According to that site:
It includes recruits and walk-ons! Dilutes any conclusions that can be drawn, I think…
In the case of Ivies and D-3 schools, I expect a lot of the youngsters listed for prospective admission are planning to apply EA, ED, or SCEA.
In the case of the Ivies I hope the coaches come through and use a slot they have been allocated for such youngsters. In the case of D-3, I hope the coaches honor their offer to highlight or otherwise tip-off Admissions that the applicant is a recruited athlete. In the case of NLI schools, I hope the coaches follow-up and offer the scholarship money they promised.
If these things do not happen, there is risk on both sides…but more for the recruit. By publicly “committing” they sort of take themselves off the market…unless they are superstars in their sport who tend to be pursued regardless of announced commitments…and end up only reducing rather than expanding their possible opportunities.
If the Princeton coach comes along prior to summer after senior year to offer a slot, and the person really wants to go to Princeton, I would advise the person to tell the coach he/she will plan to apply SCEA and just leave it at that.
I think it comes down to each person’s risk tolerance and the value they place on publicly disclosing that they are planning/would like to attend a certain school.