If you're an uncommitted high school senior, November 23 is the date that matters. From that day, college transfers compete with you for the same roster spots and scholarship money.

Transfer portal dates for 2026-27

Cross country and track and field now share the same two windows. These are the official NCAA Division I dates, from the NCAA's Notification of Transfer Windows table.

A window is the period when a college athlete can enter their name in the portal. Once they are in, coaches at other schools can contact them, and the athlete can keep talking with programs after the window closes.

What the transfer portal means for high school track athletes

A college coach has a limited number of roster spots and a fixed scholarship budget. Since the House settlement, Division I rosters have hard limits. A coach who adds two transfers in December has two fewer spots for high school seniors.

Transfers are attractive because they are proven. A college athlete who scored at their conference meet can score next season. A high school senior is a projection. That trade-off is why the portal raised the bar for high school recruits, and it is one of five changes covered in how NCAA track and field recruiting changed since 2021.

Timing matters too. A coach cannot know who is coming through the portal until the window closes. Some programs will settle part of their senior class only after December 7, and some spots will open again after the June window.

Taylor Cudequest, head track and field coach at PennWest Edinboro, put it plainly in a reel this week: "HIGH SCHOOL TRACK ATHLETES: THE TRANSFER PORTAL CHANGES RECRUITING." His advice to recruits is to reach out to programs that fit, send updated PRs and verified results, follow up with coaches, keep grades strong, and consider every college level.

Checklist for uncommitted seniors

Before the window opens on November 23

1. Create your free Streamline Athletes profile, if you do not have one. Complete it to 100%. Programs where you are an athletic, academic, and geographic fit on paper will reach out within 24 hours, and your contact details stay private until you say yes.
2. Talk to every coach on your list. Have a recent conversation with each program you are still interested in, and know where you stand. Ask each coach: Am I still on your list? How many spots are you filling in my event group? Are you waiting on the transfer portal before you make offers? How to contact college coaches covers what to send.
3. Update your Streamline Athletes profile with your latest results. Add every new PR from this season and your current grades. Programs reach out based on the performances on your profile, so an out-of-date profile gets you measured on last year.

After the window closes on December 7

1. Follow up with every coach on your list. Coaches now know which transfers are coming. A short message that week puts you back in front of them while they finish their class.
2. Widen your list. If your options are thin once coaches know their numbers, look further. Division II, Division III, the NAIA, the NJCAA, and U SPORTS all recruit seniors through the spring. The free Track and Field Recruiting Calculator shows where your performances fit, and this guide to building a target list shows how to sort it.

What changed this year

Track and field used to have its own windows, including one after the indoor season. The NCAA removed the indoor window in January 2026. On October 7, 2026, the Division I Cabinet approved the current format: one 15-day window after the cross country championships and one 10-day window after the outdoor track and field championships. Every cross country and track and field athlete uses the same dates.

The result is two short, predictable windows. Most transfer movement in the sport now happens in late November and mid-June.

When does the transfer portal open in 2027?

The spring 2027 window opens June 14, 2027. The NCAA has not published the fall 2027 dates yet. The rule ties the fall window to the end of the cross country championships, so expect it to open in late November 2027. We will update this post when the NCAA publishes the table.

Frequently asked questions

When does the transfer portal open for track and field in 2026?

The NCAA Division I transfer portal for track and field and cross country opens November 23, 2026 and closes December 7, 2026.

When does the transfer portal open in 2027?

The spring window opens June 14, 2027 and closes June 23, 2027. The fall 2027 window follows the cross country championships, so expect late November 2027. The NCAA has not published those dates yet.

How long is the transfer portal window for cross country and track and field?

The fall window is 15 days and the spring window is 10 days.

Can high school athletes enter the transfer portal?

No. The transfer portal is only for athletes already enrolled at a college. High school athletes are recruited directly by coaches.

Does the transfer portal hurt high school recruits?

It adds competition. Transfers and high school seniors compete for the same roster spots and scholarship money, and coaches often prefer athletes with proven college results. High school athletes who stay in regular contact with coaches and keep their results current stay in the conversation.

Is it too late for an uncommitted senior to get recruited?

No. Many programs fill their class through the spring, and some spots open after each portal window closes. Division II, Division III, NAIA, NJCAA, and U SPORTS programs recruit seniors well into the spring.

Do the same dates apply to Division II, Division III, the NAIA, and U SPORTS?

No. These dates are for NCAA Division I. Other divisions and associations have their own transfer rules. See transferring between the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, and U SPORTS.

The program and the coach

The University of Southern Maine Huskies compete in NCAA Division III in the Little East Conference, with men's and women's cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. You can see the program's details, facilities, and costs on the University of Southern Maine track and field program page.

Rob Whitten has led the Southern Maine women's program since 2019 and both programs since 2022. Before that he spent 11 seasons as an assistant at the University of Rhode Island, coaching jumpers and multi-event athletes. Under Whitten, the Southern Maine women have won the Little East indoor and outdoor titles in every completed season since 2022, and the men won the indoor title in 2024 and 2025. He has coached national champions in the javelin, pole vault, and shot put. His full record is on his Southern Maine staff bio.

The goal

Southern Maine wants to stay at the top of its conference every year and send individuals to the NCAA Division III Championships. In Whitten's words:

"Annually contend for Little East Conference championships, while striving to have individuals compete at the highest level of NCAA success."

Doing both takes depth across every event group. Southern Maine is recruiting sprinters, hurdlers, middle-distance and distance runners, jumpers, throwers, pole vaulters, and multi-event athletes for its next two classes. If you are still working out which division suits you, our guide to how the NCAA divisions differ and how to find your level explains what Division III offers.

The challenge

Whitten named three challenges that make recruiting harder than it looks from the outside:

• Higher divisions want the same athletes. Southern Maine often competes with Division I and Division II programs for the same recruits.
• Region and school size are a hard sell early. Athletes rarely start their search with a public university in Portland, Maine.
• Travel and budget limit reach. Visiting meets far from New England is not realistic for a Division III staff.

He described the biggest one the way he would explain it to another coach:

"USM has limited academic elite programs that draw kids in. We are usually a backup option early in the process, until financial aid isn't what people hoped for at other schools, and then USM becomes a more realistic option financially."

That second look is where Southern Maine wins recruits. Division III programs cannot offer athletic scholarships, so cost of attendance and merit aid carry the decision. Canadian students pay the same tuition rate as Maine residents, which USM publishes on its undergraduate tuition and fees page. For a Canadian family comparing offers, that changes the math quickly.

What changed

Before Southern Maine joined Streamline Athletes, its recruiting stayed close to home. Whitten described the problem in two parts:

"Our focus was regional. Athletes would show initial interest, then stop communicating if they weren't interested further in the process."

His regional recruiting still works the way it always has. What changed is how far it reaches:

"Our regional outreach is still similar, but it has expanded our reach to athletes we wouldn't have contacted previously."

Southern Maine now reaches recruits across the US and Canada based on standards it sets in the Streamline Athletes coach app. Athletes who fit those standards hear from the program directly, and the athlete decides whether to share their contact details. Our article on how athletes and coaches reach each other in the Streamline Athletes app explains how that works from the athlete's side.

The Streamline Athletes Advantage

Asked what he would tell another coach considering Streamline Athletes, Whitten pointed to the audience his program could not reach on its own:

"It has definitely connected us with an audience we haven't had access to before (for us, specifically Canadian athletes). It's up to us to close the loop and get more athletes to commit, and it's worth it."

