NCAA Division I baseball programs will continue to be impacted by special NCAA rulings regarding their roster size and scholarship rules for the 2021-22 academic year in a somewhat similar manner to the way they were impacted during this season.
- There will be a 40-man limit on roster size for Division I programs during the 2022 baseball season.
- Up to 32 student-athletes will be allowed to receive a baseball scholarship – an increase from the normal limit of 27 in Division I.
- Coaches will be allowed to renegotiate scholarships to provide less than 25% for 2021-22 with conditions in place for the following year or years of an athlete’s attendance.
The previous sentence is especially important for baseball student-athletes who were on a multi-year scholarship during the 2020-21 academic year. In a “normal” time, DI baseball scholarship athletes must receive at least 25% scholarship.
If your Division I baseball athlete has been notified of a change to their scholarship for this next year and you desire detailed information regarding their options, schedule a confidential Scholarship Strategies consult online, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or call 913-766-1235.
If a prospective student-athlete is being recruited by multiple Division I athletic programs and has an opportunity to “negotiate” for a multiyear scholarship from School A compared to a one-year renewable scholarship from School B, they should consider doing so.
The reason is that Division I schools are very limited in the reasons that they can use to take away a scholarship during the “period of the award.” Those reasons may not include a student-athlete’s athletic performance or contribution to a team’s success or any injury, illness or physical or mental health condition.
The “period of the award” for a multi-year scholarship is in effect from the first academic year in which an athletic scholarship is provided through the final year of scholarship offered, even if there are years in-between in which no scholarship is offered (e.g., 50 percent in year one, zero percent in year two, 50 percent in year three).
If you or your athlete have questions about how to navigate through various scholarship offer situations, we can help. Schedule a confidential scholarship strategies consult and we will explain how your student-athlete could be impacted in various situations. With this information, you can make an informed decision that’s in your athlete’s and your family’s best interest.
June 15th is the date when coaches in most NCAA Division I sport programs will be able to initiate recruiting phone calls and emails/messages to athletes who have just completed their sophomore year of high school.
The following Division I sports are the only ones that have a date other than June 15th as the earliest date for placing recruiting calls and sending emails/messages:
- Baseball – Sept. 1 of junior year
- Women’s Basketball – Sept. 1 of junior year
- Football – Sept. 1 of senior year except for one call between Apr. 15 – May 31 as a Jr.
- Men’s Ice Hockey – Jan. 1 of sophomore year
- Lacrosse – Sept. 1 of junior year
- Softball – Sept. 1 of junior year
For NCAA Division II programs, June 15th is the date when coaches in ALL sports can start to contact recruits who have completed their sophomore year via phone, email, or direct message services.
Here is a list of resources for recruits and their families:
Eligibility Issues – Not knowing, understanding and meeting the eligibility rules can have serious short and long-term consequences. Is your athlete on track to meet the eligibility requirements?
Recruiting Rules – A recruiting coach’s job is to sell their school in the best light possible. YOUR job as a recruit or parent of a recruit is to have as much accurate information as possible to make a decision based on what is the best fit for you!
Scholarship Strategies – Athletic Scholarships and Financial Aid agreements are NOT one-size fits all and they are not guaranteed. Is your athlete getting a good deal?
Do you have questions and need advice?
For questions about the NCAA recruiting rules and recruiting tips and advice, schedule a confidential Recruiting Rules or Scholarship Strategies Consultation to make sure your athlete is prepared for their recruitment and potential scholarship offers. You can also call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
Effective June 1, all NCAA Division I sports programs will return to their regular recruiting calendars. This means that each sport will be able to conduct off-campus recruiting during permissible Evaluation or Contact Periods.
As you can imagine, this has many Division I coaches excited to be “on the road again” (to quote Willie Nelson!!).
They also will be able to offer official and unofficial visits during those periods as well as during Quiet Periods (when they are not permitted to recruit off-campus).
However, some coaches will not be able to hit the road as soon as others.
For example, in the sports of Division I baseball and softball, the first week of June is ….wait for it …..a Dead Period!!!
To review the recruiting calendars for your athlete’s particular sport, download our two-month recruiting calendars for NCAA Division I and II that we update each month for every sport. You can access them here:
Get the current NCAA Recruiting Calendars.
Do you have questions and need accurate information and/or objective advice?
Contact us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com to set up a confidential Recruiting Rules consultation session if you have questions about the recruiting rules or various recruiting periods.
Starting June 15th NCAA Division I coaches in most sports and coaches of ALL Division II sports can initiate recruiting contact with 2023 HS Grads.
Those coaches will be permitted to make recruiting phone calls, send e-mails, instant messages, and text messages with high school athletes who have completed or will soon be completing their sophomore year.
