This weekend, beginning from Friday through Sunday, May 17-19th, will make for the one and only weekend for an NCAA Evaluation Period for the spring. As a result, there will only be one weekend for the nation's top high school basketball prospects, across the entire nation, to showcase their skills and talents for Division-I college coaches this spring. For seniors, this is a huge weekend to raise some last eyebrows with college programs, although due to the large number of high school prospects that remain uncommitted across the country, most will not be seen at all this weekend. For the younger high school prospects that will compete over the weekend, this weekend will be an opportunity to get on the map and make a name for yourself, regionally or nationally, in hopes that stronger and more college recruitment will present itself as a result. Either way, this weekend will be the only weekend to get it done this spring.
Over the years, the NCAA has consistently made changes to the NCAA Recruiting Calendar, with as many as three different NCAA Evaluation Periods being held in the spring. Historically, there have always been opportunities to get evaluated and recruited over the years for uncommitted prospects, as the spring and summer NCAA Evaluation Periods have always been separate, and also held their own identity, but each period held serious value for the basketball prospect. While there have been consistent changes annually to both windows for recruiting, the desire by the NCAA always seemed to allow for prospects to be evaluated, but within the confines of the NCAA rules. But things have certainly changed today, as the NCAA Transfer Portal has changed everything, and today the portal and the new rules imposed by the NCAA now limit and actually stunt the potential college recruitment of high school prospects across the country.
For high school seniors across the country, the opportunity to get recruited and actually receive a college basketball scholarship offer has almost become scarce, whether at the Division-I level or any other level for that matter. Smaller college programs still do not have the budgets to travel the country looking for players, while the bigger Division-I programs do not want high school prospects, and would rather sift through the NCAA Transfer Portal for returners and transfers to build their rosters for the fall. High school seniors have become an afterthought by the NCAA, and the last few years of recruiting, since the COVID pandemic in 2020, have been an absolute nightmare for high school prospects across the country who have worked tirelessly throughout their young careers, for an opportunity that may now never present itself.
As a college basketball scout and senior editor for Arizona Preps, I have covered basketball since 1995, and I have never seen it like this, as more high school senior prospects than ever before today sit and wait for any opportunity to present itself. For many, the junior college ranks has become the only option for a high school senior looking to ultimately play Division-I basketball, for some, they will never play college basketball, as a result of what is taking place today. A very sad fact that has been created by today's recruiting environment created by the NCAA.
One NCAA Evaluation Period weekend in May, is a serious change from year's past, when we had as many as (3) different weekends for recruiting. As a result of the robust NCAA Transfer Portal, and the amount of Division-I college coaches that have recruiting visits scheduled throughout the spring weekends, the NCAA felt that one weekend in the spring was enough for college programs to evaluate high school prospects nationally. This weekend, will be the only weekend that Division-I college coaches will be permitted to hit the road, so hopefully, your team will be playing in front of a college coach this weekend in the EYBL, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, New Balance or in a local un-shoe sponsored event. There are only so many college coaches to go around this weekend nationally, so for most high school prospects, they will not see a college coach at all over the (3) day period, as events across the country will look to market the potential representation of college coaches, scouts and media at their events, although most members of the scouting community will only be at several different major events across the country this weekend.
Overall, it has become a serious mess and has become almost impossible for high school prospects in America to gain exposure to college coaches in today's new recruiting environment. The game has certainly changed for the worse, but we certainly have to change with it, as there does not seem to be any major positive changes coming. This is certainly the new reality - making this weekend a very important one for some high school boy's basketball prospects across the country. For most that will not see a college coach at all this weekend, keep working hard. Your time will eventually come.