For a Division III program in northern New England, Canadian athletes are a natural fit. The border is close, the tuition rate matches in-state, and many Canadian athletes are looking for a place to compete and study in the US. Our guide to athletic scholarships in Canada versus the United States covers how aid compares across the border.

What this means if you are targeting programs like this

Whitten's answers describe how many Division III coaches evaluate recruits. Here is how to use them.

Lead with your grades

Whitten reads the academic profile first:

"I look at their academic profile and grade average to see if they would qualify for a merit scholarship. Then I look at their athletic profile, meaning their events and performances, to identify their best overall event, but also their well-roundedness and versatility."

At a Division III school, merit aid is often the largest part of a financial package. Strong grades make you affordable to the program, and bring the cost of attendance down for your family, before your PRs are even considered. Our guide to how college track coaches evaluate academic fit shows how to present yours.

Show your training age

Whitten also wants to know how long you have been training:

"Then I look at their overall training age and background. Have they done two outdoor-only seasons, or have they run cross country, indoor, and outdoor for five years? That helps identify how much potential for growth they still have."

An athlete with two outdoor seasons and the same PRs as a five-year, three-season athlete has more room to improve. Put every season you have competed on your profile, including cross country and indoor.

Keep your first message short

"Provide the most important information: name, school, grade average, events, and performances. I don't need their whole life story or results from every meet they've ever run. Keep it simple and to the point, with the most pertinent information."

Our guide on how to contact college coaches and keep the relationship going has examples of short first messages.

Keep replying

Meeting the standards is only the start. Whitten said that once he is in touch with an athlete, he rarely chooses not to offer a spot:

"The most likely reason we do not move forward with a recruit is a lack of response and communication."

Reply to every message, even when the answer is that you are leaning elsewhere.

Parents: support, don't take over

"Be involved, help them navigate the process, and participate in the calls, but let the student-athlete initiate communication and answer the questions."

Our college recruiting guide for parents covers where parents help most.

Who they recruit

Southern Maine wants to hear from athletes in their junior year (Grade 11). The performances below are the floor for Southern Maine to take a look. The athletes it most wants to sign are a step above them.

To see how your performances compare with programs at every level, use our college track and field recruiting standards.

FAQ

What does the University of Southern Maine look at first in a track and field recruit?

Coach Rob Whitten looks at grades first to see whether an athlete qualifies for merit scholarships. Then he reviews performances across all events to find the athlete's best event and how versatile they are, and checks their training age to judge how much they can still improve.

Does Southern Maine offer athletic scholarships for track and field?

No. Southern Maine competes in NCAA Division III, and Division III schools do not award athletic scholarships. Athletes can receive merit scholarships based on grades and need-based aid. USM lists its awards on its scholarships page.

Do Canadian students pay out-of-state tuition at Southern Maine?

No. Southern Maine charges Canadian students the same tuition rate as Maine residents. Current rates are on USM's undergraduate tuition and fees page.

When should I contact the Southern Maine track and field coaches?

Coach Whitten wants to hear from athletes in their junior year (Grade 11). Athletes from Maine can be in touch earlier.

What should I include in my first message to Coach Whitten?

Your name, school, grade average, events, and best performances. Keep it short. He does not need your full story or every meet result.

Why might an athlete who meets Southern Maine's standards not get an offer?

The most common reason is that the athlete stops communicating. Once Coach Whitten is in touch with a recruit, he rarely chooses not to offer a spot.

Get recruited to Southern Maine

• Create your free Streamline Athletes profile, or log in and update yours. Complete every section so Southern Maine sees the full picture.
• Add your grades to your profile. They are the first thing Coach Whitten checks.
• List every event and every season. Versatility and training age both count.
• Compare your performances with the table above. If you are at the floor or better, Southern Maine can reach you.
• Read the Southern Maine program page for costs, academics, and facilities.
• Answer every message. Silence is the most common reason a recruitment ends.

Follow Southern Maine track and field

Follow the Huskies on Instagram at @usm_trackandxc for meet results, signings, and training.

The new streamlineathletes.com is live. It brings together everything we've learned since 2017 about getting recruited for college track and field and cross country: a complete recruiting guide, a rebuilt directory of more than 1,700 college programs with new school pages, recruiting standards for every division, a new recruiting calculator, and a scholarships guide. The video below walks through it page by page.

Why we rebuilt it

Since 2017, college-bound athletes, parents, college coaches, high school and club coaches, and pro athletes have taught us how recruiting really works in our sport. They brought us questions our old site never answered, and close to a decade of recruiting data to answer them with.

The landscape has also changed a lot in the past three years: NIL, transfer rules, roster limits, trackflation, and everything in between. Families need answers based on recruiting today, not five years ago.

Start with a free profile, then the guide

The first step hasn't changed. Create your free profile so the coaches recruiting on Streamline Athletes can find you.

Then read How to Get Recruited for College Track & Field, our complete recruiting guide. It's a beast of a page, probably too much to read in one sitting, and it's the spine of everything we know about the process. College coaches and pro athletes weigh in throughout, and it links out to deeper posts on each topic. It's the piece we're proudest of: it went through more iterations than anything else on the site, and we'll keep it current.

How to Get Recruited for College Track & Field: The Complete Guide

The complete free guide to college track and field recruiting: timelines, standards, scholarships, coach contact, campus visits, and common mistakes to avoid

Streamline AthletesStreamline Athletes

The guide, like the whole site, is built around the four buckets of recruiting: academics, athletics, financials, and location. Every decision a family makes fits into one of them.

Find colleges that fit, faster

The college directory is the biggest change on the site. The old version made you click through division and conference pages of logos, or fight a finicky search. Now every track and field and cross country program in the United States and Canada sits in one directory you can search, filter, and sort.

College Track and Field Schools

Browse more than 1,700 college track and field and cross country programs in the US and Canada, across the NCAA, NAIA, U SPORTS, junior colleges, and more. Filter by level, conference, state, season, and team

Streamline Athletes

Search by school, city, state or province, or conference: "RMAC", "CSU Pueblo", or "CO" all work. Filter by division or association, conference, state or province, season (cross country, indoor, outdoor), and men's or women's teams, then sort and switch between cards and a list. Every filtered view has its own link, so you can save it or send it to a parent or coach. Programs recruiting on Streamline Athletes right now are marked, and they're shown first.

Every division and conference has its own page too, with live program counts. The NCAA Division II page explains how D2 recruiting works and shows the latest national championship results, and the RMAC and GPAC pages show what it took to score at their conference championships. Those two are our first test of conference scoring lines.

School pages with costs, coaches, and a new look

Every school page has been rebuilt around the questions families ask first. Each one opens with the school's own photo and an at-a-glance summary: association, conference, teams, location, tuition, and enrollment. You'll find links to each team's site, the coaching staff and support staff, facilities, and areas of study, and you can add the school to your target list in one click.

US schools now show 2024–25 tuition and fees (in-state, out-of-state, and international), net price by family income, acceptance rates, test score ranges, and graduation rates from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Every figure shows its year, and the data refreshes monthly. This fall we also checked and updated coaching staffs at more than 900 programs, and removed programs that have closed.

The new recruiting calculator

The recruiting calculator shows what your performances can mean for roster spots and scholarships across NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, NJCAA, and U SPORTS. Add your events and best performances, and it compares each one with our verified recruiting lines, the same lines behind our recruiting standards.

Track & Field Recruiting Calculator

Free track and field and cross country recruiting calculator: enter up to five events and see what your performances mean for roster spots and scholarships

Streamline Athletes

Here's how those lines are built. The fast end comes from multiple years of conference championship results, because coaches recruit athletes who can score at their conference meet. The other end is compared with the standards programs set on Streamline Athletes, so the lines move when coaches change theirs. Underneath it all are years of real recruiting results, scholarships, and offers.

