College Scholarships and Roster Spots Available for Athletes
EXACT has analyzed and consolidated data on NCAA and NAIA scholarship opportunities. We encourage families & the athletes to learn the rules of contact AND understand how many opportunities are available (MANY!).
If you'd like to share this data / article, please be sure to give credit to EXACT Sports webpage.
How Can College Coaches Contact High School Student Athletes?
Soccer & Volleyball JR= Junior; SR = Senior; Anytime = anytime! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Phone + Emails/Texts | JR (Sep 1) | JR (June 15) | Anytime |
Questionnaires | Anytime | Anytime | Anytime |
Off Campus | SR (July 1) | JR (June 15) | JR |
Official Visit / Unofficial Visit | JR (Sep 1) [BOTH] | JR (June 15) / Anytime | JR (Jan 1) / Anytime |
Basketball SO= Sophmore; JR= Junior; SR = Senior; Anytime = anytime! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Phone + Emails/Texts | SO (June 15) | SO (June 15) | Anytime |
Questionnaires | Anytime | Anytime | Anytime |
Off Campus | JR (start of classes) | SO (June 15) | JR |
Official Visit / Unofficial Visit | JR (Jan 1 / Aug 1) | SO (June 15) / Anytime | JR (Jan 1) / Anytime |
Baseball SO= Sophmore; JR= Junior; SR = Senior; Anytime = anytime! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Phone + Emails/Texts | JR (Sep 1) | SO (June 15) | Anytime |
Questionnaires | Anytime | Anytime | Anytime |
Off Campus | SR (Jul 1) | JR (June 15) | JR |
Official Visit / Unofficial Visit | JR (Sep 1) | JR(June 15) | Anytime |
Football SO= Sophmore; JR= Junior; SR = Senior; Anytime = anytime! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Phone + Emails/Texts | JR (Apr.15 - May 31) + After Sept. 1 | SO (June 15) | Anytime |
Questionnaires | JR (Apr.15 - May 31) + After Sept. 1 | Anytime | Anytime |
Off Campus | JR (Apr.15 - May 31) + After Sept. 1 | JR (June 15) | Anytime |
Official Visit / Unofficial Visit | JR (Apr.15 - May 31) + After Sept. 1 | JR(June 15) | Anytime |
Key Takeaway: Nearly all contact is permissible during the junior year of high school, with some starting in the summer/fall. These rules mainly apply to contact a coach can make. Athletes can call, email, etc however you like!
How Many Scholarship & Roster Opportunities do Athletes Have?
In the below tables, we explore Scholarship Data, including the max number of scholarships available at each NCAA division & NAIA, max allowed per team, how much 'coverage' the scholarship $ would give for the athletes (as scholarship $ don't cover every player's full tuition). We also explore the Opportunities to Play, including the number of roster spots for soccer, volleyball and baseball, across the NCAA & NAIA, as well as the number of teams and average roster size per college.
BASEBALL | Men's Scholarships | Women's Scholarships | Opportunity to Play (Men's) | Opportunity to Play (Women's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 Baseball | 3500 (D1 scholarships) 11.7 (per D1 team) 33% = D1 $ coverage | Cell | 11,000 (D1 roster spots) 299 (D1 teams) 35.7 (D1 spots/team) | Cell |
D2 Baseball | 2500 (D2 scholarships) 9 (per D2 team) 22% = D2 $ coverage | Cell | 11,200 (D2 roster spots) 274 (D2 teams) 40.7 (D2 spots/team) | Cell |
NAIA Baseball | 2200 (NAIA scholarships) 12 (per NAIA team) 30% = NAIA $ coverage | Cell | 7400 (NAIA spots) 184 (NAIA teams) ~40 (est. NAIA spots/team) | Cell |
D3 Baseball | n/a | n/a | 14,000 (D3 roster spots) 387 (D3 teams) 36.0 D3 spots/team) | Cell |
TOTAL Baseball | 8,200 Scholarships 19% = $ coverage | Cell | 1,150 teams 43,600+ roster spots | Cell |
