My daughter is a freshman tennis player and hoping to play at D3 school. We have never done athletic recruitment before and this is first child so don’t know much.
How do we get started?
Is college recruit tennis camps a good idea to get in front of coaches this summer and if so which ones? We live in NY.
Looking for academically selective D3 schools like Hopkins, Chicago, Amherst etc.
Thank you!
I always recommend THE ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP PLAYBOOK as a great, concise outline of the recruiting process, no matter the sport or the level (you don’t need to be aiming for a scholarship for the book to be valuable).
If you haven’t already, go back and read all the old threads on tennis recruiting, and d3 recruiting, on the Athletic Recruiting forum here on CC.
Hopefully some tennis families will chime in.
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Does she play with a tennis club?
See JHU roster for ideas.
Its important to point out that a 1500+ SAT score is non negotiable at JHU. I suggest OP plans on prepping summer after 10th grade and taking the test in August. Even if the score is not quite there (but close) at that point, it will help garner interest from the coach.
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Does she have a coach to help her in the process?
What’s her usta rank? UTR?
If both are very high then prob no need for the showcases. Otherwise prob a good idea.
International will have ITF rankings/points, and unless she’s at the very top, it would be useful to play in both USTA tournaments (to get UTR points) and showcase tournaments attended by high school students seeking to be recruited. It is also useful to assemble illustrative videos (both match and practice) which can be circulated to coaches.
Most colleges have a sign-up pages for potential recruits to fill, and you can write email with your profile/video/tournaments record to the head coach. Once that is started (normally in sophomore/junior year), they will respond if interested.
Good luck in your journey
Thank you for this very helpful info.
She had a UTR not super high yet (5.5) but hoping to get to an 8 or 8.5 by the time she a senior. She was a 4.2 a year ago.
How do I find out about these showcase tournaments and how do I sign uo? She’s been doing the USTA tournaments in the Ny tri state region for now. L3-L6 for the most part. Do they count as showcase tournaments or is there a different one?
How about college camps?
Thank you!
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I don’t know if they are useful, but a google search turns up many such camps. In my son’s sport, on campus ID clinics were the most helpful, see if tennis runs similar on campus events.
Recruiting happens between sophomore and junior year, these are the rankings that will matter. Leverage your summer to get your ITF/UTR points in range. Typically need 8+ in sophomore/junior year for an academically competitive co-ed college, ideally 9-10.
The showcase tournaments are simply an opportunity to play other competitive players in front of many coaches at once, and be able to demonstrate singles/doubles skills.
Looking at the current team rosters and player backgrounds will give you an idea of whether you qualify for that team. TennisRecruiting.net has thorough data.
Best of luck
There are D1 and high academic D3s with 6s and 7s on the roster. OP just look at the ranges for some schools that are of interest and you’ll get an idea. It depends if she’s ok at the bottom of the roster and not playing much, at least at first, or not.
She should just keep playing tournaments, try to play more higher levels over the local ones, and you’ll get an idea in sophomore year where she will fit. Coaches love to see an upward trend, and playing L3s (over L6s for ex) will give her the best chance to see her UTR continue to go up.
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It sounds like your daughter has made a big jump in a short period of time. College coaches like to see players who are not stuck at the same UTR and they are making movements. Play some USTA tournaments and try to make the national tournaments (clay courts has a bigger draw) so that the college coaches can start watching her this summer.
My son started tennis very late and I just went through this process. He was offered a spot at very selective NESCAC school in August and he considered the same schools as your daughter. For girls at Top D3’s, she would need to be at a minimum of 7.5 UTR by the summer before her senior year. If she could get to 8 UTR, it would be a lock. Of course things could change between now and then. Her UTR now is strong enough for a low D-3 (Skidmore, Bates, etc) but those schools are not on your list. The mistake we made was NOT going showcases to get extra exposure. Donovan has the best tennis showcases and the schools that your daughter is interested in will be there.
Also, encourage her to study for the ACT or SAT and maintain a rigorous curriculum which is hard with tennis clinics after school. I remember for Amherst, they needed a score of at least 1450. A 33 ACT would be very helpful.
She should start reaching out to coaches to show interest at the beginning of sophomore year with the expectation that prereads will not start until the summer of 2026 since she will be graduating in 2027. Good luck to your daughter!
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