It's new, so it won't be perfect yet. Try it and send us your feedback.

Parents, tell us what would help

The new For parents page explains how Streamline Athletes works from your side. Read it, book an advising session if you want a plan built with your family, and tell us which new tools would best help you help your athlete.

Who Streamline Athletes is for

Streamline Athletes is for track and field and cross country athletes who want to meet the college coaches recruiting them: runners, jumpers, and throwers in the United States and Canada, and international athletes looking for their fit. The For athletes page shows what's available at each stage of high school.

Also new

• An About page with a timeline of what we've built since 2017
• An Athletics Canada page for Canadian athletes, and a French section on the blog for Quebec families
• A Recruitment Advising page that explains one-on-one sessions and the written plan you get afterwards
• Help in the menu and footer, and a rebuilt Contact page with quick answers
• Much faster pages on phones

What's next

Everything you see after you log in is about to get a lot more powerful. High Performance Mentorship, one-on-one guidance from pro athletes, is coming soon too; join the waitlist to hear first.

If you're starting to think about academics and athletics after high school, sign up now. You'll be first to hear from the coaches recruiting with us, and from every new school that joins, and first to try the new athlete app.

This website is a season's best. The real PRs are coming.

Piper Hoprich is a sprinter from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and this fall she gave her verbal commitment to Elon University, a Division I program in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). She is a two-time Pennsylvania state champion, winning the 100m and the 200m in Class AA as a junior, and she carried a 4.0 GPA into her senior year.

I worked with Piper in a series of advising sessions from June until her commitment. Her results opened doors early. Then her recruitment hit a rule change in the middle of the summer that wiped out most of what she had built, and she had to start again with official visits only weeks away. How she handled that restart is the part of her story I wanted to highlight here and that I'll be sharing with future recruits and their families.  

Piper on the track and in the classroom

• 100m: 11.90, Pennsylvania Class AA state champion (2026, as a high school junior)
• 200m: 24.39, Pennsylvania Class AA state champion (2026, as a high school junior)
• 60m (indoor): 7.77
• Academics: 4.0 GPA, ranked 7th in her class

To see how performances like hers line up with college programs at each level, check them in our college track and field recruiting standards.

The moment she knew

Piper has been sprinting since seventh grade. She always wanted to compete at the Division I level, and her state meet as a junior made it feel possible.

"That adrenaline and that [thought that] I can do this, it kind of hit me at States this past year after winning. I knew this was possible and that I can compete at a level similar."

What recruiting looked like from the inside

Piper started her recruitment the day college coaches were allowed to contact her, June 15 after her sophomore year. She went in expecting it to move quickly.

"I had super high expectations going into it. And I was expecting it to be really easy... But it was definitely more challenging than I thought."

She described what the work looked like week to week.

"I would schedule with a coach to call and they just would never call and then I would send out like hundreds of emails and get some phone calls sometimes... Definitely challenging, very humbling, and definitely a lot harder than I thought."

That matches what I see with most families. A state title and a 4.0 make the case for an athlete, and the athlete still has to do every step in between: emails, calls, questionnaires, follow-ups, and visits. Our guide on how to contact college coaches and keep the relationship going covers that middle stretch.

The rule change that reset her search

In June 2026, the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a five-seasons-in-five-years eligibility model. Current college athletes can opt into it, which means many seniors who expected to graduate gained another year. Coaches kept those athletes, and the roster spots they had planned to give the high school class of 2027 disappeared.

Piper felt it directly. A program near the top of her list stopped recruiting sprinters in her class, and others followed.

"When that fifth year eligibility rule came into place, it definitely knocked a bunch of options out for me. And that was really hard because then I felt like I had to restart everything that I had been building up. I've been building these relationships and everything. And it felt like I had to restart again."

None of it had anything to do with her times. If you are in the class of 2027 or 2028, assume some coaches are planning around returning athletes before they plan around you, and build a longer list than you think you need. Our explainers on how NCAA track and field recruiting has changed since 2021 and the D1 roster and scholarship changes under the House settlement lay out the rules behind this.

How to Build a College Track & Field Recruiting Target List

Most recruiting advice recommends more work than necessary. This guide covers how to build a realistic college track and field target list, research programs across four fit areas, and contact coaches through Streamline Athletes.

Brett MontroseStreamline Athletes

I asked Piper what kept her going through that stretch.

"I continued training and I trust my training. I trust my skills, and I know that someone will see that I'm putting in the work even when it's hard to... I would be upset for an hour and then reset, reach out to more coaches."

How she rebuilt her list

Piper's mom first reached out to me in late spring. In June, we built Piper a written Athlete Recruitment Plan around her four priorities: a Division I program where she could score, an exercise science path, a debt-free finish, and somewhere warmer than Pennsylvania. After the rule change, I emailed coaches at the programs that fit those priorities to find out who was still recruiting sprinters for 2027, and I introduced Piper to the ones who said yes.

The timing with Elon worked out well. Around the time Piper and I had our first call, I had spent some time with Mark Rinker, Elon's head cross country coach and an assistant track and field coach. He saw the fit and pointed her toward the sprints group.

Here is how Piper described that part of the process:

"Most of the connections that you had given me were the ones that I had an official visit for. And Elon was one of the connections that you had... You took in consideration my GPA, where I wanted to be, and how it would fit into kind of what I wanted."

By late summer, she was booking official visits for September and October, and that changed how the process felt.

"If I'm going on an official visit, I know that they're investing in me and they want me to be there..."

Why Elon

Piper visited Elon in September. Her hosts were Coach Rinker and Brian Szutkowski, who coaches the Elon women's sprinters. During his time there, Elon has won four CAA team titles, including the 2025 outdoor and 2026 indoor championships.

"Coach Rinker and Coach Brian were the two coaches that had taken me on my visit and they made it super personable and they really wanted to get to know me... My training was super similar to how he [Coach Szutkowski] trains his athletes."

She met the athletes on the team and came away with the feeling every recruit is looking for.

"[Elon] seemed to really understand that I was a person, not a number, and they wanted me to be part of this team. I felt like some other schools that I had been talking to didn't quite make me feel like that."

The academic side fit too. Piper liked that Elon's class schedule is set up to work with its athletes.

Piper did not commit on the spot. She had one more official visit booked and took it before deciding, which I encourage. A final visit gives you something to compare against, and it lets you commit with more confidence. She still came back to Elon.

The commitment

Piper told her parents first, then her personal coach, and then she called Coach Szutkowski to commit.

"He said like I made his Sunday and like it, he seemed very excited for me to be there, which is what I want from a coach. I don't want to be somewhere where I'm not wanted, but Coach Brian definitely expressed that he wants me there and he wants to make me better."

Then she texted me. That was a good Sunday for me too.

Piper's advice for recruits

I asked Piper what she would tell herself in January, before the hardest months of her recruitment.

"I would say it's definitely gonna be hard and you just gotta push through and you have to trust in your hard work and trust in your goals and you will get there. It just is not gonna look what you thought it would look like."

She had a practical tip too, and it comes with a story. On one of her other visits, another recruit spent the day on their phone.

"They were on their phone the entire time to the point where their phone died by noon. And then during lunch they scooted their chair over away from the table to an outlet and then charged their phone."

Her advice for your own visit:

"Definitely stay off your phone and be engaged the entire time. Ask questions... Kind of just act the way you do around your friends and family."

