Odds of a US High School Male Athlete playing College:

Odds on the NCAA Women's College Basketball Games according to Bovada Sportsbooks. Updated on March 6, 2021. Omaha W @ South Dakota State (W) Point Spread Omaha W 16.5 (-125) South Dakota State (W) -16.5 (-125) Omaha W @ South Dakota State (W). Overall a little over 7% of high school athletes (about 1 in 13) go on to play a varsity sport in college and less than 2% of high school athletes (1 in 57) go on to play at NCAA Division I schools. For additional information, see our page on the Odds of going Pro. Odds of Playing in College- Men.

What are the chances of a high school athlete making the transition to the college level? We compared the number of athletes participating in varsity sports at US high schools to the number of college student athletes. Overall a little over 7% of high school athletes (about 1 in 13) go on to play a varsity sport in college and less than 2% of high school athletes (1 in 57) go on to play at NCAA Division I schools. For additional information, see our page on the Odds of going Pro.

Odds of Playing in College- Men:

Odds of a US High School Female Athlete playing College:

Odds of Playing in College - Women:

* The percentage of international athletes playing in a specific sport has a major impact on the odds of a US High school athlete competing at the college level. For example the odds of a US high school tennis player making an NCAA I roster are the steepest of any sport primarily due to over 60% of available roster spots being filled by international athletes. Conversely, sports with low international participation such as football, baseball and softball have better odds for US high school athletes to make a roster. International participation percentages are as compiled in the NCAA October 2019 Trends report:

International Athlete Participation – NCAA Sports:

NCAA international participation data was only compiled for Division I and II schools. The international participation percentage is significantly lower for Division III schools, from our estimates the D3 percentage is around 1/6 of the combined D1/D2 international percentages. Consequently, US athletes generally have the best odds of making a D3 roster as 1) NCAA III has the most teams and 2) NCAA III teams have a higher percentage of US athletes on their rosters.

High school data is from the annual High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Statistics for both High School and College athletes above report participation on school sponsored varsity, JV and freshman teams. We have adjusted this number for estimated high school aged athletes who did not participate on a high school team and participated exclusively on a club or travel program.

We did not compute odds for a number of sports as the resulting percentages would not be meaningful due to an insufficient number of high school participants to make a valid comparison of high school to college athletes and/or a disproportionately high percentage of club and/or travel team participants that do not appear in the high school data for that particular sport.

In certain sports, the chances might actually be better than presented above. For example, a high school baseball player may also be a talented multi sport athlete who receives a full scholarship for playing football and opts to forego college baseball. The percentage of multi-sport athletes is significantly higher at the high school level than in college. Additionally, a very talented high school baseball player may elect to forego college entirely and go directly into professional baseball. Other factors may improve the chances as well, most notably the fact that a significant number of high school athletes simply do not continue on to college. Our data shows that good grades can potentially double the chances of a high school athlete playing in College:

Effect of grades on your Odds of Playing in College:

Having good grades may help you double your chances for playing at the College level. Take a look at these stats from the US Dept of Education for 2019 High School graduates:

About 1/3 of the 2 year college attendees transfer to 4 year colleges within two years, so the result is that about 50% of high school graduates ultimately enroll at a 4 year college –and half do not. What does this mean for the prospective college athlete? Well if you can get into a 4 year school, your odds may be effectively doubled for making a college team. Let’s use Baseball as an example:

There are many reasons high school graduates do not go on to 4-year colleges and unfortunately financial remains the biggest obstacle for many families. But academics is another significant factor, and if you’re an aspiring college athlete this is an area you have control over. Even if you are a highly recruited athlete you have to gain admission to the school first – a coach can’t get you a roster spot on the team unless you can meet the school’s academic standards.

Here are some other reasons why good grades can be a big boost to your odds of playing collegiate sports:

• Good grades in High School is the best predictor of getting good grades in College, and college coaches want to avoid recruiting athletes who end up being ineligible to play or wash out for academic purposes.
• Good grades in high school is a good indicator that the athlete has developed the time management skills that will be essential in college where both the academic and athletic workloads are more challenging than most high schools.
• Good grades in high school is an indicator that the athlete works hard and applies him or herself. Don’t underestimate this factor – the perception that an athlete is “lazy” will immediately kill their chances with many if not most college coaches.
• College coaches want their players to succeed in school and graduate, and it’s part of the effectiveness factor of many coaches’ ratings.
• Excellent grades might qualify the athlete for an academic scholarship and free up athletic based awards for other players – coaches really love this situation.
• Good grades are an indicator of smarts, and coaches want smart players on their teams!

