College athletic recruiting timelines and protocols vary across NCAA Divisions and intercollegiate sports. In recent years, the NCAA has worked to prohibit “early recruiting” at the Division I level, and while there are exceptions, most formal recruiting now begins after September 1 of a student-athlete’s junior year of high school. Division II follows the same rules. The NCAA posts its guidelines for Division I and Division II recruiting for each intercollegiate sport on their website.

The majority of Roxbury Latin student-athletes who compete in college play at the Division III level, where recruiting rules are more flexible. Most Division III recruiting, however, begins in earnest during junior year.

A student-athlete interested in playing intercollegiate athletics at any level should begin by having a conversation with his RL coach to gauge whether there are collegiate programs that would be a good fit. That conversation can begin in the sophomore year. He should also attend recruiting “showcase” events and be proactive about communicating with college coaches through email or recruiting questionnaires. If a coach is legitimately interested in a student-athlete during his junior year, that coach will communicate next steps to the student-athlete, his parents, his high school coach, and the college guidance office. Those “steps” vary within the context of the sport and the admission practices of a given athletic conference or college.

Ultimately, students looking to pursue collegiate athletics should focus on all the same things their peers are focusing on when it comes to college applications: keeping grades up, staying open-minded to a wide range of colleges, and being proactive in initiating conversations with college counselor and coaches.

You can learn more information about college guidance at Roxbury Latin here.