What's next

Piper has a senior season to finish first. She wants to defend both state titles, win the 4x100m relay after her team placed fourth last year, and help her school move up from third in the team standings.

"I do want to repeat my state champ title for the one and the two [hundred], but I would also like to have the four by one title."

Her time goals are the 11.7s or 11.8s in the 100m and the low 24s or better in the 200m. Indoors, she is aiming for the state meet in the 60m and 200m. At Elon, her first goal is to score points at the CAA championships. She might even race a few 4x400m legs too...

A personal note from Piper's recruitment advisor

Piper's recruitment had more turns than most. She had too little interest at the start, then a wave of coaches all at once, and then a rule change that took away the program she wanted most. Every time it changed, she gave herself an hour, then sent the next email. She kept training, kept asking questions, and made her decision with a clear head.

Congratulations, Piper. Elon is getting a driven sprinter and an academic achiever, but most importantly, a coachable, kind, respectful person who will become a top-tier teammate. Go win some more state titles first!

To future track and field recruits and their families

We have free resources to help you get started:

• Create your free Streamline Athletes account and complete your profile to be contacted by college coaches.
• Learn how to build your college track and field target list.
• Read when to ask college coaches about scholarships.
• Parents: start with our parents' guide to college track and field recruiting.
• Read how Kai Jenney put academics first and chose Western.

On October 2, we changed how college coaches' standards reach athletes on Streamline Athletes. When a coach sets a standard for an event such as the 1500m, every related event, such as the 1200m and the 1600m, now updates with it automatically. Throws on youth implements now have their own lines too, so a 4kg shot put is never treated like a 7.26kg one, building on the hurdle heights we added in September. Your performances are never converted. A coach's standards are: each related event is converted from the coach's main event, based on the coach's most recent update to that standard.

Throws and hurdles are read on their own implement

High school athletes compete on different implements and barriers than college athletes. A Canadian U18 thrower may use a 3kg hammer, while college women throw 4kg. A youth hurdler may race over 36-inch or 39-inch hurdles, while college men race over 42 inches. Until recently, the platform read every throw and every hurdle time on the college lines. A throw on a lighter implement or a race over a lower barrier was compared with college performances as if it were one, which gave coaches and athletes a less accurate picture.

Each throw and each hurdle race is now measured on the lines for the implement or barrier it was done on, with its own lines for every implement weight and hurdle height. A 15.20 over 39-inch hurdles is read as a 15.20 over 39-inch hurdles. Nothing is scaled up or estimated.

The hurdle lines came first, in September. We set them from Athletics Canada national rankings by comparing athletes who raced both heights in the same season, and kept every time exactly as it was run. The lines for youth throwing implements went live on October 2, and results already on athlete profiles were updated to them the same day.

To make sure your performances are read correctly, add the implement weight or hurdle height to each result on your profile.

One coach standard now covers every related event

College coaches set their recruiting standards on a set of main events, the ones they recruit for directly, such as the 100m, 800m, 1500m, and 5k cross country. Athletes often race events next to those: the 60m indoors, the 1600m in high school, or a 3-mile cross country course. Those related events now follow the coach's main event automatically. Every time a coach saves a main event standard, its related events are converted from that latest version.

Each related event is set at the same performance level as the main event it follows. A few examples:

For athletes, this should mean more contact from coaches. Take a distance runner who only races the 1600m and 3200m in high school. Until now, coaches who set standards only on the 1500m, the indoor mile, and the 3000m may never have contacted that athlete. Now the 1600m follows the 1500m and mile, the 3200m follows the 3000m, and those coaches' standards reach the athlete's results.

On October 2, related-event standards were filled for every program on the platform: nearly 57,000 new standards and more than 10,000 updates.

For coaches, it means one standard per event. Set each main event once, with throws on the college implement, and the rest follows.

Two new main events for coaches

Coaches can now set standards directly on the 400m hurdles and the 5000m race walk. The 400m hurdles sits with the sprints, just below the 400m, and the race walk has its own group. Both events already hold standards for every program, and their related events update in the same save.

The calculator works the same way

Our free Track and Field Recruiting Calculator, launched on September 29, reads throws and hurdles the same way. Pick the implement or hurdle height you competed with, and it uses that implement's lines. It never converts a youth implement into a college equivalent. Read how the calculator works.

Tell us what you see

These changes are new. If a performance on your profile looks like it is being read on the wrong implement, or a standard on a related event looks off, email info@streamlineathletes.com with the event, the performance, and the implement or hurdle height.

Frequently asked questions

Does Streamline Athletes convert youth throws or hurdle times to college equivalents?

No. Your performance is never converted. A throw on a lighter implement or a hurdle race over a lower barrier is measured on the lines for that implement or barrier.

Which implements and hurdle heights are covered?

Every implement weight and hurdle height an athlete can choose on their profile has its own lines. Hurdle heights have been live since September, and throwing implements since October 2.

Do coaches need to set standards for every event?

No. Coaches set standards on their main events. The standards for related events, such as the 1600m or the 60m, are converted from the main event at the same performance level, based on the coach's most recent update.

Why should I add the implement weight or hurdle height to my results?

The platform can only read a result on the right lines if it knows the implement or barrier. Without it, the result is read on the college lines.

We launched a free Track and Field and Cross Country Recruiting Calculator on September 29, 2026. Enter your events and best performances, and it shows what they can mean for roster spots and scholarships across NCAA D1, D2, D3, the NAIA, the NJCAA, and U SPORTS. It takes about a minute, and you don't need an account.

The calculator is brand new. We built it on the performance ranges college coaches use on Streamline Athletes, and since October 2 it reads those lines live from the platform, so it always matches what athletes and coaches see. We will keep refining it as athletes, parents, and coaches use it. If a result looks off, or something is hard to understand, please tell us. Your feedback shapes what we change next.

Why we built it

The first question most athletes and parents ask us is some version of "Is my child good enough?" followed quickly by "Is D1 realistic?" Until now, the honest answer meant a conversation with our team or a long read of our college recruiting standards. The calculator gives families a quick, objective starting point, using the same performance levels that sit behind those standards and behind the Streamline Athletes platform.

How it works

1. Choose Men or Women.
2. Pick an event and enter your best performance. Times of 400m and longer have separate boxes for minutes, seconds, and hundredths. Field events can be entered in meters or feet.
3. Add more events if you have them, up to five in total.
4. Press See my analysis.
5. Read your result for each division and association, then use Edit performances to try a new PR or Start over to begin again.

The calculator covers 60 events, including sprints, hurdles, middle distance, distance, steeplechase, race walk, cross country distances, jumps, throws, and multi-events. If you enter a performance that is far outside what the event allows, the calculator flags it before it gives a result.

What your result shows

Your analysis lists each event with a strength bar and a suggested next step. Your strongest event sets the overall result. When more than one event lands at the same level, the calculator notes the extra value a multi-event athlete brings, because points win championships, but it does not raise the result.

The result is shown separately for each division and association, because the same performance means different things at different levels. Each card links to that group's programs on Browse Teams.

Events, implements, and hurdle heights

Each card only reads events that the division or association holds. U SPORTS has no varsity outdoor season, so outdoor-only events don't count on the U SPORTS card.

Throws and hurdles use the college implement and hurdle height by default. If your performance came on a lighter implement or a lower hurdle, pick it from the list. The calculator reads that performance on its own lines. It never converts a youth implement or hurdle height into a college equivalent. Read more about how Streamline Athletes reads throws, hurdles, and related events.

What the calculator can't tell you

The calculator looks at performances only. Coaches look at much more, which is why one performance can earn a scholarship at one program and a walk-on spot at the next.

