@8bagels I wonder about how highly regarded LAC athletic recruits are in sports that have a national following. I imagine that in “preppy” sports like lacrosse, polo, crew, squash, etc, the LACs are able to recruit fairly well, although even there the very best athletes tend to get snatched up by the Ivies.
In sports with a larger national talent pool, like tennis, I bet LAC recruits aren’t anywhere close to being nationally ranked players. I can relay to you this story. There was a player from my home state who was the #1 nationally ranked player in tennis in 3 separate USTA age groups. He ended up playing for Harvard. Another kid, who had the same coach, never cracked the top regional rankings in the state (ranked below the top 100 in the state) and ended up playing tennis for Swarthmore as a freshman.
The kid who played for Harvard was a great tennis player who was also a good student. The kid who went to Swarthmore was a great student who was also a decent tennis player. Very different athletic and scholastic profiles, though both played varsity tennis for their schools.