The New Recruiting Battle

I've talked about this before on my podcast and it's a topic that I have been communicating about for at least the last year. I talk about scholarship opportunities a lot; what's available; how many are available; what positions schools are most likely looking for. All of that is for the purpose of seeing where you stack up compared to the rest of the country and what might be realistic. So that if you're a parent of a Libero you understand that scholarship opportunities are few and far between. That meeting with the head coach while you're on campus will go a lot better if you're prepared for what's coming.

But now athletes are not just competing with athletes in their own class for scholarships and roster spots across levels, they are also competing against transfers. There has always been a market for transfers. But it was a significantly smaller market than it is now. I think the desire to transfer is greater because it is so simple now. Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to find a new home for whatever reason. But for athletes on this end, it certainly can make things more challenging.

I multiple conversations with college coaches this fall that went something like this:

Me - "How are you guys doing with the 23 class?"

Coach - "We've got 2 committed right now and we are still looking to add at least 1 more. But we are waiting to see what pops up on the transfer portal before we move on with anyone else."

All the more reason to make sure that the home you choose is the best option for you and the option you want the most.

As of this morning, these were the numbers on the portal. (D1 and D2 athletes)

502 - with more than 1 year of eligibility

298 - Grad transfers (1 year)

I'm not sure that this necessarily translates to 800 fewer options for athletes on this end. But I would argue that it certainly limits opportunities for athletes on this end in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 classes going forward. Libero's and setters are always tough positions to find homes for because there are so many in those positions playing high school and club volleyball. Now just add the 15 Libero's and 5 setters that went into the portal over the weekend to that competition and the battle for finding a college volleyball home just got harder.

I would expect over the next few weeks that number will increase a little bit. I think that this will have an impact all the way until the fall 2024 volleyball season. Hopefully then we will start to see the transfer numbers decrease a little bit.

For now the transfer portal needs to be a piece of the recruiting equation. These numbers need to be taken into account when we are talking about what scholarships are available and what roster spots are available.

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