• Coaches recruit to score at their conference championship, so the conference matters as much as the division. Our Conference-Impact Lens shows how to find the conferences where you would score.
• Standards move every year with roster needs. A program that just lost two sprinters recruits sprinters harder.
• Grades, test scores, budget, location, and citizenship change which programs can say yes, and how much aid is possible.
• Coaches recruit your trajectory as much as your PR. Meeting a program's standard by the end of the summer after Grade 11 puts you in a strong position.

A result is a direction, not a promise of a roster spot or scholarship money. The clearest answer comes from which programs reach out to you. Athletes who complete their Streamline Athletes profile to 100% hear from programs where they fit athletically, academically, and geographically, usually within 24 hours.

It's new, and we want your feedback

This is the first version of the calculator, and we expect to improve it quickly. The most useful feedback tells us about:

• A result that doesn't match what coaches have told you.
• An event, implement, or hurdle height that is missing or reads wrong.
• Wording on the results that is confusing for athletes or parents.

Email info@streamlineathletes.com with "Calculator feedback" in the subject line. Include the event, the performance, and what you expected to see. Every message goes to our team.

Frequently asked questions

Is the recruiting calculator free?

Yes. The calculator is free, and you don't need a Streamline Athletes account to use it.

Which divisions and associations does it cover?

It covers NCAA D1 (with a separate read for the Power conferences), D2, and D3, plus the NAIA, the NJCAA, and U SPORTS in Canada.

Does it work for cross country, multi-events, and race walk?

Yes. It covers cross country distances from 3K to 10K, the pentathlon, heptathlon, and decathlon, and race walk events, along with sprints, hurdles, distance events, jumps, and throws.

Can I enter throws on a youth implement or hurdles at a youth height?

Yes. Pick the implement or hurdle height you competed with. The calculator reads that performance on its own lines and never converts it.

Where do the calculator's numbers come from?

It uses the same performance levels as our college recruiting standards and the Streamline Athletes platform, which reflect the performance ranges college coaches use on Streamline Athletes.

Is a calculator result a guarantee of a scholarship?

No. The calculator considers performances only, not grades, budget, location, or goals, and it isn't a promise of recruitment or scholarship money. Use it as a starting point, then see which programs reach out to your free profile.

Parents ask us the same questions every week. We went back through a year and a half of advising calls, emails, and support conversations with track and field and cross country families, then sorted every question by how often it came up. This guide answers them in that order, starting with money.

The short version: your athlete leads the recruiting process and you back them up. Cost depends on the school, not the division, so work out what your family will pay after aid, not the sticker price. Grade 11 results and grades are what recruit most athletes, and it is rarely too late. Coaches want to hear from the athlete, not the parent. For the full process from first contact to signing, read our Track and Field Recruiting Guide.

How to Get Recruited for College Track & Field: The Complete Guide

Everything athletes and families need to know about college track and field recruiting — academics, performances, scholarships, coach outreach, and timelines across the NCAA, NAIA, and U SPORTS.

Streamline AthletesStreamline Athletes

Cost and scholarships

What will a US college cost us?

It depends on the school far more than the division. Some public schools cost around $15,000 to $20,000 USD a year in total, while private schools can list $60,000 to $80,000. That listed price is rarely what a recruited athlete pays. Expensive private schools often carry the most academic and athletic aid, so a $50,000 sticker price can come down to a fraction of that. Compare schools on what your family pays after all aid, every year, for the full degree.

For Canadian families, the useful baseline is the full cost of a Canadian university away from home: tuition, housing, and meals, minus any award. A US option needs to match or beat that number after the exchange rate to make sense for most families.

What does a coach mean by "What's your budget?"

Coaches mean the most your family can pay out of pocket each year. Decide that number together before the first call, and give coaches a range rather than an exact figure. A coach who asks about budget is a good sign, because they are working out whether they can make the money work. Our guide on when to ask college coaches about scholarships covers how to raise it.

What does a typical track scholarship look like?

Most track and field scholarships are partial. NCAA D2 programs have 12.6 full scholarships per gender to split across the whole roster. D1 schools that opted into the House settlement can now fund every athlete on a capped roster, but most track programs kept similar budgets, so partial awards are still the norm. Our breakdown of the 2025 D1 roster and scholarship changes explains the new limits. At most D1, D2, and NAIA schools, athletic and academic aid can be combined. D3 schools offer no athletic scholarships, but many give generous academic aid.

Southern Maine's coach explains what that looks like in practice, and what parents should leave to the athlete, in how Southern Maine recruits.

In Canada, athletic awards can cover tuition and fees, not housing or meals. See athletic scholarships in Canada versus the United States for the full comparison.

Is a full ride realistic?

For most athletes, no. D1 programs now recruit transfers and older international athletes, which makes full rides rare even for national-level high school athletes. A full ride is most likely at a program where your athlete would be one of the team's top scorers, which is often at D2 or NAIA. A US full ride covers tuition, housing, and meals. A Canadian full award covers tuition only.

Can a scholarship be cut after an injury or a bad season?

The National Letter of Intent no longer exists, so each school writes its own athletic aid agreement. Read it before signing. A strong agreement covers the whole degree, protects your athlete through injury and redshirt years, and can go up but never down. With an agreement like that, the money is only at risk if your athlete fails academically. Cuts after the first year are uncommon outside the biggest D1 programs.

How do we bring up money without sounding like it's all we care about?

Let your athlete lead with academics and fit, then ask the money question plainly. For example: "We've talked as a family about what we can pay each year. Can this work financially?" Coaches then build the package from academic and athletic aid. Most coaches talk numbers after a visit. Coaches usually make their best offer first, and a competing offer from a comparable school is the one fair reason to ask for more.

Level and divisions

Is D1 realistic for my child?

The honest answer comes from comparing your athlete's current performances to the standards programs recruit to, event by event. Our college recruiting standards page shows what a performance means at each level. Many D2 programs are faster than many D1 programs, and an athlete who scores at their conference championship usually has a better experience, and often better funding, than one who sits at the back of a D1 roster.

How do D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and U SPORTS compare?

D1 has the biggest budgets and capped rosters. D2 splits 12.6 scholarships per gender and has no roster cap. D3 has no athletic aid and a strong academic focus. The NAIA competes at a level close to D2 and offers athletic scholarships. U SPORTS awards cover tuition, the varsity season is cross country and indoor track, and athletes get five years of eligibility. The divisions overlap a great deal, so ask each coach what their program demands. Our guide to the differences between D1, D2, and D3 goes deeper.

Do we need to travel to big meets to be seen?

No. Track and field recruiting is far less political than team sports. A personal best at any sanctioned, fully automatic timed meet counts the same to a coach. Travel only if the competition or the conditions will help your athlete run, jump, or throw a personal best.

Is cross country expected for distance recruits?

Yes, at almost every program. Coaches still lean on track times, because cross country courses vary so much.

Timing

Are we too late?

Usually not. Grade 11 results and grades are what get most athletes recruited. Coach conversations pick up over the summer and early fall of Grade 12, visits happen from September to November, and many applications open around October 1. Some coaches keep recruiting Grade 12 athletes into the spring. The track and field recruiting timeline lays out each year.

What can we do in Grade 9 or 10?

Train well, get good grades, and enjoy the sport. NCAA D1 coaches cannot start contacting athletes until June 15 after Grade 10, D2 coaches can message athletes at any age, and most coaches turn to the next class around February or March of Grade 11. Track recruits later than small-roster team sports.

Should we apply to schools before or after talking to coaches?

