Joseph McInnes is an NAIA soccer player from Airdrie, Scotland, and plays at the University of Rio Grande. He also previously played at the NCAA Division II level for the University of North Georgia and at the junior college level for East Central College. With all of his experiences, Joseph started a blog called the College Soccer Insight to educate people about the world of college soccer. Joseph sat down with us to talk about international recruiting, the transfer portal, and competition differences at all different levels.

JUCO vs NCAA vs NAIA

I started at the junior college level…by and large, it's mainly younger players.

Moving on to NCAA Division II, one of the main differences I found initially was the fact that it was far more athletically driven.

I am now currently at an NAIA school. NAIA is a lot more international than NCAA and JUCO.

Recruiting Differences at the Different Levels

I used a recruiting agency to originally get out to the U.S. They did the majority of the work for me. When I was transferring from JUCO…I spam-emailed a bunch of coaches, hoping that one would respond. Moving from NCAA, the transfer portal wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.

Getting Recruited as an International Athlete

When I first started to try to get involved in coming to the U.S., I had no idea how the process worked in the slightest. That's why I went through a [recruiting] agency.

His Inspiration behind playing in the United States

At the age of 16 and 17, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do…There isn't a like-for-like setup in Scotland that can combine your education and playing at a decent level. At that point, I discovered the avenue of college sports in the U.S.

The College Soccer Insight Blog

I've experienced so much stuff in my short time in the U.S. Playing at three different levels and transferring two times, I feel like I've learned enough stuff that I'm obligated to share some of my knowledge.