The Complete Sophomore Year Recruiting Timeline for High School Student-Athletes

Getting prepared for recruiting as a Sophomore

As a high school sophomore you are well on your way as a high school recruit. Whether you are already a varsity level starter, or still hoping to earn a varsity roster spot, your recruiting journey is well underway. Sophomore year can be overwhelming to think about college sports recruiting with college still 3 years away. But the recruiting process is a marathon and the race is already in full swing.

Know the timeline for sophomore year so that you can not only get in the recruiting game, but win it so that when you finally do commit to a school, it is the best possible place for you to achieve your goals.

Sophomore Recruiting timeline for the Fall

August to November of Sophomore Year

• Plan your academic progress – Check your high school course list against the NCAA’s core courses to make sure you are on track each year. You can even meet with a guidance counselor to plan things out.Let your coaches know about your interest in competing in college – They can support you with training, advice, networking, and talent evaluation to you can make future progress.

• Create and update your athletic resume – Using a recruiting service, you can create a free profile. Use this to track all of the information a coach may want to know about you. Be sure to upload your freshman year transcripts!

• Take the PSAT seriously – The PSAT will be your first real indicator of your true ACT or SAT test score. Prepare for the exam, but don’t stress too much. Remember that college coaches may want to see your PSAT score as an indicator that you will be eligible in the future.

• Review the NCAA’s recruiting calendars – Make yourself aware of any important dates for your sport so that you can get a jump on your competition in the recruiting game.

• Study college rosters – Evaluate how you measure up to college athletes by looking at rosters for colleges around your state or region. Try to find athletes who seem to have been at the same place as you are when they were finishing freshman year in their bios.

Sophomore Recruiting timeline for the Winter

December to February of Sophomore Year

• Set goals for your recruiting – Set goals for your training, your competition season, and your academic performance that will help you attract attention from the types of schools you want to go to.

• Learn how college coaches recruit – College coaches have a rhyme or reason to everything they do in recruiting. But if you know how they operate, you can play the recruiting game to your advantage. Study up on exactly how college coach’s recruit athletes so you can make you’re your recruiting efforts count! I want to know how college coach’s think!

• Learn what the NCAA wants you to know about recruiting – Use the NCAA’s guide for college bound student athletes to learn what they require of recruits.

• Continue updating your athletic resume – A lot can change in a small amount of time. So constantly update your online recruiting profile with relevant information, so that whenever you start conversations with a coach, they have all the information they need like your latest transcripts or updated highlight film.

• Review the NCAA’s recruiting calendars – Make yourself aware of any important dates for your sport so that you can get a jump on your competition in the recruiting game.

Sophomore Recruiting timeline for the Spring

March to May of Sophomore Year

• Prepare to initiate contact with college coaches – Recruiting contact really takes off the summer after sophomore year when coaches can directly contact most recruits. Learn exactly how to engage with coaches and give them every reason to offer you.

• Manicure your Social media pages – Social is a legitimate part of contacting coaches, and some will reach out to you this way. Prepare your account to make sure that you only have posts that will give them more reasons to offer you, and never discourage them.

• Plan to attend camps, tournaments, and showcases – Look for any opportunity to develop your talent, and showcase it to college coaches. Space can fill up fast at things like camps, but know the difference between ones that are about training and development and others that are to get you in front of college coaches.

• Save the Date! – June 15 is when most Division 1 coaches can directly contact recruits through almost every platform. After this the recruiting game will heat up as coaches start honing in on their target lists.

• Edit highlight film – In most sports highlight film is crucial. Edit film from your most recent varsity or travel seasons in order to upload on your recruiting profile and send to coaches. (Learn how to make a top notch highlight reel)

• Share your summer competition schedule – If you are on a club or traveling team, make sure the schedule is linked in your recruiting profile. This will allow coaches who are seriously interested to know where they can see you in person.

• Review the NCAA’s recruiting calendars – Make yourself aware of any important dates for your sport so that you can get a jump on your competition in the recruiting game.

Sophomore Recruiting timeline for the Summer

June to August after Sophomore Year

• Evaluate your commitment level to college sports – After completing your freshman season you should re-evaluate what you really want out of your college experience. Determine if you are on track to play in college and what changes you may want to make to your plan to get there.

• Plan to manage your recruitment – Getting recruited will require you to put in time to initiate contact with college coaches. Set aside time in your summer schedule to research college teams and contact coaches directly.

• Fill out recruiting questionnaires – If you have varsity experience, this is the time when you should go all in on contacting coaches. Fill out questionnaires on various college websites in order to get a feel for which coaches reach back to you expressing interest.

Coach Rob’s Note: Don’t go under-recruited! I put in the hard work for you to know exactly which colleges already want to recruit you, which ones will view you as a top recruit, and how to get their attention. Book a meeting with me, Coach Rob, and see how easy it can be to get the offers you deserve!

• Continue updating your athletic resume – A lot can change in a small amount of time. So constantly update your online recruiting profile with relevant information, so that whenever you start conversations with a coach, they have all the information they need like your latest transcripts or updated highlight film.

• Attend camps, tournaments, and showcases – Junior year is a huge year for recruiting so take every opportunity to develop your talent and compete so you are ready to impress coaches in the upcoming year.

• Follow a Training Schedule – The summer is when the gap between athletic talent widens. Be sure to set a training schedule, and even consider filming skills videos so you can track your progress and even show it to coaches if it comes up.

Coach Rob is a recruiting expert and the Founder of SCA Recruiting. He is also the author of the book Winning the Ship: How to Win the College Athlete Recruitment Game. Available now on Amazon.