Talk to coaches first, visit, then apply to the two to four schools at the top of your list, including a backup. Ask each coach when they want an application in. Canadian families should not miss Canadian early admission deadlines while waiting on a late US visit.

Academics and eligibility

Does my child need the SAT or ACT?

The NCAA no longer requires a test score for eligibility, and most US colleges stayed test-optional. A few schools require a score again, and a strong score can unlock academic aid. If US schools are on the list, sit the test in the spring or summer before Grade 12, because test dates fill months ahead. Our guide Do I need to take the SAT or ACT? covers the details.

What is the NCAA Eligibility Center, and when do we register?

It confirms your athlete's academic eligibility and amateur status. It is not admission, and it does not market your athlete. Register once US schools are a serious option, add the NCAA ID to the athlete profile, and share it with interested coaches. The NCAA and NAIA eligibility center guide walks through it.

Which grades count, and how do Canadian grades convert to a GPA?

Use the average of your athlete's university-prerequisite core courses and leave electives out. Report grades honestly. A high estimate wastes everyone's time at admission, and a low one hides your athlete from coaches who search by grades. Canadian conversions are usually favorable: a 90% average converts to roughly a 4.0.

If a coach wants my child, does that guarantee admission?

No. Recruiting and admission are separate processes. A coach can help an application move smoothly but rarely decides it. An athletic aid agreement depends on admission, so if your athlete is not admitted, the agreement does not hold and they are free to go elsewhere.

Can prize money or sponsorships affect eligibility?

Yes. Do not accept prize money or professional contracts. NCAA rules now allow name, image, and likeness deals, but not payment tied to performance. Ask before accepting anything.

Canadian and international families

Is the US worth it, or is Canada the better path?

It depends on the athlete, the event, and the budget. Canada is predictable: domestic tuition, no exchange-rate risk, and a U SPORTS level that keeps getting stronger. The US adds three seasons a year and hundreds of realistic programs, but almost always needs a scholarship to compete on cost. Event matters too. Throwers and hurdlers lose an outdoor varsity season in U SPORTS. Read why you should consider U SPORTS before you decide.

Can we use RESP savings or student loans at a US school?

RESP withdrawals can be used at most US universities, because they qualify as post-secondary institutions for RESP purposes. Canadian federal and provincial student aid can also fund many approved US schools. Check each school on your list with your RESP provider and your provincial student aid office before you commit.

What paperwork does a Canadian need to study in the US?

A valid passport, an acceptance from the school, the school's I-20 form, proof of funds, and health insurance. Quebec transcripts are usually treated as international and may need translation, and some schools ask French-speaking students for an English proficiency test. Our guide for international students covers the process.

Coaches, visits, and offers

A coach went quiet. What should we do?

A week of silence is normal, especially at the start of a term or during championship season. Wait at least seven days between follow-ups, then try another member of the coaching staff. Repeated silence means your athlete is not a priority for that program right now, so focus on the coaches who are showing interest.

How does my child say no politely?

On Streamline Athletes, pressing No on a request is anonymous, and the program never sees your athlete's name or contact details. Once your athlete is talking with a coach, a short note saying they are going another direction is professional, and it frees a roster spot or money for someone else. Don't keep a school interested out of politeness.

How do visits work, and who pays?

On an NCAA official visit, the school pays for your athlete's travel, lodging, and meals. If a coach asks for dates and passport details, it is likely official. Unofficial visits are paid by the family. Canadian schools have their own rules. Our guide to recruiting visits by association explains each one, and three or four visits is usually enough to make a good decision.

Can parents come on visits?

Yes. Visit rules cover the athlete, so the school may or may not cover a parent's costs. Many families attend the first visit together and let the athlete do the next one alone.

What is the difference between committing and signing?

A commitment is a verbal promise. Signing an athletic aid agreement is binding, and it depends on admission. The usual order is visit, commit, apply, and sign. Never commit during a visit. Saying "We need to go home and talk as a family" is always acceptable.

How do we compare offers?

Score each school on four things: academics, athletics, cost after aid, and location. Weight them for your family, then compare the result with your athlete's instinct from the visit. Ask every coach the same questions so you are comparing like with like. Start with our list of questions to ask college coaches.

Your role as a parent

Whose email and phone number should coaches have?

Your athlete's, with yours as a secondary contact. Coaches want to hear from the athlete. Some coaches pass on a recruit when the parent does most of the talking. PennWest Edinboro head coach Taylor Cudequest explains what he notices when a parent answers for their athlete.

How involved should I be?

Be present, help with research, and ask your questions, but let your athlete lead conversations with coaches. Good coaches will ask to speak with the family later in the process. If you feel overwhelmed, you are in good company. Most families tell us recruiting feels like a part-time job.

Can our club coach contact colleges for us?

A well-connected club coach helps. College coaches still want the first conversation with the athlete, and club coaches rarely cover budget and academics, so your athlete should own those conversations.

How Streamline Athletes works for families

How Streamline Athletes helps families through recruiting covers your role, your athlete's, and when to add advising.

Is Streamline Athletes legit?

Yes. Streamline Athletes is the official recruitment partner of Athletics Canada, and college programs use it to recruit. More than 1,700 programs across the NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, U SPORTS, and CCAA are on the platform, and every performance on an athlete profile is verified by our staff.

What do coaches see, and who sees our contact details?

Profiles are private. Coaches see your athlete's performances, grades, region, and graduating year, but not their name or contact details. When a program sends a request and your athlete presses Yes, we send an email introduction with the coach copied, and your athlete replies to it with Reply all. A No sends nothing to the program. We do not sell athlete data.

Do we have to pay for coaches to contact my child?

No. Programs recruiting on Streamline Athletes can contact athletes an unlimited number of times on any plan, including the free one. Athletes who complete their profile to 100% hear from programs where they fit athletically, academically, and geographically, usually within 24 hours. Starting conversations with coaches is part of Plus. Plus includes unlimited athlete-started conversations, with up to five active at a time. See how contacting coaches works.

Why is my child getting little or no contact?

Coaches contact athletes who meet their saved standards for their current recruiting class, and they often finish one class before starting the next. Younger athletes hear less until coaches turn to their year. An incomplete profile also limits contact, so check that every section is filled in and every result has a link.

How does billing work?

Plus is a monthly or yearly subscription with no cancellation fees, and it renews automatically until you cancel. Advising sessions are paid once, when you book. If your athlete signs with a school, tell us so we can set their profile to signed and stop new requests. Current prices are on our pricing page.

Still have questions?

Quick follow-up questions by email are free. For a plan built around your athlete's events, grades, and budget, book a 60-minute Recruitment Advising session.

Not ready for a session? Create a free athlete profile and see which programs reach out.

Kailer Jenney, who goes by Kai, is a few weeks into his first year at Western University. He is studying engineering with an Advanced Entry Opportunity (AEO) to the Ivey Business School, he holds a President's Entrance Scholarship, and he is training with the hurdles group of a Mustangs program that has won the last two U SPORTS men's team titles. To get there, he ran a recruiting search across two countries and ended up at the same track where his club trains.

I worked with Kai in a series of advising sessions over a period of about a year and a half. While Kai had great times on the track as a high schooler, what stood out most to me during our time together were two things he did differently from the majority of recruits: (1) he took his academics extremely seriously and (2) he analyzed his options deeply in accordance with the four buckets of recruiting.

Kai is a hurdler out of London, Ontario. He took bronze in the 400m hurdles at OFSAA in grade 11 (2025) and carried a 97.5% academic average into his final year of high school. When I met Kai, he was set on studying engineering, something he was not willing to trade for a track opportunity.

