After years of hard work and dedication to athletic improvement, some students decide to shoot for their athletic goals and play sports at the collegiate level. While the college athletic recruitment process is an exciting endeavor, it can also cause stress for athletes. Ms. Lilly O’Sullivan ’17, Assistant Athletic Director, and senior Olivia Leahy discussed the ups and downs of the college recruitment process and offered advice to student-athletes who aim to play their sport at the next level.
In college athletics, Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) explains that “recruiting” is the process by which college coaches fill the spots on their rosters. Depending on the academic rigor of the university and the positional needs of the teams, schools look for a variety of skills in prospective athletes, according to ncsasports.org. The goal of the recruiting process is to find the best fit for both the school and the student-athlete, and this process narrows down a large pool of athletes to only a few.
The exact timeline of the recruitment process can vary depending on the sport, but it often begins early in high school. For the majority of Division I and Division II sports, coaches are allowed to contact prospective athletes after their sophomore year ends, starting June 15, or once their junior year begins, starting September 1, according to ncsasports.org. All Division II sports can contact starting June 15 as well, and Division III teams can contact athletes at any time. Student-athletes may contact schools prior to these dates, but coaches are unable to respond until the designated times. While the recruitment process can be long and requires hard work, Sacred Heart athletes reflected that it can lead to a fulfilling college experience.
As a Sacred Heart Greenwich alumna and a former collegiate athlete, Ms. O’Sullivan was a member of the women’s rowing team at George Washington University. During her time in the Upper School, Ms. O’Sullivan played basketball and volleyball. She began rowing her junior year. Looking back on her time in college, Ms. O’Sullivan commented on the impact athletics had on her college experience.
“I would say that college athletics helped me to budget my time well and to stay motivated,” Ms. O’Sullivan said. “We had a specific GPA we had to meet to be eligible, which pushed me to continue doing my best in and out of the classroom. I will say that due to athletics, I did miss out on a lot of the typical college experience, but I do not regret it.”
Sacred Heart student-athletes go through the recruitment process and commit to playing their sports at various universities each year. The Class of 2023 had over seventeen graduates commit to playing their sport at the collegiate level. Student-athletes in the Class of 2024 will play sports including lacrosse, basketball, squash, swimming, volleyball, rowing, and field hockey in college.
Olivia has been playing soccer, basketball, and lacrosse since she was five years old. She is now committed to playing at Stanford University on the women’s lacrosse team this fall. Olivia spoke about her decision to pursue recruitment and offered some advice for athletes looking to explore the recruitment process.
“My decision to pursue the recruitment process was driven by my love for lacrosse and motivation to play lacrosse at a high level while balancing academics,” Olivia said. “Advice I would give to an underclassman looking to play their sport in college is to believe in yourself and trust the process. There will be ups and downs, but never give up and know that everything will work out in the end.”
The recruitment process is not always easy, and this uncertainty requires support for athletes. Ms. O’Sullivan discussed how Sacred Heart supports its student-athletes, emphasizing the importance of the student as a whole. She also shared some advice to high school athletes in the recruiting process, providing guidance on finding the right fit in a school.
“I believe Sacred Heart supports aspiring collegiate athletes by having a great athletics program overall,” Ms. O’Sullivan said. “We have great coaches and staff for athletics, but also faculty outside of athletics that help to formulate the entire student-athlete rather than just focusing on athletics. My biggest piece of advice to a student looking to play sports in college is to go to the school you fall in love with overall; don’t just focus on the sport or coach.”
Featured Image by Brianna Timlin ’26
