Top College Basketball Recruiting Sites: Are They Right for You?
The sheer number of college basketball recruiting sites is overwhelming.
How in the world do I find the one that's right for me? If any at all?
Here's a quick who, what, why, and how of some of the most popular recruiting services to help you start to navigate the process.
You may be thinking, "My youth basketball player is just getting started. Isn't this conversation a bit premature?"
Well, maybe. But once he/she shows an aptitude and love for the game, it won't take long for questions about this topic to surface.
And from my experience, it's just a blink of an eye before your young athlete is off to college.
College Basketball Recruiting Sites
First of all, what does it mean to be recruited?
The NCAA, which is the national governing body for intercollegiate athletics, defines recruiting as the process that occurs when "a college employee or representative invites a high school student-athlete to play sports for their college."
College Basketball Recruiting Sites
What are they?
The college recruiting process can be pretty confusing and overwhelming for players and parents. There are lots of rules to navigate, lots of colleges and athletic programs to research, and lots of competition for a limited number of spots.
With more than 15 million high school athletes in the U.S. and over 900,000 college athletes, there clearly isn't room for everyone to participate in college sports.
How in the world can student-athletes get found in the crowd?
That's where basketball recruiting sites step in. They offer a range of services from free resources about college athletics, scholarships, and the recruiting process in general to actively advocating for athletes directly to coaches.
College Basketball Recruiting Sites
Who are they?
Here's a list of 11 popular basketball recruiting sites. Truly, if you search long enough you'll find many more.
I've included a snapshot of each service, but it's imperative you do your own research and see for yourself what each has to offer. You'll see their philosophy, services, and fees vary greatly. Follow the links to learn more.
And don't be fooled by fancy websites, online tools, or big promises. It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of the process and fall prey to unrealistic expectations.
Recruiting service
What sets them apart?*
- all mentors are college coaches
- only accept players with legitimate college potential: 1 out of 4 players they evaluate
- 100% of clients receive multiple college sports recruitment opportunities
- clients average $100K+ in college funding
- A+ rating with Better Business Bureau
- Cost: not provided. Call for free evaluation/consultation
- philosophy - college coaches want to communicate directly with players
- don't take active role in recruiting or advocate on behalf of student-athletes
- focus on providing tools that make it easier for players/coaches to connect
- network includes 2M+ athletes, 5K+ college coaches, 2K+ event directors, 100K+ teams
- Cost: 4 plans ranging from free, $19.95/mo, $39.95/mo, $199.95/mo
- world's largest, most successful recruiting service
- first company to bring digital technology to recruiting process
- first to offer online highlight video access to college coaches
- recruit match system which helps athletes determine best college options
- 35K+ college coaches in network
- 100K+ athletes reported commitment to college team
- Cost: 4 plans ranging from free, $, $$, $$$
- largest college recruiting network
- network includes 2M+ athletes, 30K+ college coaches, 25K+ HS and club coaches
- Cost: 3 plans ranging from free, $19.99/mo, $299 lifetime
- over 95% of clients received scholarship offers
- actively promote athletes to college coaches by sending custom emails, recruiting cards, and prospect guides to coaches
- unique marketing tools
- network of 40K+ college coaches
- professional HD crews that can film client's games and create highlight videos
- MVP YouTube channel
- Cost: unable to find package/pricing info
- $13M scholarships and aid for athletes
- 95% success securing funds & placement
- network of 44K+ coaches
- philosophy - college coaches want to hear from athletes, not parents or recruiting services
- extensive online tools to find best college fit athletically, academically, geographically, and financially
- Cost: 3 plans ranging from free, $15/mo, $267/mo
- network includes athletes from 40+ countries, 35K+ college coaches
- athletes received $50M+ in scholarships
- only sports recruiting service to have official partnerships with multinational state and local government agencies
- Cost: not provided. Call to learn about packages and pricing
- only system that allows coaches to run advanced searches on athletic and academic info, see transcripts, highlight videos, and game film all in one place
- allows players to upload 2 full games
- only viewership-enabled video submission platform that notifies players when a coach has watched video
- Evaluation: optional $25 one-time evaluation to determine type of prospect
- Cost: submit video to schools of choice for $4.99/school - $9.99/school depending on number of schools selected
- network of 42K+ college coaches, 500K+ athletes
- Free e-books: Preparing for the Recruiting Process, Contacting College Coaches, Writing a Recruiting Resume
- Cost: all resources are free (due to partnerships). Athletes can create free online profiles
- they do not contact coaches but provide tools for athletes to contact coaches themselves.
- they do not consider themselves a recruiting service
- athlete profiles connect directly to software products used by thousands of coaches (like Front Rush and Coach Packet)
- when Recruit Spot event has video, athlete's games are available for download and purchase
- Cost: all services are free
- proprietary scoring system that matches athletes with colleges based on athletic, academic, financial, and geographic factors
- Certified 5-Star Match Rating System determines colleges where athlete has best chance to land a scholarship
- Official Recruiting Partner for USA Today High School Sports
- Cost: 5 plans ranging from free, $19.95/mo, $149.95/mo, $899.95 one-time fee, 649.95 one-time fee for team (up to 10 players)
*Based on claims made by basketball recruiting sites
College Basketball Recruiting Sites
How do they work?
Typically, a player or parent pays a recruiting service a fee to help get them get recruited by colleges. The service matches student-athlete profiles with information from college coaches. If there's a fit, the service contacts the coaches by email and provides them the athlete's information.
College recruiting services offer a range of packages. Examples of services provided might include:
- online classes about the recruiting process
- access to college coach database
- ability to email coaches from message center hosted by the site
- professionally edited highlight videos
- direct promotion to college coaches
- personal meeting sessions with recruiting consultants
- college funding information
- SAT/ACT prep
College Basketball Recruiting Sites
Are they worth it?
Well, that depends. I guess the proof is in the results. Are you happy with the final outcome?
Here's the deal. It all starts with realistic expectations. Basketball recruiting services can't magically turn a mediocre high school athlete into college material.
Openings on college rosters are scarce.
I read these stats the other day:
- Less than 1% of high school athletes will play college NCAA DI sports
- Only about 6% will compete in college
- Only 2% of high school athletes receive any athletic scholarship money
To become a college athlete, a player truly has to stand out above the rest.
They must have the complete package: excellent basketball skills, speed, strength, good work ethic, and the ability to take care of academics in the classroom.
For athletes with unrealistic dreams who lack these qualities, a recruiting service can't work miracles.
Typically, if I pay for something, I expect results. And though most of these sites are careful not to guarantee a spot in a college program, it's hard for parents and athletes to settle for anything less. Anything short of landing in a college program, to me, would be considered a waste of money.
Quite honestly, I have found that a student-athlete with college playing potential can find their place on a university roster without the help of recruiting services.
That said, the recruiting process takes time. And effort. Lots of it. You may not have much of either. If that's where you find yourself, I believe there are some reputable services out there that can provide the resources you're looking for. Just do your homework.
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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