While the outcome at the end of a recruitment process is always a milestone to celebrate, Kai's approach is what makes his story worth sharing here on the Streamline Athletes blog. Recruiting content tends to focus almost entirely on athletic performance, which makes sense because fast times, big jumps, and far throws get coaches to open your email. The truth, however, is that the recruiting process goes way beyond your best official meet result and into areas that are harder for folks to cover in quick Reddit replies or with a standards calculator.

[If you're interested in learning more about how college track and field coaches analyze recruits past the first impression made by their athletic résumé, check out this article → What a D2 Head Coach Looks For in a Track and Field Recruit: Insight from Coach Taylor Cudequest at PennWest Edinboro.]

In Kai's case, his times started every conversation he had. His family's budget set the boundary around those conversations. His transcript, and his focus on what he'd like to accomplish with his future transcript, decided where he ended up.

Kai on the track and in the classroom

• 60m hurdles: 8.16 (39"/99.1cm) [2026]
• 110m hurdles: 13.94 (36"/91.4cm) [2026] and 14.36 (39"/99.1cm) [2026]
• 400m: 49.57 [2026]
• 400m hurdles: 54.07 [2025]
• Academics: 97.5% average heading into grade 12
• Scholarship: President's Entrance Scholarship through Western's National Scholarship Program

Why two 110m hurdles times? Canadian high school hurdlers race over lower barriers than the ones university coaches recruit for, and Kai had to sell a 36-inch time to coaches who needed to see him over 42. During his recruiting window, his best times were 14.19 over 36 inches and 14.82 over 39. We broke down every hurdle height from Canadian high school to the NCAA and U SPORTS, and what it means for your recruitment.

How he got here

Kai did not grow up planning to be a hurdler.

"COVID put a hold on hockey, but my Mom wanted me to stay active. I joined the London Legion Track and Field Club. From there, track grew on me, and later I decided to step back from AAA hockey to focus on high school sports and my hurdling."

He played AAA hockey for the London Junior Knights and balanced it with track until 2025, when he chose to focus on the hurdles full time. That was not the only thing on his plate. At 6'4", Kai also played volleyball and varsity hockey for Medway High School, served as president of its Student Athletic Association, sat on student council, and volunteered with the Coldest Night of the Year, the London Food Bank, and a children's toy drive. In whatever time was left, he was restoring a 1987 speed boat, engine to hull, and teaching himself piano, guitar, and 3D design software.

That list says a lot about the engineer. It also explains the student-athlete Western's coaches saw.

Why Western

Kai committed to and signed with Western, where he now competes for head coach Caroline Ehrhardt and hurdles coach Harry Stantsos. His President's Entrance Scholarship is an academic award that will make a meaningful difference to his family over the course of his degree.

Reflecting on his decision to become a Western Mustang, Kai described some of the key factors:

"The distance [from home], the academic programs available to me with Engineering and Ivey, and the opportunity to compete at a high level were all very important factors."

The coaching relationship was not an unknown for him.

"Harry and Caroline are both very approachable, kind, and compassionate, while being extremely committed to bettering their athletes. My club trained at the same track as Western, so I was able to see them in action and really liked their coaching style and the support they gave their athletes. Harry is also very knowledgeable about hurdling, and we know exactly what I need to work on."

Western sees the same fit from their side. Here is head coach Caroline Ehrhardt:

"What stood out about Kailer for us is his commitment to excellence across all domains. This is exactly the type of student-athlete we hope for on our team. On top of his athletic accomplishments, he is an incredible student and will be receiving the prestigious National Scholarship. Immediately upon meeting Kailer, I got the sense that he was a big team guy and will be a huge contributor for our team beyond what he is doing on the track. This holds just as much merit to us than what he is capable of results wise. We are always thrilled to retain local talent, and can't wait to see what Kailer can do on and off the track during his time in Purple."

On why Canadian athletes should consider a U SPORTS program, Ehrhardt added:

"As indicated by our success over the past few years, we are definitely a high-performing team that is hungry and determined to be one of the top programs in the nation. But the overall development piece is what is most important to us here at Western. We want to develop confident, resilient leaders and team players who will be ready for whatever life after sport looks like for them. I am so proud of the purpose-rich environment that we offer our student-athletes and what this culture and experience pulls out of them. We are big on who our student-athletes become, not just what our student-athletes achieve. It is this transformative experience that I believe really sets us apart."

The results back her up. Western swept the men's and women's U SPORTS team titles in 2025, and the men repeated as national champions in 2026, earning Ehrhardt the Bob Boucher Award as the top U SPORTS men's coach of the year. The articles below cover both seasons:

Vickie Croley’s Final Season Coaching Western Mustangs

After 32 years at the helm of the Western Mustangs track and field program, Head Coach Vickie Croley has announced she will step down in the summer of 2025.

Lucas CoreaStreamline Athletes

2026 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships | Partner Program Results

Several Streamline Athletes partner programs delivered strong results at the 2026 U SPORTS Track & Field Championships, including Western, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montréal, Manitoba, and UNB.

Brett MontroseStreamline Athletes

What the American side of recruiting taught Kai

Opening up his post-secondary search, Kai cast a wide net across two countries. He spoke with American programs in multiple divisions and with U SPORTS programs at home in Canada, and he measured every one of them against the same four buckets. The two sides of that search behaved very differently.

On the American side, the men's hurdles are deep and the roster math has tightened. Roster limits and scholarship structure changed under the House settlement, and some of the doors on that side closed for reasons that had nothing to do with how fast Kai was. One program told me in November that it was not recruiting anyone for 2026 because its athletic department had capped the roster, and the coach was frustrated about it, because Kai was exactly the kind of recruit he would have wanted. Kai noticed the same pattern from his end.

"The US is highly competitive beyond Canadian standings. Being one of the top athletes in a province or even Canada doesn't necessarily mean you'll get offers, especially with the amount of talent in the States. It also surprised me how schools look at transfers from other universities through the transfer portal, not just first-year athletes."

He is right about the portal, and he is right about the rest of it. In June, I wrote an opinion piece for Athletics Illustrated called NCAA recruiting has been uprooted, and nobody told the families. The argument is that five years of rule changes, from NIL to the transfer portal to the House settlement, have handed the burden of understanding college recruiting to sixteen-year-olds and their parents. Canadians are playing a different game entirely, because to an American school they are international students who cost more than an in-state recruit, measured against more than a million American high school track athletes.

If you're curious about the NCAA's recent rule changes and how they've impacted track and field and cross country, the full explainer is here. It goes through each major change from 2021 through 2026.

Kai also carried a problem into those conversations that is specific to his event. Ontario high school hurdlers race the 110m hurdles over 36-inch barriers, university men race over 42, and one Division II coach told Kai's family outright that he could not even look at a 36-inch result. His 400m hurdles, already run at the university height, did most of the work instead, alongside his open 400m, his 60m hurdles, and his willingness to run relay legs. That versatility is the one big tip I give any high schooler who wants to be recruited, and the height problem is common enough that we gave it its own article on hurdle heights and how Canadian hurdlers should present their times to college coaches.

The family set a number early

The other thing Kai and his family did that most families do not is set a number early and say it out loud.

That number is where the two countries split. A non-resident at a US public university pays an average of $31,880 USD a year in tuition and fees before housing, food, or a flight home, and a Canadian is a non-resident everywhere. Kai had American coaches who wanted him on their roster. The scholarship math at those schools still could not get close to a domestic Ontario tuition bill. Carmyn James, Athletics Canada's NCAA Athlete Performance Advisor, made the point for me in the Athletics Illustrated piece that the exchange rate belongs in that math too. Kai's family had done it before anyone offered them anything.

