This is the third installment of our series asking women's college coaches for their thoughts on key steps in the recruiting process. Read Part 1, about making impression at an AAU showcase, and Part 2 about the importance of highlight reels.
Between social media, the recruiting live period and elite camps, today's basketball recruits have several pathways for putting themselves on the radars of college coaches. But the good-old-fashioned cold email still holds a prominent place.
Direct outreach to coaches is an important way prospects can advocate for themselves and start building a relationship. But players around the country are fighting for a select few scholarship spots. What can leave a lasting impression?
It’s a lot like applying to your first job or internship.
As part of this series on recruiting advice for young basketball prospects, we spoke with five women's basketball coaches: a Division 1 head coach, Division 3 head coach and three Div. 1 assistants. They were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly about the recruiting process.
How many emails are college coaches juggling from prospective athletes? Answers ranged from 20 per week to upwards of 100. The days leading up to live period weekends get especially congested in the inbox.
Players and high school/club coaches are trying to draw as many college eyeballs to their names as possible. But college coaches want to see that a prospect has actually done some research on their team, and that they’re not just part of an email blast.
“If a random kid sends us an email and says, ‘Hey, here's my schedule and here's a highlight film or whatever,’ we might not watch it at all,” one Div. 1 assistant said.
Fairfield assistant coach Blake DuDonis echoed these sentiments publicly in a thread on Twitter/X:
HS recruits: I promise you that spam replying a million coaches with your AAU schedule is not helping you. In fact, it is very likely to be ignored. Same with DMing the schedule or highlights with zero context.
This isn't meant to be snarky, but 99% of coaches will mute you.
— Blake DuDonis (@BlakeDuDonis) April 24, 2025
In contrast, some coaches can specifically recall memorable emails. That assistant mentioned a transfer who emailed him describing the culture she was looking for and how she was willing to sacrifice playing time to help the program win. She ultimately became an important addition.
“I could tell when it's like an email blast to a bunch of coaches, and I get it, but like, how can you be a little bit more personable?” another Div. 1 assistant said. “And I've had some recruits be really personable — like ‘I looked at your roster,’ and mentioned one thing. It doesn't have to be super specific, but just showing that they've done a little bit of research.”
Timing matters. If someone wants a college coach to attend their game during a grassroots showcase, for example, they should notify them of when and where they're playing multiple days in advance — not the day before a showcase when schools have their weekend viewing schedules already mapped out.
"I always recommend reaching out a few days before," that assistant said. "Once you get your game times — I know sometimes they come out late — but the day of an event, reaching out to a coach ... We already have our schedule made of what courts we need to be (at). So just kind of being proactive in that."
In some cases, this may be the first high-pressure email correspondence of a player’s young career. It’s understandable that parents want to help out and make sure their child is handling the outreach professionally. But sometimes it can go too far and seem inauthentic.
“Sometimes when I'm emailing back and forth with the kid, I can tell if it's a parent or not,” one Div. 1 assistant said. “It doesn't happen a lot, but my advice is: if you're emailing back and forth to a coach and you're signing it (as the) kid, just make sure it's the kid and not the parent. And I get it, the parent's trying to help — but that's something (where) if I'm going back and forth with the kid, I'm hoping it's the kid, not the parent.”
Email outreach is an early step in sparking a connection with a college coach. Meaningful relationship-building, either over the phone or in-person, will ultimately let both sides know if player and school are the right fit. Our Division 3 head coach wants to see the players show their true selves, and for the parents and guardians around them to give players the freedom to express themselves.
"I'm a big relationship guy," he said. "I think it's crucial. I want people to feel like they're themselves. I love personalities. Just have one. It's not only the relationship with me, but I love when they spend time with the team. I love to see that dynamic and how that works out, because at the end of the day, they're going to be their teammates. I think that's the more important relationship. But if it's tough to kind of develop rapport between me and a recruit, it does make it a little more difficult.
"Side note: on recruiting visits, if the person they're with is answering all the questions, (that) also makes it more difficult to get a read on who the person is," he added. "They have to have their own voice, and if they're going to have it here, they're going to be by themselves. So let them have their voices."
