Throughout your recruiting process, coaches will be watching you, along with other athletes, and moving you around on their recruiting board. The board is where college coaches organize all of their recruits according to who they want most on the team. As the recruiting process progresses and coaches watch and meet with recruits, they will start rearranging their boards accordingly.

It's important to know when coaches are most likely to rearrange their recruiting boards so you can be prepared for changes in coaches' behavior towards you. These are also key times to increase contact with coaches you are most interested in so they see your commitment to the sport and interest in their program

We compiled this timeline of when coaches are most likely to rearrange their recruiting boards from personal experience, research, and notes from US Today, High School Sports. 

Sophomore Year

During your sophomore year, coaches can't reach out to you, but you can reach out to them, and they can follow you and your stats. At this point, you're really developing as an athlete, and coaches can see how you improve, deal with adversity, and grow into being a more experienced athlete. Starting your junior year, coaches will be able to contact you, so the end of your sophomore year and over the summer is a key time for coaches to start moving athletes around the board as they decide who to put on the backburner and who to begin actively recruiting.

Related: Reaching out to Coaches

Junior Year

During your junior year, coaches can start actively recruiting you. They can go to games and consider your talents, as well as how you handle wins and losses in a game setting. Before the season starts, they will move athletes around on the recruiting board to decide who is worth scouting in-person. At the end of the season, they will assess all of their recruits and rearrange the board accordingly.

During this time, coaches will also invite you for campus visits and get to know you as more than just an athlete. They will take this time to evaluate you as a student and decide whether you would be a good fit on the team and campus.

Related: College Coaches Using You to Recruit Other Athletes

Senior Year

Summer

Coaches have to start seriously considering who to make offers to, as the signing dates will be coming up in Fall and Spring of your senior year. Their recruiting boards will be narrowed down to athletes they really want on the team, and organized by most valuable recruits.

Related: Different Divisions, Different Intent Agreements for Athletes

During the School Year

This is when coaches will be rearranging their recruiting boards the most. They will have made offers to the recruits they are most interested in, and rearrange the board according to the recruits' responses. Some lower recruits may move up on the board as higher recruits commit to other schools and spots open up. Some recruits may lose their offer as others commit more quickly. Make sure to keep in touch with coaches during this time because you want to stay in up to date on your position on their recruiting board.

* Originally published on May 4, 2022, by 2aDays Staff