Good plan! Are you referring to her reaching out to NESCAC coaches as she waits on July 1st? Is she in regular communication with them and have they told her they’ll be doing a pre-read? Hopefully so, because they likely know what athletes they’re taking through pre-read at this point. For my daughter’s field sport, the NESCAC coaches were taking approximately 20 through pre-reads for 5-6 roster spots- obviously this will vary by sport, and I’m sure is different for swimming. If she’s been told they want a pre-read, she should be starting to compile info. Two NESCAC coaches who were recruiting my daughter specifically asked for some info. in May/early June, and then she formally submitted all requested materials late June, once her final transcript once school was complete. If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me! My daughter when through this process with several NESCAC coaches and high academic D3s. If she had specific questions, she reached out to the coaches. There was A LOT of specific communication/process questions with them this time junior year. Coaches expect the questions!
Yes! She took a little break from recruiting due to AP exams, but reaching out again now.
This whole process has been fascinating and everyone moves at their own pace…
It’s so oddly quiet. D26 is just waiting for school to end and send off her junior year transcripts to the schools who are forwarding her for pre-reads.
After the insanity championships rolling into three consecutive recruiting trips with an ACT and SAT sprinkled in followed by 5 AP exams, we have no idea what to do with ourselves.
Hang in there. Hopefully everything will wrap up for her by early August.
I am looking forward to following nationals next week. Its a good week for a swimmer to have some extra time!
Does anyone with swimmers in the Class of '26 have experience with D1 recruiting? More specifically, I am curious as to weather they have seen the impact of the changes as a result of the new NCAA rules.
My D27 is starting to talk to coaches and we received feedback so far from one college saying their recruiting times have been updated and are now quite faster than what they had posted on SwimCloud. That same college mentioned the trickle down effect and that the expectation is that swimmers will be focused on everything that impacts their swimming performance at a professional level. This coming from a college in the T30-45.
My D26 is not actively pursuing D1 schools but she does still receive unsolicited emails from mid major D1 programs asking if she’s interested. She’s has Sectionals and Futures cuts. She’s talked to a couple, but they didn’t mention times or getting faster. I just looked and it doesn’t look those teams regularly send kids to D1 NCAAs, so maybe her times are good enough?
I just asked a friend with a 2027. She concurred that the recruiting standards have gotten faster for at least one of the D1 mid major schools her swimmer is talking to. They told the swimmer they were adjusting their standards to NCAA D1 B cuts.
Thank you. This will be interesting!
I am more in touch with the men’s side, but we are definitely seeing a trickle down effect and coaches holding out longer to see who might end up in front of them.
Also, I think we are seeing an increased interest in the Ivy League, as fast swimmers seek the stability of those programs. This leads to further trickle down as swimmers get squeezed out and look to other mid-majors and D3 programs. Expect top D3 programs to become even faster. Again, many will opt for the stability vs a mid-major program that may or may not be around in a couple of years.
I spoke to the coach of a mid-major men’s swim team 1.5 weeks ago. His incoming recruiting class is definitely a step up from the usual level of recruits that he gets. The flip side of that means there are swimmers he would normally welcome that he will now pass on.
This was solely the 2035 recruiting class? Did not factor in transfer portal?
He was referring to HS graduates from class of 2025 (I assume that is what you meant). This program does not typically have lots of transfers in or out, but no mention of transfers in the discussion of the recruiting class. Of course, these are not typical times…
This can be expected going forward. More of a factor of roster cuts in swimming, particularly men’s, which have been quite aggressive in many top programs. Some transfer impact, but the reality is that each program has fewer spots and swimmers go to the next best thing. The kids who would have typically gotten an offer at that mid major are probably turning to D3, which is, in turn, also getting faster and THOSE usual swimmers are left without an offer at that level.