2025 Recruiting

Lightning Red

Lightning Red

GOLD
It has been interesting to witness the flurry of early commitments this year for the Class of 2025. I'd have to assume that much of this is due to this class being first to be clear of all of the extra covid years & in some cases many still in college for their 6th year. Typically I've witnessed the blue blood schools loading up quickly but this year it has been across the board. Here is some quick data ran from the TDS Commitment section. This only includes those kids who have a Top Drawer profile. In reality the # of commitments nationally is already > 400 for 2025's. We usually see about 1000 D1 Commitments per year posted to TDS.

Class of 2024 - 827 Commitments

Class of 2025 - 264 Commitments

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My first dd went through the recruiting cycle during the heart of Covid. She was in the Class of '22. I can't even compare the two path's. Nothing at all was similar. My advice to those 2026 kids who aspire to play at the D1 level would be to take your visits early and go after the $ from the schools you think you are really interested in. Do your homework and stay consistent with your approach to those schools you think you want. Hopefully your club has a strong support staff to help guide you along.

I'd like to hear other's thoughts about this years journey. Looks to me like speed is now the new norm.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
Or maybe you are GA biased? When are you going to let go of the ECNL v GA debate?
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Remember the ECNL vs GDA Toxic War debate? This is classic. Let me get this straight. First it was Coast Soccer League. This was the #1 league in the world back in the day. Then ECNL became #1 for the girls. Then the GDA came in 2017 and stole top pole position as #1 girls league, and ECNL was regulated to #2 league all because. Fast forward, GDA quit on everyone, and GA jumped in their spot because someone had to. Because of all the pride and chaos that was caused by greed, the dads fought again for turf war an ECNL is now #1. All this in 6 years. Good luck you guys. My nephew is aging out and is burned out as Jr. I think he quits and just plays HS Soccer with his pals. He's already 4+ GPA and super smart. Has looks from top D2 schools and D3. He's set. I will probably be here now for more action because my wife has a niece U5 baller who is already getting recruited out in the IE. They call me almost every week wondering if she is still too young. I say, "Yes, please do other things." However, this U5 soon to be playing up at U9 already wants to be a Pro and is willing to put in the time. I'll keep you all posted on what they plan today but she's big, fast and looks 8 years old already.
 
Personally I prefer to look a the overall clubs performance vs if they're involved with XYZ league. In all leagues there's the clubs that usually win and the clubs that usually lose. What I've noticed is that parents that are the most vocal about league don't have kids playing on the teams that win a lot in that league.

The rankings app is starting to cut through some of the different leagues control over who is considered top teams / clubs.

Because of the rankings app I can see something like a top 20 nationally ranked independent of league tournament pop up sometime in the future. Or maybe a top 20 West Coast. Or top 20 in California. All independent of league. This kind of already exists with events like Surf Cup. What I'm suggesting could be events seperate from both leagues and clubs. As long as the ranking app consistently ranks teams its opening a window for someone else to jump in and take control.
 
Serious question, is it even a debate? 75% of the commits in the 4 months of the 2025 recruiting window are ECNL Players. Even if the data is skewed and it’s really 65%…the larger share of the commits are coming from the ECNL. There are great GA teams, but it appears to me the college coaches have decided and are giving nod to the ECNL significantly over the GA. The goal is getting the kids to college, right? Not trying to piss in anybody’s cheerios, but the data is the data. There are great players in both leagues. And yes, I would agree the system is not perfect and kids get missed, but you have to understand the rules of the game (unwritten or not) and play by them. Life is not fair.

My DD’s 05/06 ECNL team has 17/22 committed. Two 2025’s one committed, one not.

Saw a post on Twitter today about a 05/06 GA Team that has 17/19 committed to D1 schools…Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State…P5 schools.



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Hope every kid gets their right fit and goes where they are wanted.
 
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Slobodan said:
Maybe when college coaches stop assuming the worst player on an ECNL team is better than anyone from anywhere else.
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Things are slowly changing.

Eventually someone is going to recruit all the talent others overlooked + do well.

There's already recruiters in other threads acknowledging that currently established processes aren't delivering the desired result + are reaching out in different ways.

Although I hate it for individual games. The Rankings app is starting to break down different leagues grip on what qualifies as top talent.
 
Slobodan said:
I'm out of the game this year. What impact do you think the transfer portal has had?
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The transfer portal is def changing the recruiting game. On one of my daughter's visits we were specifically told the school was going after "10" girls for the start of that freshman year. 5-6 would come from the '25 class and the rest from the portal. Every school has diff wants & needs. That is part of the discovery & research process you need to work through. The information is out there. Make sure the school & program are the right fit.
My kids club team has "20" rostered girls. "16" are 2025's. 69% are committed already to D1's. 63% to Power 5 schools. This years process has been lightning quick. No pun intended. Schools are having more girls age out due to the extra covid year. This is a big part of why the #'s are so high early on.
 
Woobie06 said:
Serious question, is it even a debate? 75% of the commits in the 4 months of the 2025 recruiting window are ECNL Players. Even if the data is skewed and it’s really 65%…the larger share of the commits are coming from the ECNL. There are great GA teams, but it appears to me the college coaches have decided and are giving nod to the ECNL significantly over the GA. The goal is getting the kids to college, right? Not trying to piss in anybody’s cheerios, but the data is the data. There are great players in both leagues. And yes, I would agree the system is not perfect and kids get missed, but you have to understand the rules of the game (unwritten or not) and play by them. Life is not fair.

My DD’s 05/06 ECNL team has 17/22 committed. Two 2025’s one committed, one not.

Saw a post on Twitter today about a 05/06 GA Team that has 17/19 committed to D1 schools…Michigan State, Michigan, Penn State…P5 schools.

