The D3Direct Newsletter
Join our community of over 2,500 subscribers and get:
The weekly D3 recruiting email – an actionable post every week (think of it as your mid-week D3 recruiting boost.)
‘Scholarship Sunday’ - a weekly series where we share resources & upcoming scholarships to help future D3 Athletes pay less for college.
Bonus: Get our College Recruiting Checklist with actionable steps recruits can take during all four years of high school.
D3 Coach Conversation - Shane Loeffler (Swarthmore MBB)
We launched our live Q&A series with D3 coaches to make it easier for our readers to get their questions about school, sports, and admissions answered directly. And it has already lead to our subscribers getting D3 college offers.
Our next two Live Q&A’s: May 3rd with Case Western Head Coach Todd McGuinness and May 10th with Brandeis Head Coach Jean Bain
In this most recent episode, we were joined by the Head Coach of Swarthmore College Men’s Basketball, Shane Loeffler.
Do D3 Athletes Need the NCAA Clearinghouse?
Parents and athletes stress over getting "cleared" by the NCAA Clearinghouse (now officially known as the NCAA Eligibility Center).
For D1 and D2 hopefuls, it’s a mandatory hoop to jump through complete with registration fees, complex core-course GPA calculations, and official amateurism certifications.
But if your target schools are in Division III aka D3? You can take a deep breath and skip the red tape. Here is exactly why D3 recruits don't need to stress over the Eligibility Center, and the one free step you actually should take instead.
Former D3 Athletes Coaching in D1 Men’s Basketball March Madness
We’re spotlighting the former D3 Athletes & Coaches who are now leading a team as a Head Coach in the 2026 D1 Men’s Basketball Tournament - otherwise known as March Madness.
In this year’s March Madness field alone, there are number of squads to root for: 11 Teams coached by a former D3 player (+1 borderline “D3” cases) and 5 Teams coached by a former D3 coach.
The D3Directory
We’ve consolidated every single D3 men’s basketball program into one streamlined platform designed for recruits and their families.
Verified Contact Info: Head coach emails for each school
Fully Sortable: Filter by state, conference, or school to find your perfect fit
Built for Efficiency: Turn hours of research into a few clicks
Stop searching. Start connecting.
2026 D3 Basketball Bracket Game
The calendar has turned to March and the fields of 64 for the 2026 Women’s and Men’s NCAA D3 Basketball tournaments are set.
Now it’s time for you to make your picks in our D3 Bracket Games!
D3 Coach Conversation - Justin Lunt
The Head Coach of Pacific University Men’s Basketball, Justin Lunt, joins us for a Live Q&A on Sunday, 3/8/26 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
This is a series designed to help high school recruits get their questions answered directly by college coaches.
Parent Guidance for D3 Recruiting
Hey parents, this one’s for you.
You care. You’re organized. You want to help your kid find the best fit — athletically, academically, and financially.
But here’s the truth: When it comes to D3 recruiting, the best parent is a measured co-pilot, not the leader of the process.
Underutilized Admissions Hack - Demonstrated Interest
In this post we show you how to use an underutilized admissions hack - demonstrated interest - to increase the likelihood that you are admitted to the top schools on your college list.
We included five total examples with insights from D3 coaches & specific D3 school examples to make this as relevant as possible.
Rei Halloran - From D3 Hockey to the Winter Olympics
Today, we are sharing another conversation with a former D3 athlete, this time with Rei Halloran of Wesleyan University Women’s Ice Hockey.
Rei plays professionally for Järnbrotts HK in Sweden and more recently took the ice for Team Japan in the 2026 Winter Olympics from Milan, Italy.
D3 Sports Recruiting Glossary
We define the core D3 Sports Recruiting terms that recruits and their families should know. The suggestion for this topic came from the parent of a recruit who said they were having trouble keeping up with all of the jargon they were encountering.
If there’s another D3 recruiting term you’re struggling with, let us know and we will add it to the full glossary.
Choosing Your Best Fit D3 School
When recruits talk about “finding the right fit,” they usually mean one thing: Where can I play?
That matters, but it’s only part of the equation.
Here are four factors that should shape every D3 recruit’s decision, straight from conversations with coaches who’ve seen recruits get this right (and very wrong).
Leveling the Playing Field in D3 Recruiting
Last week, we officially launched the D3 Recruiting Playbook - our self-paced, step-by-step guide designed to demystify the NCAA Division III recruiting process for families.
I want to be transparent about how it is going - and let you know how you can help us help more recruits.
Your Chances to Play a Sport in College
Playing a college sport is a privilege.
Out of the 7+ million high school athletes in the U.S., only ~6.4% or 450,000 end up playing their sport in one of the NCAA’s three divisions (D1, D2, or D3)
Today we dig a level deeper and bring you tangible insights into what this means for your chances to play your sport in particular.
Write Emails that College Coaches Will Open
We show you how to write an effective initial outreach email to a college coach that they’ll want to open.
We include insights from our Founder’s own recruiting process that got him recruited by a dozen D3 schools
Plus, insights from a D3 Head Coach who reviewed the template email and left their comments.
D3 NIL Insights
We caught up with Emory men’s basketball guard Jair Knight to learn how he is utilizing his NIL rights.
Jair, and many others, are redefining what’s possible for D3 athletes, combining high-level performance on the court with meaningful opportunities beyond it.
Let’s unpack some D3 NIL Insights…
Jay Bilas’ D3 Basketball Tournament
The Jay Bilas Classic is back!
Four top teams in D3 men’s basketball will head to Charlotte, NC - Emory, TCNJ, Christopher Newport, and Denison.
We spoke with the event organizer, a former D3 athlete & coach, to understand how they build the field and what goes into the event.
D3 Coach Conversation - Cory White
The Head Coach of Whittier College Football, Cory White, joins us for a LIVE Q&A on 12/17 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT
Coach White is the head football coach at Whittier College, leading the return of the Poets’ NCAA D3 football program.
We’re looking forward to having him on our program to get his insights on D3 Recruiting, building a program from scratch, his D3 student-athlete experience at Whittier, and much more.
Official vs. Unofficial D3 Campus Visits
In this post, we’re breaking down the difference between an official and unofficial visit at the NCAA Division III level.
We review the options permitted for both under current NCAA rules, and how to be clear what type of visit you’re on.
NCAA D3 Eligibility: What Recruits Actually Need to Know
Here’s the good news: D3 has the easiest eligibility rules of any NCAA division.
There’s no sliding scale. No clearinghouse fees. No 40-page NCAA certification gauntlet.
All in all, it is much simpler than if you wanted to play a D1 sport… but don’t get caught off guard and think that “easier” means “anything goes.”
Cultivate a Challenge Network Before College
Do you have people in your life you can rely on to give you the full, unvarnished truth?
Not just when it is convenient or easy, but when it is difficult and something you really need to hear.
Here’s why athletes should build a ‘Challenge Network’ that disagrees with them (sometimes) and pushes them to be the best versions of themselves

