Non-Recruited or Recruited Athlete – Which is better?

When you’re a high school student-athlete, or the parent of one, and you’re focused on trying to be recruited and admitted to your dream school, it may seem a bit odd to already be thinking ahead about the possibility of a transfer to another school at some point in the future.

However, thinking ahead to the possibility of a transfer can be very helpful if that time comes. 

Here are a couple of examples of how thinking ahead can be to the student-athlete’s benefit:

-It’s common for student-athletes to start at a college that is quite a distance from home, but then they become “homesick” and want to transfer to be closer.

If their original school, and the school the athlete wants to transfer to are in the same conference, there may be conference rules regarding an intra-conference transfer which restrict the athlete’s future eligibility.

-If a student-athlete transfers from their original four-year college to a Division I program in baseball, basketball, football, or men’s ice hockey, the student-athlete is often required to serve a “year in residence” attending the new college before they can compete for that team.

However, if a student-athlete was not on scholarship and was a “non-recruited” athlete at their original school, they will have the opportunity to be immediately eligible at the second university.

If you are interested in learning how the transfer rules could impact your student-athlete in the future and would like a personal and confidential consult to discuss these issues, you can schedule online.  Or, if you prefer, contact us directly by calling 913-766-1235 or sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com.