There’s never been a more complicated time to be a high school basketball player chasing a Division 1 scholarship.
Our June 2025 magazine cover story – about how the NCAA transfer portal has impacted recruiting around New England – is one of the biggest issues facing prospects, their families and even prep schools right now. Recruits have had to find new ways to differentiate themselves in this evolving and stressful climate, where there are fewer and fewer scholarship opportunities every year. Prep schools have adapted and shifted their approaches. There are so many things to consider as a recruit today.
It’s difficult to know how to navigate these waters, and there are no streamlined or simple answers. Our cover story went into detail about the biggest changes to the landscape and the trickle-down effect to high school recruiting. But in my conversations with several coaches and key stakeholders in the prep school world, there were more nuggets of information, opinions and pieces of advice that couldn’t fit into the story but I still found interesting. I thought there would be more value in sharing them than just leaving them on the story’s cutting room floor.
Here are four more leftover takeaways from our cover story.
1. While the new landscape has made it harder for recruits to land a scholarship at the high-major level, there may be an evolving pathway to attain a high-major opportunity. It just may come with a sacrifice. John Carroll, the former longtime coach at Northfield Mount Hermon who is now the basketball architect at Newman, said he’s seeing more opportunities for recruits to take up spots at the bottom of rosters that would typically go to walk-on players. The caveat: They wouldn’t play as freshmen.
“We’re getting calls by coaches at the high-major level saying, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a great kid, looking to develop and has no interest in playing next year,” Carroll said. “I think that spot is gonna work the supply/demand game for these kids.”
Carroll said as walk-ons continue to graduate over the coming years, there’s incentive for college coaches to bring in recruits late in the recruiting window who are still looking for a scholarship opportunity. For recruits, it’s an opportunity to gain high-level development and potentially earn a role for the ensuing years.
“When those kids graduate out, I don’t know if they’ll be replaced with the traditional walk-on,” Carroll said. “I think they’ll be replaced by kids who are good enough to make practices really good who want the opportunity to chase and explore what a year could look like. …
“I think in some ways, there will be competition for prep schools because kids will opt for that instead of prep schools. In the spirit of getting older, I still think a kid will go to prep school, go to college, see what the opportunity is. If it’s not there, he’ll redshirt and stay with the high-major program, and then he’ll make a decision. (They’ll say), ‘I think I can play it here after a redshirt year or I’m going to have to transfer because I have no path, (but) I’m glad I redshirted.' … I think we’ll see that come along.”
NEW MAG: Read our June 2025 edition
2. I touched on this in the magazine story, but it’s never been more important for recruits to put themselves in the right situation for success. Colleges, given their limited resources and changing priorities, simply aren’t spending as much time as before scouting and recruiting high school kids. They’re not taking as many risks on high school recruits because they have better options with older, experienced players coming out of the transfer portal – and at the end of the day, college coaches are prioritizing winning now because their job is on the line every year.
That means high school recruits need to find ways to differentiate themselves, and they need to maximize their exposure opportunities. It’s also imperative to hone in on skill development. As St. Thomas More assistant coach Milo Luciano referenced in our initial conversation, colleges are less likely to take a chance on a postgraduate player’s lone season of production; they want to see consistency and strong development over a period of multiple years. A school like St. Thomas More – which used to only bring in postgraduates – has adjusted its philosophies a bit, taking in younger players to develop them over time.
“We’ve been fortunate to get some good ones because everyone appreciates our skill-building,” longtime coach Jere Quinn said. “My job has always been placement and skill-building. The college job, their job is to win. So now, their options are an 18-year-old kid who has a lot of potential or a 23-year-old who’s validated themselves. They’re going to look at the second option because there’s money involved. … Everyone needs to win today instead of building for a future."
3. This goes hand in hand with finding a right prep school basketball fit, but both Carroll and Cushing head coach James Cormier expressed how important it is for recruits to find a prep school where the coaches can help them navigate this complex landscape.
“I think people have to be more and more careful about what’s being said and be ambitious enough and smart enough and hardworking enough to get the information,” Carroll said. “(College) coaches are relying on the fact that this is difficult, it’s confusing, a little chaotic, and they’re thriving because they can say whatever they want because quote-unquote, no one knows. Well, that’s not true. People know. You have to make sure that you’re talking to the people and you’re surrounded by the people who know."
Cormier said there are cases when college coaches aren’t fully truthful about their plans in the transfer portal, and may not necessarily be looking out for the high school recruit’s best interest. It’s crucial for that recruit to have a coach in their corner who has connections and can help them figure out the right fit.
“I was never the guy that was like 'You have to go prep, you gotta go prep,' and you don’t need to, but you better have a coach who has college connections,” Cormier said. “Because unless they're consistently talking to schools, and purely knowing the landscape – now more than ever, it’s so important to be around a coach who has a network of college coaches that he can not only get offers from, but lean into for advice and figure out the landscape.”
4. Carroll emphasized that there should be a two-way street relationship between recruits and college coaches in this new era. While coaches have shifted into more of a win-now mode to not only secure their jobs but also find better, high-paying jobs, there’s a new landscape for players where they may be moving on from their initial commitments based on their performances. Carroll said having a relationship with a coach where there’s a mutual understanding of each other’s needs and goals is imperative.
“One of the questions we’re asking our kids to ask college coaches (is), ‘If I get good enough that I can transfer out of your school, how are you going to treat me?’ And, ‘If I don’t perform well enough to stay at your school, will you help me get out?’ Those questions were never asked before,” Carroll said. “I think that has to be talked about in advance with kids. I think they need to know what kind of human being that they’re going to deal with.
"The bottom line is college coaches want you to play well enough so (they) can leave and find a better job or a raise and a bump. Well, if I play well enough and go somewhere else and get paid more, how will you treat me? And if I don’t play well enough where I need your help to find a better school, will you help me? I think you have to put college coaches on alert that this is now part of the deal here."
