There are plenty of rules in place for high school athletes and college coaches but did you know that there are specific rules that high school golfers follow each year if they want to play D1 golf? We put together the ultimate recruiting guideline for Division I prospects and the information is below. Check it out now!
Ultimate Recruiting Guidelines for D1 Prospects
Recruiting Guidelines for High School Freshmen and Sophomores
- Telephone calls and texts: A college coach cannot accept a call, text you or return a voicemail prior to June 15 following your sophomore year of high school. This doesn’t mean you can’t contact the coach – it always helps to be proactive and get your name on their radar as soon as possible!
- Off-campus contact: No off campus contact is allowed per the NCAA.
- Unofficial visit: You ARE allowed to take an unlimited amounts of unofficial visits on your own time. We highly suggest taking advantage of any down time by visiting colleges that you have an interest in to see if the vibe of campus life fits what you are looking for. You can also visit the university’s home course and take a look – as long as you don’t communicate with the coaches.
- Official visit: No official visits are permitted during these two years.
Key Takeaway: There is no communication with a college coach until June 15th of your sophomore year which means there are no recruiting conversations and no verbal offers until this date. You can always contact the coach – just know they can’t respond – but they usually do see your emails and are always watching from a distance! Use these years to take campus visits.
Recruiting Guidelines for High School Juniors
- Telephone calls can be made at the student-athletes discretion and may be returned starting June 15th following the completion of the sophomore year.
- All forms of electronic correspondence are now permissible beginning June 15th following the sophomore year. Electronic correspondence can be as simple as texting with members of the coaching staff, sending/receiving emails, or chatting via social media.
- Recruiting materials (non-athletic publications, questionnaires, camp brochures) may be received on June 15th following the completion of the sophomore year.
- Off-campus contact is allowed beginning on August 1st before the beginning of the junior year.
- Unofficial visits can continue but now student-athletes can speak with the coaches or athletics staff members beginning August 1st before the junior year.
- Official visits are permissible beginning August 1st before the junior year. Only one official visit per college is allowed with a maximum of five visits taken total.
Key Takeaway: Patience and persistence has gotten you to this point. Now that communication can take place – use it to your advantage!
Recruiting Guidelines for High School Seniors
- Phone calls can be made and returned by both players and coaches.
- All forms of electronic correspondence (texts, emails, etc.) are permissible but MUST be kept private until a written commitment is provided to the school.
- Recruiting materials (non-athletic publications, questionnaires, camp brochures) may be received any time during the senior year.
- Off-campus contact is allowed no more than three times. Unlimited off- campus contact is allowed once a NLI (National Letter of Intent) is signed.
- Unofficial visits may take place at any time (except for a dead period) and the student-athlete may speak to the coaching staff. An unlimited amount of unofficial visits are allowed.
- Official visits are permitted except during a dead period. A maximum of five official visits can be taken with a limit of one per school.
Key Takeaway: This is the last year of your high school career – it’s time to push if a commitment hasn’t been made yet.
Let the Path Fore Success team assist you on your college recruiting journey.
We hope that you were able to learn something from the ultimate recruiting guidelines for D1 prospects. For more posts like this one, check out our blog here: Path Fore Success Blog. You can also follow us on Instagram & Twitter for more!