The only Division I sports that have a date other than June 15 to initiate contact with 2023 HS graduates include:
- January 1, 2021 – Men’s Ice Hockey
- September 1, 2021 – Baseball, Women’s Basketball, Lacrosse and Softball (also Football for texts and emails, but for phone calls, see below)
- April 15 to May 31, 2022 – Football can have one call per 2023 recruit in that period. Other phone calls to 2023 HS grads can’t begin until September 1, 2022.
High School athletes who will graduate in 2023 are allowed and encouraged to e-mail or text coaches prior to June 15 to let them know of your interest in their program. You can then start to gauge their level of interest in you if they initiate contact with you on or shortly after June 15.
Do You Need Help Navigating the Recruiting Rules?
If you have questions about anything related to the recruiting rules or scholarship strategies, Schedule a confidential Recruiting Rules Consultation session online, contact us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.
In combination with the June 1st resumption of Division I recruiting activities, football recruits will have an opportunity to participate in a tryout when visiting a Division I campus from June 1 to 27.
In “normal” times, Basketball is the only Division I sport in which an on-campus tryout is permissible.
However, Division I Football Programs have been granted a special waiver this year that will permit them to have recruits participate in on-campus tryouts.
During an unofficial visit to a Division I campus in June (until June 27), coaches will be allowed to put recruits through a tryout that can’t exceed one hour.
Other conditions for these tryouts include:
- A medical exam or evaluation will be required before the tryout can occur.
- All tryout activities must be non-contact and no protective equipment may be worn by the recruit.
- The university is not permitted to provide practice equipment or apparel for the tryout.
If you have questions about recruiting rules and/or athletic scholarships, schedule a confidential Recruiting Rules consult. Or you can send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call 913-766-1235 to schedule a session.
NCAA Division I Dead Period extended again! The recruiting “Dead Period” prohibiting in-person recruiting in all Division I sports has now been extended through May 31. This means that no official or unofficial visits to Division I campuses are permissible until after May 31 at the earliest. Division I coaches will be limited to phone, video, or electronic communication with recruits.
For a free copy of the current NCAA Recruiting Calendars, go here: https://informedathlete.com/services/ncaa-recruiting-calendars/
Recruiting Tip for All College Levels:
When talking to student-athletes or their parents we often hear “The assistant coach that recruited me is no longer with the school.”
Because we hear those comments so often, we suggest that athletes who are being recruited spend as much time as possible with the head coach when visiting a campus. After all, the head coach is the one who decides who will be in the starting lineup.
To learn more about Recruiting Rules, visit our webpage: https://informedathlete.com/how-we-help/recruiting-rules/
For tips and suggestions to improve your recruitment or for questions about NCAA recruiting rules, schedule a Recruiting Rules Consult Online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.
I recently saw a tweet from a recruiting service about a basketball recruit that said:
“What are you waiting on coaches? [Athlete’s name] is putting up big numbers! Who else needs to tell you numbers don’t lie?”
When I see something like this on social media, I feel the urge to call it what it is – totally misleading!
If you have a recruiting service telling your son or daughter that “It’s all about the numbers that you put up” my advice would be to walk away instead of paying the fee that the recruiting service will charge you.
- Many college coaches – especially in team sports like baseball, basketball or football – aren’t overly impressed by just “the numbers” because your numbers can vary greatly depending upon the level of competition you were playing against when you put up those numbers.
- There is much more that coaches take into consideration, such as recommendations from high school or club coaches, academic performance, work ethic, and how a recruit handles adversity.
- Coaches will also evaluate a recruit’s natural ability and their technique (example: how does an offensive lineman run block compared to their pass blocking technique). Is the athlete versatile enough to play multiple positions for us?
To prospects and parents who are managing their own recruitment, I often recommend that the athletic profile they send to a coach should include examples of their leadership skills, their work ethic, and how the recruit sees themselves helping that college team compete for championships!
Do You Have Questions?
Most of you who come to our website and receive our newsletters know that we’re not a recruiting service, meaning we don’t promote prospective student-athletes to college coaches.
Our focus is ONLY on what is in the best interest for the student-athlete and their family.
To do this, we provide confidential consultations and services regarding recruiting strategies, athletic scholarships, freshman eligibility rules and requirements, and more so that athletes and families are fully informed and can make the best decision for their particular situation.
If you have questions about the recruiting rules or are interested in tips to improve your recruiting opportunities, schedule a confidential Recruiting Rules Consultation online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.
Many people have been confused because the NCAA publicly released the Division I recruiting calendars that WOULD be in effect under normal circumstances.
A few recruiting websites have posted these Division I recruiting calendars to their social media accounts, which has led to some confusion with athletes, families, and fans who follow those recruiting sites.
If you see or hear about NCAA Division I recruiting calendars that indicate that certain sports are now in a period other than a Dead Period, that is not correct.
To get the most current recruiting calendars, along with definitions of recruiting terms such as dead period, quiet period, evaluation period and more, click Send me the current NCAA Recruiting Calendars.
The NCAA Division I Dead Period is still in effect through at least January 1, 2021.
Contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235 for questions about the recruiting rules or recruiting calendars.
