My 2025 son is getting recruited mostly by D3 schools. Some want for him to attend their elite camp? Don’t they usually see him playing at aau basketball or High School June live? Does he need to attend a D3 camp to get an offer. I see kids getting D1 offers without having to go to camps; maybe just get them after the coach sees them or on an official visit. One camp he will go to is a Case Western; they may be out of reach though due to the high academic requirements.
We got a lot of “offers” to come to camps, clinics and showcases that were nothing more than a money grab. Make sure you do your research.
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This tends to be very sport-specific (and somewhat division-specific) and I don’t know of any basketball parents here - maybe someone else does?
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How has this been communicated? Direct coach communication? Generic email?
Coaches will likely make some offers to those who attend their camps. What you don’t know is if that’s how all the offers will be made.
As far as being seen at AAU tourneys/HS June live some coaches will attend in person some won’t. D1 coaches have larger recruiting budgets than D3. Your S has to tell coaches where he will be playing and ask if they will be there or be watching. Make sure your S is getting film from these events so he can package the highlights and send them out/post on HUDL/youtube.
Has your S been directly contacting coaches via email, including academic and athletic info? If not, he should be. He should also reach out prior to attending a camp to introduce himself and ask any questions he has, ditto to reaching out with his summer tourney schedule.
What is his GPA, rigor, class rank and test score? Do you have financial constraints or will he be full pay?
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Both D3 coaches have been in contact. One contacts frequently via mostly text - that school camp fee is only $25, the school isn’t great academically and isn’t cheap. Another D3 head coach called my S and talked for about 45 min. The school is a top D3 academically (similar to Ivy). We can go to their camp an check it out. My S needs to prep for the ACT and take it in Sept. I’d rather have him go to a academically stronger D3.
His AAU coach said several D2 and one D1 program are interested but I think only one D2 has contacted my S 
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Sounds like it could make sense to go to these camps, if they work with his schedule and he likes the school. What did the high academic coach say about your S’s academics, assuming that came up?
Your S should be contacting coaches at schools he is interested in, not waiting for coaches to contact him and/or his AAU coach though.
Have the coaches he’s spoken with wanted him to have test scores for pre-reads/recruiting? Many coaches will have made their class of 2025 recruiting decisions by September.
What does he want? Is he sure he wants to play basketball in college? He is the one that needs to be driving the process. He will likely find a better fit/opportunity if he chooses which coaches to contact, rather than waiting for coaches to contact him/his AAU coach.
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As others have mentioned, D3 coaches, even at the more funded programs, tend to have limited budgets for travel and recruitment. I believe the NESCAC may have a rule that their coaches can not go to the high schools to recruit kids in person on the HS campus.
So for some coaches, seeing them in action in person at a camp is important. Often the coaches want to give them the eye test and this is their best way. The camps are a money maker as well for sure but coaches especially the higher end do use them as recruiting tools, including to see how interested you are in their school. Coaches will even tell what camps they go to.
IMO, the pool for D3 basketball recruits is much smaller than for other sports such as football, soccer, etc. It sounds like your son is getting some real interest. How real and how much interest can be vetted out as you move along in the recruitment cycle. I am assuming that that the similar to Ivy D3 may be NESCAC. Some of those schools have good basketball programs and recruitment can be a means for admittance.
As you make your list of the potential schools that could be a fit, academically, size, LAC vs. University, school location, campus, sports, cost, etc. , I would have your son reach out and email the head coach or recruiting coach and send and introduction email with film or a link to film if you have it.
Also, you do not need to wait to attend a camp to start checking out the schools. If you are able to visit on a weekend or this summer for a tour, I would have your son email the coach and if they are interested, they will reply and will meet with you. We met a # of coaches on campus this way which was very helpful.
Good luck.
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The high D3 coach has asked for test scores. That is the only one. Getting a > 28 ACT may be very tough. He definitely wants to play basketball. That is his #1 interest. His gpa is 3.4. He is not taking the initiative to go out and contact coaches; he basically responds to coaches texts. I filled out athletic interest forms for some stronger D3 programs. I will talk to him more about reaching out to coaches.