Hope every kid gets their right fit and goes where they are wanted.
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It's not really a debate anymore on the girls side. The truth is that there are great players in lots of different leagues, but the current system allows ECNL players more opportunities to be seen by colleges. Be on an elite ECNL team and the opportunities are even greater. I think the opportunities for GA players on elite GA teams is nearly as good as ECNL players, but the number of elite GA teams at any age group is pretty small. I don't blame the college coaches as there are only so many hours in the day to recruit and just so many players out there. That said, if you are on an ECNL team, you still have to perform when the colleges are there to watch. My dd's team is mostly committed and all to D1s, but there are a few uncommitted and I think it is apparent that the colleges see the weaknesses in their games (speed, first touch, etc) that will make it difficult for them to be successful at D1 schools. On the other hand, we have good friends with a daughter on a mediocre GA team, but she is very good. She has stayed on that team as the coach is outstanding and she loves her teammates. She made the extra effort of attending several camps (for multiple years) to get seen by the colleges she was interested in, and she has now committed to a P5. So I think it can be done, but you are going to have to work harder just to get seen if you aren't ECNL or elite GA (when I say elite GA, I mean a top 7-8 team in each age group).

I will also say that I have heard time and time again that full-ride offers are few and far between. If you define full ride as 100% tuition, fees, room and board, then I don't think it is as rare as people claim. The addition of "living expenses" in the scholarship budget at many schools (which can be $6k+ per year) allows coaches that much more money to spread around to cover what is traditionally defined as "full-ride". My dd is on a very good ECNL team, but is not a national team level player---she got offers for 100% tuition, fees, room and board at multiple schools, including some P5s schools currently ranked in the top 25. I think many of the 2025 girls who committed early got very large offers.
 
Sike said:
It's not really a debate anymore on the girls side. The truth is that there are great players in lots of different leagues, but the current system allows ECNL players more opportunities to be seen by colleges. Be on an elite ECNL team and the opportunities are even greater. I think the opportunities for GA players on elite GA teams is nearly as good as ECNL players, but the number of elite GA teams at any age group is pretty small. I don't blame the college coaches as there are only so many hours in the day to recruit and just so many players out there. That said, if you are on an ECNL team, you still have to perform when the colleges are there to watch. My dd's team is mostly committed and all to D1s, but there are a few uncommitted and I think it is apparent that the colleges see the weaknesses in their games (speed, first touch, etc) that will make it difficult for them to be successful at D1 schools. On the other hand, we have good friends with a daughter on a mediocre GA team, but she is very good. She has stayed on that team as the coach is outstanding and she loves her teammates. She made the extra effort of attending several camps (for multiple years) to get seen by the colleges she was interested in, and she has now committed to a P5. So I think it can be done, but you are going to have to work harder just to get seen if you aren't ECNL or elite GA (when I say elite GA, I mean a top 7-8 team in each age group).

I will also say that I have heard time and time again that full-ride offers are few and far between. If you define full ride as 100% tuition, fees, room and board, then I don't think it is as rare as people claim. The addition of "living expenses" in the scholarship budget at many schools (which can be $6k+ per year) allows coaches that much more money to spread around to cover what is traditionally defined as "full-ride". My dd is on a very good ECNL team, but is not a national team level player---she got offers for 100% tuition, fees, room and board at multiple schools, including some P5s schools currently ranked in the top 25. I think many of the 2025 girls who committed early got very large offers.
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I think full ride “All Athletic” are very rare. I know quite a few kids that have been able to stack Athletic and Academic Merit Money and get to 80%+ to full rides. I also know kids at high academic privates and no-merit public’s who are getting athletic 0%, 25%, 50%, 100% on their 4 years, or 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, etc. I read somewhere that the average athletic money kids get is 30%.

As a parent, I’m all for the getting the highest total academic and athletic money combined. Not all the schools give merit, and not all the sweatshirt posts mean big athletic money…I know some kids who are committed with 0% athletic, their dream school. At the end of the day, who gives a rip as long as your kid is happy, it works financially for the family, and the kid ends up at a school they love.

For example, my DD went to camp at SMU about 18 months ago, coach told all parents, no full athletic rides here, be a good student to get some merit, but expect to pay…SMU is almost $85k, all in…think Pepperdine, USC, Santa Clara, Duke, Ivie’s, and some of the other high profile privates are in that ball park. Its a huge investment…hopefully your school of choice gives it. Make sure the juice of the university is worth the squeeze.

Every school and situation is different and target schools that have the best opportunities combined that meet your goals, budget, academics, etc., etc. Some schools guarantee their offer for 4 years, some are year to year. Not all are created equal, even in the same conference. Unless you have $400k in your kids 529 Plan, than it might not matter.
 
Woobie06 said:
I think full ride “All Athletic” are very rare. I know quite a few kids that have been able to stack Athletic and Academic Merit Money and get to 80%+ to full rides. I also know kids at high academic privates and no-merit public’s who are getting athletic 0%, 25%, 50%, 100% on their 4 years, or 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, etc. I read somewhere that the average athletic money kids get is 30%.
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Yes, this is what I have heard consistently too. I'm just saying that I think it is more common than people think as that hasn't been the case for my dd and there is no chance she is so special that it is just her getting full athletic money. She did have one p5 school tell us they don't give full scholarships as they can afford to put so much into one player.
 
Talking D1, U have 14 scholarships(some aren’t fully funded and have 8-12). Rosters are 25-30 players. If u have 6 full rides and 12 at 50% that leaves 8 players at 25%.

I found out at my daughters school that all the girls get book money and they have a specific person get their books ordered and paid for. One school that recruited her gave every player tuition. Then extra money was given to stars and starters.

Playing time should be a major consideration as well, plus making sure they are top 22 so they can dress and travel.
 
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