Be "Recruitable" and Get College Offers
Five D3 Coaches share advice after recruiting the class of 2025
After helping prospective college athletes and their families navigate the college sports recruiting process for many years, we’ve heard the following questions more times than we can count:
“How do I get recruited?”
“How can I get more recruiting exposure?”
“How do I get the attention of college coaches?”
Today, we go into the mind of D3 Coaches to understand what they think makes a player “recruitable”. In this post we will bring you their collective advice from recruiting high school athletes in the Class of 2025 so you know what to do (and not to do). There were five D3 coaches interviewed, and each included:
What recruits did that impressed them ✅
What recruits should avoid doing ❌
Then we added our two cents for good measure 🤷♂️
NESCAC Head Coach
✅ Things that recruits did that impressed me:
Students taking rigor and AP classes is more important than ever - 1 or 2 will not cut it in the eyes of admissions. There are kids that could play in the NESCAC, but have eliminated themselves from consideration because they don’t have enough rigor.
If you’re not doing the things in the first highlight video we see - we probably will not recruit you. “People don’t know how much work it is [to play D3] and how good you have to be.”
❌ Things for future recruits to avoid:
They said they were considering D1’s and D2’s, but wanted to go D3 because they “wanted to start right away.”
“We avoid kids with a sense of entitlement, because it makes everything harder.”
Our Two Cents 👇
College sports recruiting is an awkward dance that usually involves a fair bit of self promotion. If you do not cheerlead for yourself and promote your accomplishments on and off the field of play, you will likely not be seen. But as this NESCAC Head Coach points out, there is a line.
If you’re wondering how to strike a balance between showing coaches your talent and remaining humble try something like this: I really think I fit into the team’s playing style and will make an impact because of [provide reason]. Overall I want to do everything to help the team win right away, whether I’m on the court or not.
Want to be inspired? Listen to this week’s Student Athlete Sessions Podcast featuring former Oberlin College guard, Yuuki Okubo.
Yuuki was barely recruited out of high school and is now playing professional basketball for the Fukushima Firebonds in Japan’s BLeague.
NEWMAC Head Coach
✅ The college prospects who earned offers showed our staff a strong competitive “it” factor.” On the court, their communication was clear, confident, and mature. Off the court, they understood our program’s values, took initiative during hectic stretches, and fit naturally into our culture during visits.
Talent wins, but maturity and self-awareness are what predict long-term success. When a staff is more excited about adding the recruit to the program than just inserting the player into a game plan, that’s when you build something sustainable.
❌ Common mistakes include over-coaching, arguing calls, or showing poor body language. You have one career to play — and a long time to take the officials’ exam and prove it. College basketball is a long season, and every player represents more than just themselves. When negative energy creeps in, it drains everyone in the program.
Body language reveals how players handle adversity and feedback. Passion looks different for everyone, and we make room for growth and maturity. What matters most is being coachable, consistent, and bringing the kind of energy that lifts teammates and strengthens the environment every day.
Our Two Cents 👇
Remember that coaches don’t just want to see how you play in your sport. They are also thinking about you as a complete person, and someone who they will work with over the next four years. If they see you arguing with refs or showing bad body language as this D3 Head Coach points out, what impression does that give them of how you’ll act once you get to college?
Control what you can control!
NEWMAC Assistant Coach
✅ Things that impressed this coach:
Impressed with Basketball IQ
Recruits who had a “willingness to work while they wait” and “a genuine hunger to play, get better, and attend the institution”
Have some sort of “plan” going forward that will keep them motivated.
❌ Mistake to avoid included:
Lying about stats or scores
Misspellings in emails, wrong name or school, or an attitude that they are too good for your school
Our Two Cents 👇
Some of these things may feel hard to quantify like Basketball IQ. A simple and actionable way to work on this is watch your sport played at a high level. This could be in-person at a local college or on TV, the important point is that you study those who you want to be like and begin to incorporate what they do well into your performance.
Regarding their mistakes to avoid, never lie about your scores or stats. These things are very easy to search online and most coaches will reference check you before moving forward in the recruiting process. If it comes out after the fact that you were not honest, it could not only end your recruitment with the college coach you are speaking with, but also other coaches in their network.