated slot for the #5 most-wanted player.</p>
<p>Basically, the coach is playing out a hand of cards--- he has a few aces, and he knows how he hopes to play the hand out, but the cards that others (students, adcom) play will potentially change the plan. However he plays the hand out, he wants the maximum number of most impactful players to attend his school. </p>
<p>This is why most coach slots are doled out in ED. If the coach uses up one of four precious aces to get a kid in, he wants to know that kid is definitely coming.</p>
<p>The kids, too are playing a hand of cards. The recruit may be courting a number of schools & chatting with a number of coaches. He may be telling 5 coaches that their schools are the "top of his list." So it happens on both sides. It is always going to be a matter of trust until the application/admission is locked in. </p>
<p>An ED application is a committment to attend the school. A likely letter or actual admission is a committment to admit the kid. Short of that, nothing on either side is 100%. It is a courtship process on both sides.</p>
<p>I would say that before applying ED anywhere, an athlete needs to have a frank talk with the coach about exactly where he stands, exactly how much power the coach has and doesn't have, exactly what unexpected disasters could derail the process, etc. The athlete could also speak to current players about their recruitment experiences and the credibility of the coach. After these conversation, & if this school is the kid's #1 school, then go ahead... knowing the unexpected <em>could</em> happen.</p>
<p>Some coaches asked us for transcripts, SATs & grades early in the recruitment process, while others did not. (I now suspect the coaches who did not ask for grades & scores were either not that interested in my D as a player, or did not <strong>have</strong> any coach auto-admit slots to use on her-- so the info was not relevant to them). A couple of coaches (at safety level schools) assured us my D would be admitted, with or without them, because her stats were so high for the school. <em>Many</em> coaches said "top of my list" in a generic way. Only a few coaches were specific with # rank on recruitment priority list, & amount of "push" they would/could give. </p>
<p>Nobody said it was 100%-- but these few frank, explicit coaches were the ones we clicked with and trusted, because they didn't BS around. In the end D was admitted ED2 to a school with a frank, no-BS coach, but alongside that app, she still applied to 5 other RD schools. She was clear that though there would be strong support & an excellent chance of admission ED2, the coach was <strong>not</strong> the adcom and there was no guarantee until the admisision letter was in hand.</p>