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@davidhi Make sure that your son contacts the head coach before attending any college-affiliated camps and, this should be obvious, but, do not have him attend any elite camps that the head coach is not attending/running.
This happens more than you think.
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Assuming this is unweighted GPA? With this GPA and no test score, high academic D3 schools are likely out of reach, unless he would be an immediate top contributor to the team. I am not saying he shouldn’t pursue these schools, but just wanting to be realistic.
Definitely encourage him to take control of the process…send emails, rather than filling out the online recruiting questionnaires. If you do fill out the recruiting questionnaire, immediately follow that up with an email. Waiting for coaches to contact the athlete is too limiting.
If you want suggestions for colleges, posters can help.
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Another reason to go to certain on campus school specific camps is for your family to check out the school. We always tried to include a campus tour and info session (which usually required an additional day) in addition to the ID camp itself. Obviously only attend ID camps at schools you think your son is very likely to be interested in.
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gpa is 3.4 weighted & unweighted are the same. His hasn’t taken honors classes. He is a good student, just doesn’t push himself to take harder classes. Feel free to recommend any D3 schools with stronger academics (just not super high Ivy type requirements). We are in the Midwest.
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As a 2025 grad, now is not the time to sit back and wait for coaches to find you. If he hasn’t already, have your son make a list of schools that he’d be happy to attend. Make sure they are affordable. D3 does not give athletic scholarships, but many do give financial aid and merit scholarships.
He should be reaching out to coaches at those schools, attending camps, sending game films, etc. Outside of the tippy top D1 recruits, being recruited takes a lot of hustle and hard work. Do not assume he can sit back and it will magically happen. Good luck!
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I would agree though a possible caveat could be that for Men’s basketball, even at D3, IMO there is a smaller pool of potential recruits than many other sports. I wonder if the academic requirements to get full coaches support at say a NESCAC for basketball is different than for other sports. I am not sure if anyone here has men’s basketball recruiting experience at the higher end academics.
The coaches of course will provide an indication if the grades and scores will pass admissions with their support.
Going through this with my daughter for 2025. Her stats are a little higher but pretty close though lots of AP so weighted she has good rigor and a 4.0 weighted. She took a test and is not going to submit or chase a score. Ok, this is an info dump.
1-D3 don’t travel as much as D1 to watch tourneys especially the smaller ones. They just don’t have budgets. So you have to reach out to schools with video and you need to send a ton of emails. Go on the college team website get the contacts send to head, Asst and one identified as recruiting coordinator. Send them your club schedule. It is a job. Your kid can’t do it without you. It’s too much time. You can say they should handle it, but realistically it’s too much. Make it a partnership. If you want it to happen for them you have to help. They want but don’t get how labor intensive it is if you aren’t a top shelf player. This my 3rd child and first who really wanted to play. Her brothers had great stats could have played D3 baseball anywhere. Rowed D-1. Didn’t want it. If my daughter had just a tad better grades she could play anywhere, but it didn’t happen. It’s ok, something will work out.
Out of reaching out to 110 schools she has had only 3 responses from D1 but maybe 20 from D3. Had a bunch of phone calls…maybe 15. If nothing else great experience interacting and interviewing. So many personalities but lots of nice people.
2-go to camps…money grabs yes for sure… but at least you are in the gym and they are watching. $25-75 maybe $150. They don’t have huge budgets and pay players to help. Camps are how they make extra $. It’s a labor of love. In late June -Aug my daughter has 7 camps…2 Ivy that draw the smaller d3 schools and 5 that are just that school. D3 and D1. Check out the camp list.
3-figure out who you can play for. Go to D3 Direct. https://www.d3-direct.com/ They have a camp list for men/women’s and seach NCAA D3 Hoops to see all the schools/divisions. D3hoops.com Top 25 - D3hoops. Same for D2.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have a fair # of schools. Look at top rated programs and the follow to their league for other teams.
