I appreciated the DM’s after my roster/scholarship post last week. A couple people asked me how they can tell where they are in the recruiting process. Short answer - it is mostly based on where you are in your high school career. Here’s the allowable process and timelines for recruiting milestones under the current lo NCAA rules: - June 15 (Summer before Junior Season): D1 direct communication opens (calls, texts, DMs). Programs distribute large volumes of early verbal offers; nearly all are non-committable placeholders used to gauge interest. - January 1 (after Junior Season): Permissible off-campus in-person contact opens during designated contact periods. This is when you see coaches visit high school programs. You will see a lot of “thank you coach for coming out.” - April 1 – Late June (Junior Year): Spring/Summer Official Visits (OVs) begin. An extended OV invitation generally signals a path to an active, committable offer, frequently paired with short-fuse decision deadlines. - June (Summer before Senior season): invites to on-campus camp circuits. Teams usually require in-person camp attendance to test verified athletic metrics before converting non-committable offers into green-light commitments. - September 1 (Senior Year): Fall game-day evaluations and senior-season OVs open. Live senior film determines whether you are borderline or back-up. As people signal commitments to programs, spots for backups often convert to committable. >>>MOST IMPORTANT DATE IN THE PROCESS! <<< - November 15 (Senior Year): This is the permissible date for NCAA D1 programs to issue formal written offers of athletic aid (Bylaw 13.9.3). Any verbal "offer" not accompanied by written paperwork on or after this date is still 100% non-committable. - Early December (Senior Year): Early Signing Period opens (Wednesday before the first Saturday in December). Unclaimed non-committable offers fade away completely as 105-man roster caps are finalized ahead of the transfer portal window. - Early February (Senior Year): Regular National Signing Day. This is the final mop-up period for remaining roster slots that were not filled during the December window or portal cycle. This is the last shot to be offered a spot on a roster before hanging up cleats (or attending a target and trying to “walk-on”).