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

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