The importance of getting good grades starts early in high school. Too many talented high school athletes neglect their grades during their freshmen & sophomore years and try to catch up in their junior and senior years. Unfortunately, it’s often too much ground lost early to make up. Most college coaches are confident they can develop a talented high school athlete into a good college player. But they are also keenly aware they have little control off the field, and cannot force an athlete to hit the books and study. The High School athlete who is academically self-motivated will move up the recruiting ladder.

Recruiting is a very intensive process and coaches have a limited amount of time and resources. Bottom line is coaches will only recruit those athletes they feel confident will be able to make a successful academic transition from High School to College. Enhance your recruiting profile – get the grades!

National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.

If you are ready to take your recruiting to the next level, click the Get Scouted button below to be evaluated by an NSR College Scout.

Playing sports in college is a great experience. Take it from someone who has been there. But the odds of earning an athletic scholarship are not very high.

NCAA Facts

According to the NCAA, there are 346 Division I colleges or universities. There are 6,552 teams at the Division I level with roughly 178,178 Division I student-athletes. Coincidentally, the NCAA has also calculated that only 4% of students at a NCAA Division I institution are athletes.

There are 307 Division II universities. These universities have about 114,541 student-athletes. Also, only about 9% of students at those schools are athletes.

Interesting enough, Division III schools have the most opportunities for student-athletes. There are 439 Division III schools with about 187,483 student-athletes. In addition to all of this, about 16% of Division III universities student bodies are athletes.

Odds of Earning an Athletic Scholarship

Altogether there are more than 480,000 NCAA student-athletes between all three divisions. That’s a small amount compared to the estimated 7,800,000 high school student-athletes out there. The sad part is, that number doesn’t include sports like swimming, tennis, and softball.

Of the 480,000 student-athletes, only 150,000 student-athletes are on scholarship. Just so you don’t have to calculate that divides out to about 31.25%, which is pretty small.

So, the odds of earning an athletic scholarship aren’t very high, but there are plenty of other ways to finance college. Just because receiving an athletic scholarship may be difficult doesn’t mean you can’t be a student-athlete.

Division III universities have the most financial-aid opportunities to offer students. These colleges offer financial aid and scholarships to many if not all of their students. Due to the cost of attendance and the universities scholarship opportunities available.

College Basketball Odds Vegas Insider

Division I Athletic Scholarship Money

The odds of earning an athletic scholarship are not impossible, depending on what you consider a scholarship.

There are four sports – football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball* – that can only offer a full scholarship at the Division I level. All other NCAA Division I sports have the opportunity to divide scholarships up by whatever amount the coaching staff desires.

For example, Division I football teams have 85 full ride scholarships. However, Division I football rosters have more than 85 players on the team, but only 85 are on scholarship. A fully funded Division I softball team has 12 scholarships for the coaching staff to divide however they see fit. Splitting those awards means that some athletes may have a full ride while some award amounts are 5 or 10%. It also means that everyone on the team could have some athletic scholarship money.

Womens College Volleyball Odds

There are a few exceptions to this rule. The NCAA does not allow Division I baseball scholarships to go below 25%.

Division II Athletic Scholarship Money

Division II athletic scholarships are on a partial scholarship model or as the NCAA calls it the “equivalency” model. Meaning that all awards are divided among players on each team. The distribution and allocation of scholarship funds are up to the coaching staff, which is similar to how most Division I sports can divide their scholarships.

A significant difference between the divisions is that at the Division II level football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball scholarships are dividable.

However, at the beginning of this article, it was noted Division I schools have more student-athletes than Division II. This size difference is due to the difference in roster size and scholarship amounts allotted by the NCAA.

The two charts below show the exact amounts of dividable scholarships between Division I and Division II sports.

Clearly, there are more Division II scholarships than Division I. Meaning there’s a higher chance of an athlete receiving an athletic scholarship at the Division II level because of how they can divide up their scholarships.

All of this goes to show that the odds of earning an athletic scholarship are not high. That is why recruiting is so important, both for college coaches and for high school athletes. Since we crunched the numbers for you, it’s easy to see the limitations coaches have with their budgets and how pivotal recruiting help is for both coaches and athletes.

Don’t wait till it’s too late. Start your recruiting process by contacting a National Scouting Report scout near you.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Note: Division I volleyball programs, that are not fully funded, don’t have to abide by the head-count rule.

National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.

If you are ready to take your recruiting to the next level, click the Get Scouted button below to be evaluated by an NSR College Scout.