The college soccer recruiting timeline, by class year
When coaches may call, when visits open, when to register and what each level asks of your grades. Each rule names the NCAA or NAIA page it comes from and the day we checked it. Pick your class for every date worked out.
Pick your class
The year you finish high school.
The timeline, for any class
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By around August before freshman year
Make an NCAA Eligibility Center account
Division I and II need a certification account; Division III needs the free Profile Page. If you have missed the suggested time, make it now: there is no lower age limit.
Source
NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete
A student may register at any age; the guide suggests registering before ninth grade. A student being recruited by a Division I or II school needs a certification account rather than a Profile Page.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By around August before freshman year
Check your school's list of NCAA-approved core courses
Only courses on your high school's approved list count toward the sixteen, and your core-course GPA is worked out from those courses alone. Plan ninth grade with the list in front of you.
Source
NCAA, Division I Initial Eligibility Requirements
The core-course GPA is calculated using only NCAA-approved core courses, and can differ from the transcript GPA.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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From around June after sophomore year
Division III coaches may meet you off campus
In-person contact away from the college may begin once sophomore year is complete. You may visit a Division III campus at your own expense as often as you like, at any time.
Source
NCAA Legislative Services Database, Division III bylaw on off-campus contact
In-person, off-campus recruiting contacts may not be made until the prospect has completed sophomore year in high school; a prospect may visit a campus at their own expense an unlimited number of times.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By June 1 after sophomore year
Have your film ready before coaches may write back
A short reel of your best clips, ready to send the day coaches may first write back.
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From June 15 after sophomore year
Division I coaches may start calling, texting and emailing you
For soccer and most sports, communication from or to a coach may begin on June 15 after sophomore year.
Source
NCAA, DI Council adopts rules to curb early recruiting (April 2019)
In sports other than football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse and softball, recruiting communication may begin June 15 after the sophomore year of high school.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By June 15 after sophomore year
Write to coaches at the schools on your list
Before contact opens, so your name and your film are already in their inbox when it does.
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By July after sophomore year
Go to an ID camp or showcase that coaches from your list attend
The summer before junior year is when many players are first seen.
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From August 1 before junior year
Division I visits and off-campus contact open
Official and unofficial visits may begin on August 1 before junior year, and so may a coach's in-person contact off campus.
Source
NCAA, DI Council adopts rules to curb early recruiting (April 2019)
In the same sports, official and unofficial visits, and off-campus contact, may begin August 1 before the junior year of high school.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By around June after junior year
Ask your counselor to send your transcript after six semesters
Once junior year ends, your school counselor uploads an official transcript to your Eligibility Center account, from every high school you have attended. Your counselor sends it, not you.
Source
NCAA Eligibility Center, Transcripts
After six semesters of high school, a student asks the counselor at each high school attended to upload an official transcript to the Eligibility Center account. Counselors upload it from the High School Portal; no release form is needed.
Checked October 14, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By around August before senior year
Ten core courses done, seven of them English, math or science
Division I wants ten of the sixteen core courses finished before senior year starts, seven of them in English, math or natural or physical science. Once senior year starts those ten are locked in.
Source
NCAA, Division I Initial Eligibility Requirements
Ten core courses, seven of them in English, math or science, must be completed before the start of the seventh semester, and those ten cannot then be replaced to improve the core-course GPA.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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From around October 1 of senior year
The FAFSA for your first year of college opens
The federal aid form for the year you start college opens in the fall of senior year, by October 1 at the latest (lately in late September). Fill it in early: some state and college aid goes to those who file first, and every school's need-based aid starts here.
Source
Federal Student Aid, Free Application for Federal Student Aid
The FAFSA Simplification Act requires each year's form to be available by October 1 of the year before; the 2026-27 form opened September 24, 2025, and the 2027-28 form in late September 2026.
Checked October 22, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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From October 1 of senior year
The CSS Profile opens, for the colleges that ask for it
About 250 colleges and scholarship programs, mostly private, ask for this second aid form as well as the FAFSA. Each sets its own deadline, often between January and March, some earlier for early applicants. Check each school on your list.
Source
The CSS Profile opens on October 1 each year. Roughly 250 colleges and scholarship programs use it to award their own aid, and each sets its own filing deadline.
Checked October 22, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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From April 1 of senior year
Ask for your final amateurism certification
For a fall start, on or after April 1 before you enrol. A school that is recruiting you may need your NCAA ID first.
Source
NCAA Eligibility Center, How to Request Final Amateurism Certification
A student first enrolling at a Division I or II school in the fall requests final amateurism certification on or after April 1 before that semester; Division III works the same way for a fall start.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By around June after senior year
Your final transcript, with proof that you graduated
After graduation your counselor sends the final transcript with proof of graduation. Until it arrives the Eligibility Center cannot finish its decision.
Source
NCAA Eligibility Center, Transcripts
Once a student has completed high school, the counselor sends the final transcript with proof of graduation.