BASKETBALL | Men's Scholarships | Women's Scholarships | Opportunity to Play (Men's) | Opportunity to Play (Women's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 Basketball | 5265 (D1 scholarships) 15 (per D1 team) 99% = D1 $ coverage | Cell | 5500 (D1 roster spots) 351 (D1 teams) 15.7 (D1 spots/team) | Cell |
D2 Basketball | 2900 (D2 scholarships) 10 (per D2 team) 53% = D2 $ coverage | Cell | 5500 (D2 roster spots) 314 (D2 teams) 17.3 (D2 spots/team) | Cell |
NAIA Basketball | 1243 (NAIA scholarships) 11 (per NAIA team) 33% = NAIA $ coverage | Cell | 3,700 (NAIA roster spots) 233 (NAIA teams) ~16(est. NAIA spots/team) | Cell |
D3 Basketball | n/a | n/a | 7800 (D3 roster spots) 422 (D3 teams) 18.5 D3 spots/team) | Cell |
TOTAL Basketball | 9,400 Scholarships 40% = $ coverage | Cell | 1,300+ teams 22,500+ roster spots | Cell |
SOCCER | Men's Scholarships | Women's Scholarships | Opportunity to Play (Men's) | Opportunity to Play (Women's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 Soccer | 2000 (D1 scholarships) 9.9 (per D1 team) 35% = D1 $ coverage | 4700 (D1 scholarships) 14.0 (per D1 team) 50% = D1 $ coverage | 6,000 (D1 roster spots) 205 (D1 teams) 29.3 (D1 spots/team) | 9,400 (D1 roster spots) 333 (D1 teams) 28.2 (D1 spots/team) |
D2 Soccer | 1950 (D2 scholarships) 9.0 (per D2 team) 28% = D2 $ coverage | 2650 (D2 scholarships) 9.9 (per D2 team) 36% = D2 $ coverage | 6,800 (D2 roster spots) 215 (D2 teams) 31.3 (D2 spots/team) | 7,400 (D2 roster spots) 267 (D2 teams) 27.6 (D2 spots/team) |
NAIA Soccer | 2020 (NAIA scholarships) 12.0 (per NAIA team) 33% = D1 $ coverage | 2020 (NAIA scholarships) 12.0 (per NAIA team) 35% = D1 $ coverage | 6,000 (NAIA roster spots) 202 (NAIA teams) 30 (est. NAIA spots/team) | 5,600 (NAIA roster spots) 202 (NAIA teams) 28 (est NAIA spots/team) |
D3 Soccer | n/a | n/a | 12,300 (D3 roster spots) 412 (D3 teams) 29.9 D3 spots/team) | 11,000 (D3 roster spots) 438 (D3 teams) 25.3 D3 spots/team) |
TOTAL Soccer | 6,000 Scholarships 20% = $ coverage | 9,300 Scholarships 27% = $ coverage | 1,000+ teams 31,000+ roster spots | 1,250 teams 35,000+ roster spots |
VOLLEYBALL | Men's Scholarships | Women's Scholarships | Opportunity to Play (Men's) | Opportunity to Play (Women's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 Volleyball | 100 (D1 scholarships) 4.5 (per D1 team) 23% = D1 $ coverage | 4,000 (D1 scholarships) 12 (per D1 team) 75% = D1 $ coverage | 430 (D1 roster spots) 22 (D1 teams) 19.7 (D1 spots/team) | 5,400 (D1 roster spots) 334 (D1 teams) 16.3 (D1 spots/team) |
D2 Volleyball | 100 (D2 scholarships) 4.5 (per D2 team) 27% = D2 $ coverage | 2,400 (D2 scholarships) 8 (per D2 team) 50% = D2 $ coverage | 370 (D2 roster spots) 22 (D2 teams) 16.7 (D2 spots/team) | 5,000 (D2 roster spots) 302 (D2 teams) 16.4 (D2 spots/team) |
NAIA Volleyball | n/a | 1,800 (NAIA scholarships) 8 (per NAIA team) 50% = D1 $ coverage | n/a | 3,600 (NAIA roster spots) 225 (NAIA teams) 16 (est NAIA spots/team) |
D3 Volleyball | n/a | n/a | 1,400 (D3 roster spots) 91 (D3 teams) 15.0 D3 spots/team) | 7,000 (D3 roster spots) 435 (D3 teams) 16.2 D3 spots/team) |
TOTAL Volleyball | 200 Scholarships 9% = $ coverage | 8,200 Scholarships 40% = $ coverage | 135 teams 2,165 roster spots | 1,300 teams 21,000+ roster spots |
Football | Men's Scholarships | Women's Scholarships | Opportunity to Play (Men's) | Opportunity to Play (Women's) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
D1 Football - FBS | 85/Team | N/A | 129 Teams / 15k Total Athletes | N/A |
D1 Football - FCS | 63/Team | N/A | 125 Teams / 13k Total Athletes | N/A |
D2 Football | 36/Team | N/A | 170 Teams / 18k Total Athletes | N/A |
D3 Football | N/A | N/A | 248 Teams / 25k Total Athletes | N/A |
NAIA Football | 24/Team | N/A | 85 Teams / 9k Total Athletes | N/A |