We have been through this process twice now, daughter swam mid major D1, her power index was in the low 30’s, see received about 3000/yr in athletic money and large merit money, but woman’s college swimming is a totally different ball game than men, they have more roster spots and more $, the roster spots are important in men’s swimming if you are looking to for a walk on spot, those are not unlimited. You have to make sure you are clarifying with the coach you are a preferred walk on with assured spot, not just show up in fall and hope they still have room on team. My son, 2021 will be swimming this fall D1 on one of the power 5 conferences, his power index is around 13, and he has summer junior times. He has large merit and athletic money which was needed with out of state tuition costs. But his experience, whether simply due to covid affects on athletics, or just being a guy, was brutal compared to his sister, limits in roster spots are going to be an issue due to the extra year of eligibility granted by NCAA so make sure you know what kind of commitment you are or are not getting from a coach. And yes it is very typical for a coach to have recruiting minimum standards that is seems few on the current team meet… Hard to explain or understand. It also depends on what type of stroke you swimmer specializes in, swimmers who can contribute to relays are a bigger draw for coaches than those who are distance or 200 strokes other than free style. NLI signing period for swimming opens in late November but continues throughout the year after that, my son was expelled to sign on opening day but which is typical for the competitive conferences, but most mid major D1 and D2 programs usually have later in senior year recruit signing. Preferred walk on’s will not generally sign a NLI as you must be offered athletic money for a NLI to come into play, but some schools will offer a small amount, like just book money for preferred walk on’s so they are able to have a signing. Remember though, without a signed letter of intent, both the coach/school and your son only have a verbal agreement, which can be broken by either side. This happens more when you have a coaching change at a school, but also sometimes happens when a school makes contact and moves forward with late committing international swimming athletes whose process is different than your typical US high school athlete. D2 swimming is full of international swimmers. Remember also that there are some NAIA schools out there as well that can also offer $ and allow a swimmer to progress and then transfer to D1/D2.
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