Yes - some NESCACs do fewer than others. I don’t know if that is specific to the school itself, or reflective of different approaches to the process by the individual coaches.
Thank you. It seems like a different step in the process depending on the school and the sport. My athlete has done a lot of prereads and I expected the NESCAC ones to be a bit more similar to one another because of their time restraint of July 1 offers but not only is the process different from one to the next but it seems like an initial step at some schools and a much later step at some other ones. And I know that can even vary from one athlete to another so just planning to take the rest of this process one step at a time and make the best decisions we can at each phase.
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How so in your experience? Overall it was similar across the board at the NESCACs including timing. There were small differences in how coaches wanted to treat test scores, Williams writing submission, etc. but most the same.
If you are experiencing wider differences it would be good to have them noted for others.
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For us too, but to be fair we only went through the process at the most academic of the bunch. Could it be different at say, conn college or trinity?
Very good point, it was the same for us as well. I could be over generalizing.
I’ve seen things play out in NESCAC at all different time frames, across all the schools. Some of that’s been due to specific situations where a coaching job was open or coach is new, some due to an admissions regime change, some just because the coach got a late start. The ever changing group of recruits as these students get offers elsewhere can really impact a given coach’s list and timing too. My own D ended up at a NESCAC where she wasn’t even in contact with the [new] coach until mid August, and that process went until the last week of October. D turned down several offers that had sunset dates well before the end of October waiting for the offer from the coach at the school she attended.
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The overall process can stretch out for quite awhile but I have never seen the front end of the process vary much for the top schools with:
Athletes formally selected for pre-read once Junior grades are out and submitted beginning mid-June.
First results and top recruits being notified begins on July 1 (except for Aug 1 for the 2024 class). For kids lower on the coaches list notification can happen later in the month or even summer. Some coaches may give the results of the pre-read early but defer on making an offer.
The sifting, shifting, and sorting then can carry on all they way to the ED date but I have seen multiple kids through the process across multiple sports and the process was the same for all of them for fall, winter and spring sports.
Last minute coaching changes would be an exception to the rule but I haven’t experienced this personally.
Yes, I agree this is ‘typical’. But many times, things aren’t ‘typical’. As for coaching changes….there are plenty every year across all the NESCACs and all the sports.
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It’s possible that it also depends, somewhat, on where your athlete falls on a coach’s “list”. My D’s pre-read process was similar across several NESCACs in terms of materials requested (generally), timing of submission, etc. What varied was when she was told she’d hear, and when she actually heard. We attributed that to priority on coach’s list. She was told she’d hear and she did hear on July 1st from the NESCAC where she knew she was at the top of the list. She was told mid-late July by another where she suspected she was top 10, but not top five. Also, a coach could add additional pre-reads later, potentially, if some initial recruits turn down an offer, etc. as things shift.
In other words, the mechanics in general of the process should be at least similar across NESCACs due to conference guidelines, but timing in terms of when your athlete is told they’ll hear, when they actually gets results/offer, etc. may vary between athletes, based on where they are on a coach’s list/how much of a priority recruit they are for a specific program and coach.
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D26 is looking at D3s from 4 different conferences and the uniformity with which NESCAC operates is refreshing.
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It did make things easier. My D was talking to schools in multiple conferences as well and it was challenging at times. In the end it was a good exercise for her because she had to have some very candid conversations with schools about where she stood, where they stood, and timing of decisions. She grew quite a bit confidence wise during the process.
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Thanks everyone for the information. This has be very helpful. My athlete’s sport seems to be on a different timetable and that seems to account for the differences we are experiencing. I would say it seems like a key factor is where you are on a coach’s list that drives communication and accounts for our varied experiences within the same conferences. Track/Xc seem to have first commits in summer before junior year for nescacs and D1 stretches into fall with official visits.
NESCACs are not allowed to make offers in any sport until July 1 after junior year. Was that a typo when you said “before”? In track, D1 commitments begin in summer before junior year, but you are right that they continue well into senior year.
My son is a NESCAC runner.
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Highly unlikely that any D3 XC/TF programs have commits that early. Most D1s(even P4) programs don’t have commits that early. Actually, XC/TF recruiting is typically later than most sports. Most commitments happen for rising seniors between now and Nov 1 ED application deadline.
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Agreed. NESCACs can’t do academic pre-reads until July 1. A positive pre-read is necessary for a coach to verbally offer a fully supported slot. NESCAC coaches can tell recruits prior to summer after junior year that they are their number one recruit and the like. But no formal verbal offer until after July 1 post junior year.
With that said, have there been rare instances sometime in the past where the above process wasn’t followed? Probably.
Schools/coaches from other D3 conferences can and do make verbal offers before summer after junior year, but even that’s not common in XC/TF
Yes- sorry. I meant summer before senior year! And yes, seems to be only a few from last august posted on IG as the earliest commits.
I think the decision to publicly declare a “commitment to the ED1” process is very personal, and in some sports, you will not see a public announcement until December after the athlete admitted to the school, even though the athlete has been committed since the summer before senior year, so summer commits may not be that uncommon, the data may not be complete. I find that athletes outside of football and basketball are quieter about sharing commitments, though I could be mistaken, just personal observation.
Agree.
Adding…recruits/commits should always always ask the coach if they can publicly post their verbal commitment.
There are a lot of sports/conferences/divisions that do have athletes announcing much earlier than senior year. Many of my daughter’s friends announced as sophomores (which has now been changed to Sept 1 of junior year by coaches’ rules). Even the Ivy school athletes did/do because they are competing for spots at top academic/top athletic schools and they can’t just wait until senior year or there will be no spots left.
It’s going to be even more of a balancing act with the new rules of few limits on scholarship dollars. Of course the schools can put limits on the scholarship, but where they used to be limited to X number of scholarships and those looking for money had to move on once a coach gave it all out, now the coach may be able to find some more money, or a booster can give money or the athletic director can move scholarships from soccer to hockey or basketball. It’s going to make things a scramble in the end.
The students will have to weigh the academics they are looking for, the money, the playing time available with increased roster sizes and a dozen other things. But if the student is looking across several conferences or divisions, I suggest not waiting until the summer before senior year. Many spots will be gone before then, even in the Ivies and NEACAC. The coaches may not be able to process pre-reads or give out official offers, but many know who the top picks are long before then. A student deciding between Duke and Yale or Stanford and Harvard may have to let Duke/Stanford know before July 1.
I agree with you. I just want to add that I see almost zero upside to announcing “a commitment to the process” unless the coach requests it.
I have seen a kid want Harvard, not get the spot, then commit to Cornell, and then have the Harvard coach lament how things changed and they are only now in a position to offer the same kid a spot, but he saw the public commitment and didn’t want to mess up the Cornell coach’s recruiting. Harvard coach then makes offer to a lower-ranked kid, and the Cornell commit is crushed knowing they blew their chance. Similar scenario but with different schools repeats all the time.
Coaches leave. Get fired. Grades slip. Rosters change. Recruit injuries occur. Recruiting timelines can get extended by many months. I tell all recruited athletes not to post on social-media their commitment if it can be avoided. Preserves the athletes’ optionality.
Most of the kids we know who have been recruited by elite programs/schools stay quiet on social media until the ED1 offer is actually in hand. I understand this varies significantly by sport.
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