Checked October 14, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
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By around August after you graduate
Register with the NAIA Eligibility Center
Every first-time NAIA player registers at PlayNAIA and gets an eligibility decision before any game, scrimmage included. NCAA registration does not count for the NAIA.
Source
All first-time NAIA student-athletes must register and receive an eligibility determination before they are permitted to play.
Checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
Two free tools
Core-course check
Enter your courses and grades and see how they count against Division I and II: the sixteen, the core-course GPA and the ten-seven rule. Nothing is saved.
Email a college coach
Fill in a few lines and get a short letter to a coach, with your film link and your class. It is yours to edit and send.
What each level asks of your grades
The academic standard each level sets, in our words, with the page it comes from. Count your own courses against Division I and II.
NCAA Division I
- 16 NCAA-approved core courses
- A core-course GPA of at least 2.3
- Ten core courses, seven in English, math or science, before senior year
- No SAT or ACT score is required
NCAA, Division I Initial Eligibility Requirements, checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
NCAA Division II
- 16 NCAA-approved core courses
- A core-course GPA of at least 2.2
- No SAT or ACT score is required
NCAA Eligibility Center, Division II academic requirements, checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
NCAA Division III
- Each Division III school sets its own admission standards; the NCAA sets no initial-eligibility standard
- A free Profile Page with the Eligibility Center, for a student from the United States
NCAA, Division III Initial Eligibility Requirements, checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
NAIA
- A final high school GPA of 2.3 or higher on its own
- Or two of three: a 2.0 GPA, the top half of the graduating class, an 18 on the ACT or 970 on the SAT
NAIA, Basics of Freshman Eligibility, checked October 8, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
If someone offers to be your agent
An offer of representation can come early, and to a player who wants a college place it can cost more than it promises. FIFA’s rules for a player under 18, and what an agent can do to NCAA eligibility, each with the page it comes from.
The rules
An agent may approach a player under 18, or their parent, about representing them only in the six months before the player is old enough to sign a first professional contract where they would play.
FIFA, Football Agents: frequently asked questions, checked October 28, 2026, read on the page by a person.
To represent a player under 18, an agent must first pass FIFA's course on minors. The accreditation lasts three years.
FIFA, Football Agents: frequently asked questions, checked October 28, 2026, read on the page by a person.
An agreement to represent a player under 18 has to be signed by their parent or legal guardian as well.
FIFA, Football Agents: frequently asked questions, checked October 28, 2026, read on the page by a person.
FIFA lists every agent it has licensed. Ask for the agent's full name and look them up before you talk further.
FIFA, directory of licensed football agents (linked from FIFA's agents page, which was read; the directory itself was not opened), checked October 28, 2026, read on the page by a person.
If college soccer in the US is the goal, agreeing to be represented by an agent can end a player's NCAA eligibility in that sport. The NCAA changed these rules on 1 July 2025 and they are still moving, so ask the college's compliance office before signing anything.
Virginia Tech Athletics Compliance, Agents and advisors, checked October 28, 2026, read through a search of the official page, not yet opened by a person.
Our advice
- Be wary of anyone who asks for money up front: for a trial, a showcase abroad, or to represent the player.
- Talk to the player's own coach before you agree to anything.
- Never sign on the day you are asked. A good offer is still there next week.
College soccer recruiting: common questions
From June 15 after sophomore year. For soccer and most sports, communication from or to a coach may begin on June 15 after sophomore year. Source: NCAA, DI Council adopts rules to curb early recruiting (April 2019).
From August 1 before junior year. Official and unofficial visits may begin on August 1 before junior year, and so may a coach's in-person contact off campus. Source: NCAA, DI Council adopts rules to curb early recruiting (April 2019).
By around August before freshman year. Division I and II need a certification account; Division III needs the free Profile Page. If you have missed the suggested time, make it now: there is no lower age limit. Source: NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete.
By around August before senior year. Division I wants ten of the sixteen core courses finished before senior year starts, seven of them in English, math or natural or physical science. Once senior year starts those ten are locked in. Source: NCAA, Division I Initial Eligibility Requirements.
By around August after you graduate. Every first-time NAIA player registers at PlayNAIA and gets an eligibility decision before any game, scrimmage included. NCAA registration does not count for the NAIA. Source: NAIA, Eligibility Center.
You can write whenever you like; the dates above are about when a coach may answer and make contact. Spatrian's suggestion is to write before contact opens, so your name and your film are already there when it does.
Keep the whole pathway in one place
In Spatrian a player’s roadmap is dated from their own class, ticked from their own training record, and sits beside a desk for the schools, coaches and camps on their list and a verified profile a coach can open. The desk sets the Department of Education’s facts on 1,680 college soccer programs side by side, never ranked, works out what an offer leaves to pay, and lets the player practise a first phone call with a college coach. The beta is opening to a small first group of players and families.
Rules change, and the NCAA and the NAIA decide every case themselves. Check each date against the source it names before relying on it. Spatrian is not affiliated with the NCAA, the NAIA or FIFA.