The more competitive academic will do pre-reads starting in July. Requirements follow regular admission so it’s tough but you do get a little gpa discount path if the coach wants you. NESCAC, NYU, etc. they are obviously tough, Emory, Chicago. You need really good grades unless you are Larry Bird, Kobe or Luka. That good you are going d1. A few we have talked to said the only way you get in is apply ED. That means you are paying full freight or won’t know on aid til late. We won’t do that unless no other bites and a tip top school with a great coach at button pushing time. Tough. You really gotta want it and that team better be good. Many of the schools are deep in the woods location-wise. Do they have direct flights ? Most of all your child really needs to like the school and they need to figure out a career.
Guessing my daughter will be less than a coin flip on some due to grades, but she has identified others through this process she can get in and they appear to like her game. She has good soft skills, music and leadership so hoping that helps round it out.
If you haven’t done video it’s a hassle to learn but not so bad. If your school has a service like Hudl then create highlights and do a screen record plop into iMovie and upload into You tube. Record at AAU games. The June Live period is great. Send schedule and video to any D3 in the area or region. Record that. Maybe someone on team is already doing it and they can give you. Plop into iMovie and go through to find your sons games. We are in CA and there are some folks you can hire who will record your player and create a video at the club games. It saves you all the edit work. That is not nothing, but nothing beats sitting next your wife with an iPad.
AAU Coaches are funny…they will help top players because everyone wants a D-1. If you are more D-3 / D-2 you are on your own unless they know coaches. Her team they all think they are D-1. A few are but you need expectations set right. Be honest with your player. Transfer portal is killing high schoolers for D1 as colleges will take a transfer first.
Last thing from what I’ve seen recently D-2 spots still happening now. Here in CA, I’ve seen Cal state commitments on insta and Twitter this week for 2024 so if he wants to play you have time for that type of school. Out here, D2 ball is pretty good but the academics are not as revered. Bottom line you can give it a try and if not good just transfer and go where you really want.
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I did note a caveat in my response.
It does depend by sport/coach/school/team needs…but, a recruit with lower than average academic stats would have to be a top athlete who would contribute immediately to the team. Generally the NESCAC hurdle for academics is high, with less give than at the Ivies, to take one example.
I do not have a good sense of this student’s basketball level/potential. I have seen senior basketball players of both genders have great seasons, and get recruited to high academic schools whether D1 or D3.
This, 1000%. Really impacting recruiting in many sports.
Plenty of high academic D3s such as UAA, NCAC, etc schools have already been doing pre-reads. They don’t have the same July 1 rule that the NESCACs do.
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Good points, understood and agree.
This is part curious on my end for Men’s basketball as my sense is that the pool for Men’s HS players that are recruited for college hoop is smaller than many other sports, so I wonder how that may impact the academic recruiting standards. Woman’s HS/College Basketball is a little different story than Men’s basketball.
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Selective D3s have a couple of slots they can use to “help” students who maybe wouldn’t make it in otherwise. If he is D1 material, and a top pick, they may offer him one of those slots. He needs to have a pulse and show reciprocal interest, so I would suggest you visit and meet in person. My daughter is doing multiple pre-reads this summer for selective SLACs and we have visited all but one. We generally lump them in with tournament travel. NEQs were a great one for NESCAC schools. She keeps in touch and sends updates and lets them know when she posts new film. We are hoping to verbally commit by Sept 1 and opt out of the insanity of navigating apps during senior year with 4 APs and Volleyball 6 days a week. lol!
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Let me clarify-every SLAC has said they can “help” 2-3 recruits; CalTech said they would love to have her, but they have no sway except a letter of interest to admissions, which holds very little weight. So, some schools DO NOT make exceptions for academics…she is an amazing student, but we aren’t holding our breath for CalTech.
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your take is fairly accurate except the piece about ED. for full support and ED application was expected and pre read results were only accurate for an ED application but for all the schools my daughter did academic pre reads for in the summer after her junior year, results included estimated merit awards and a follow up financial pre read where we were presented with estimated COA. No schools’ estimated financial package was full cost. My DD23 applied ED and had a final package of over 50,000 a year in free money (scholarships and grants) at a D3. So ED doesn’t mean full pay for many student athletes
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