Volleyball Recruiting Thoughts from Sunshine Qualifier, 2026

Where do we go from here?

This is the question I was asking myself walking to my gate in the Orlando airport. Not for me personally, but in regards to recruiting for volleyball athletes. What do the next few months look like? What do the next couple of years look like? There are lots of questions to be answered and the recruiting rules will change, but that is at least a year down the road.

In the short term, what do athletes need to do for the next few months before Nationals and summer hits? What do athletes need to PLAN on doing in the next 12 months in order to secure one of these elusive roster spots at the college level?

What to do in the next few months...

More. Do more.

I'm honestly not trying to over simplify this process right now, but I was struck by the contrast of walking only a few courts in one direction or the other while in the 1/2 long convention center. The contrast in the amount of college coaches was extremely apparent to me. Now, one would say that's the difference between playing Open and not playing open. Sure, I can understand that mindset. I don't think it is necessarily accurate though. Go back and read my last post about Triple Crown and it might make more sense.

To me, the contrast in college coaches on courts was brought on by the lack of engagement and reactive nature of recruiting that so many athletes take on. I'm watching a team of talented athletes. Several of which can easily play at the D1 level. Plenty of athleticism, arm speed and skill to play D2. But no college coaches. I'm not talking about one match. I'm talking about watching 4 of their 6 matches over 2 days and almost no college coaches. To me that simply means they aren't doing enough. The "coaches will see me if I'm good enough" mindset is rampant.

• Send more emails

• Do more to convince them of your interest level

• Do more on social media

What to do in the next year...

Find your targets early.

You realistically have very few opportunities to get in front of college coaches. 3 Qualifiers a year; plus maybe a camp or 2. That's not really a lot when you think about it. Especially when every coach isn't coming to each of your qualifiers. The more realistic your list, the more time those colleges will be able to watch you play. If Baylor isn't going to be recruiting you a year from now, you don't need to email them now. They might watch you a little bit and do their due diligence with your film from your email, but when it comes to qualifiers and tournaments, they are spending the most time with their top athletes.

• Be realistic about your school list

• Don't let them forget about you

• Don't look for shortcuts

Hard work and dedication is what puts you into that top 5% of high school volleyball athletes that end up playing college volleyball at ALL levels.

• College coaches want you to invest your time and energy into this process.

• They want to see what you are willing to do.

• They want to see how hard you're willing to work.

• They want to see how badly you want this.