Ivy League Recruiting

“1) the number of recruits he/she can support,”

This is a number that the AD sets for each varsity sport. The total number of athletes for an Ivy League school is set by a formulation based on the number of varsity sports and the travel team size for each sport. For the most part this number is known well in advance and generally does not change much from year to year.

“2) the AI numbers for that particular class”

Again this is set by the AD and can be different for different sports. For many sports the AI number that a particular team is expected to make is the same as the average number for all recruited athletes. This is something that the AD and the team coach can work out and can be set s three years in advance (the average AI does not change that much year to year).

“3) that the kid is even recruitable”

This is a concern for all Ivy League athletes even those that do not commit early or do not apply ED/SCEA and are admitted during the regular admission cycle. All Ivy League athletes must make an AI minimum of 176. An early commit probably has taken the PSAT during their freshman and sophomore years and probably has taken the SAT or ACT during their sophomore year. Based on the percent national rank for these scores the coach can set a reasonable expectation for the SAT or ACT score ( using the percent national rank for junior and seniors) and if the athlete does not meet the minimum score then the athlete knows in advance that a Likely Letter/admission will not happen. In some cases the athlete will make a minimum ACT/SAT score during their sophomore year and can confidently make a verbal commitment without worrying about test scores (as with all athlete good grades will have to be maintained at current levels until graduation).