The largest award Kai received in Canada had nothing to do with track. It was academic. In the US, athletic money in our sport is equivalency-based or budget-bound at most programs. This means that despite the "unlimited scholarship spending" now permitted by the NCAA, D1 coaches usually have a finite scholarship budget to split across a portion of their roster, while D2 coaches are capped by the NCAA at 12.6 full scholarships. On top of that, in most cases, Canadian students are subject to international tuition rates, so the scholarship funding they need compared to their in-state American counterparts is typically greater. Kai's times started conversations in both countries and could have earned him a spot in the US. His academic transcript is what made the biggest financial difference for his family and made Western stand above every other opportunity in front of him.

His grades were never a backup plan. His degree and career were the core we built his recruitment plan around from the start.

Here's Kai on his academic focus:

"I knew from the beginning that my grades needed to be high to even have the option to excel and get through such a hard program. At Western, I also really liked that they do an interview to get to know their candidates beyond just their grades, which I think is an important aspect of Engineering."

In hurdling, the lead leg goes over the barrier first and sets up everything that follows. Kai led with his academics from our first session, and his times followed them over. You need both, and he had both.

Kai's academics are the reason he had a decision to make at all. Academics is the first of the four buckets we work through with every athlete, and Kai is the clearest proof I have of why it sits in that position.

If your family is working out when to bring your own number into a conversation with a coach, here is how I advise athletes to handle the scholarship conversation, with input from two NCAA Division II head coaches.

The timeline was long on purpose

Kai committed to Western at the end of April of his senior year, which is later than most recruits. He afforded himself a longer timeline because of how he approached his process rather than a lack of direction. He stayed open to U SPORTS programs instead of limiting himself to American schools, which kept live options in front of him into the spring. He responded to coaches and to me quickly at every stage, and he submitted his university applications on time. His academics also put him in contention for an award significant enough that the coaches recruiting him understood why he needed an answer on it before he could give them one.

The proactive piece is the part I would underline for any family reading this. Kai built a target list and went to programs himself rather than hoping the right coach would come across his results. He first sat down with me in November of grade 11, and the plan from that meeting had two lines at the top: get the best average you can, and make your grade 11 season count, because those are the times coaches will recruit you on. He did both. Every extra month he had in the spring existed because of work he had done a year earlier.

It was not a straight line. Kai explored American options, took visits in Canada, and had other offers to weigh. By late March he had a shortlist of three. We scored them together on academics, athletics, finances, and location, and Western came out on top on the strength of the academic column.

What Kai would tell a younger athlete

I asked him what he would say to a 15- or 16-year-old who thinks recruiting is only about personal bests.

"Recruiting is highly based on PBs, but that is not the only aspect that coaches consider. The times start the conversation, but beyond that, there is a lot of chatting and getting to know each other before making a decision based on coaching style, the team, your work ethic, and overall fit."

That is a more accurate description of how this works than most of what gets written about recruiting, and it came from someone who finished the process this spring.

Year one

Before his first term started, I asked Kai what he was looking forward to at Western.

"I'm most excited for the integrated training program of on-track training and lifting. In the classroom, I'm excited for the dynamic learning environment and the connections I'll make with classmates and professors that I can build on throughout the upcoming years."

"I look forward to contributing to the team goal of qualifying for and winning the U SPORTS title. I thrive in competitive situations and know that the hurdle squad will push me to succeed in my training and competition. Building relationships and being a supportive teammate will continue to be a priority for me. I hope to continue with club track in the off season and look to better my hurdle races and maintain my Canadian ranking. I am open to exploring new events and opportunities that arise through my continued participation in Track and Field."

A personal note from Kai's recruitment advisor

Working with Kai over a year and a half, the thing that stood out was how little chasing I had to do. He answered emails, he did the work between calls, and he asked questions that told me he had already thought about the answer he was going to get. Coaches noticed the same thing, and Caroline's read on him matches mine exactly.

I ended the Athletics Illustrated article with something I tell most of the recruits I work with. There will be a day in your second winter when the holidays are over, the campus is frozen, the course you need for your degree is beating you up, and your hamstring is sore. That day arrives for every student-athlete at every school in every division. The ones who get through it did the homework first. They know why they chose what they chose, and they can sit on that bad day and say it is because school is hard and track is hard, not because they picked the wrong place. Kai did the homework. He will have that day in London like everyone does, and he will know exactly why he is there.

Congratulations, Kai. Western got a determined, dedicated, and talented athlete who will make their program better, a student who would have been an asset at any school, and most importantly, a person who, even in our limited time working together, has shown he's striving to be the best version of himself while lifting up those around him.

Kai's mom, Karen, left us a review after the process wrapped up:

To future track and field recruits and their families

We'd love to help you navigate your recruitment journey, too.

I offer 1:1 recruitment advising sessions based around the four buckets of recruitment: academics, athletics, financials, and location. You'll come with questions and leave with a personalized plan complete with recommended schools to contact using Streamline Athletes.

• Canadian athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.
• U.S. and international athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.

Additionally, we have a ton of free resources to help you get started:

• Create your free Streamline Athletes account and complete your profile to be contacted by college coaches.
• Hurdlers: learn how Canadian hurdle heights compare to the NCAA and U SPORTS, and how to present your times.
• Learn how to build your college track and field target list.
• Learn when to ask college coaches about scholarships.
• Read why you should consider a U SPORTS program.

The short answer

Canadian high school boys race their sprint hurdles over 36-inch (0.914 m) barriers in every province that publishes its specifications. American high school boys race over 39 inches, and NCAA and U SPORTS men race over 42. Canadian senior girls race over 30 inches in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, and over 33 in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick, the height American high school and NCAA women race. College coaches judge every recruit against the height they will race in college, so a Canadian's sprint hurdles time needs context before it means anything to them. Label every result with its height, race at the college height whenever you can, and lead with the events that need no translation.

One Ontario hurdler we advised ran 14.2 in the 110m hurdles in the summer of his grade 11 year. Six days earlier, in a U20 race, he ran 14.8. The second race was not a bad day. It was run over hurdles three inches taller.

His two times over two heights came up in almost every conversation he had with an American coach. One Division II coach told his family outright that he could not even look at a 36-inch result.

Here is what every Canadian hurdler and their parents should know about hurdle heights before the first conversation with a college coach.

Adjusting to college hurdle heights is one part of getting recruited. To see how it fits with everything else coaches weigh, from your PRs to your grades to where you want to live, start with our complete guide to getting recruited for college track and field.

Hurdle heights from Canadian high school to university

Heights change by age group, by province, and by country. The tables below cover the levels a Canadian recruit is most likely to race at, and the levels a college coach is recruiting for. Newfoundland and Labrador holds no hurdle events at its high school championship.

Sprint hurdles

Long hurdles (400mH and 300mH)

Sources: OFSAA, BC School Sports, ASAA championship results, SHSAA handbook, MHSAA championships, RSEQ rules, Athlétisme Québec hurdle heights, NBIAA handbook, School Sport Nova Scotia rules, NLAA school provincials, Athletics Canada event specifications, Athletics Canada Technical Rules, NFHS specifications, NCAA Track and Field Rules Book.

Why hurdle heights matter in recruiting

A college coach looking at a high school sprint hurdler is making a projection. The question is how fast you will run over the barriers you will race for their program, and every result you send them is evidence for or against that projection. The closer your results are to the college height, the less the coach has to guess.

An American high school boy races over 39 inches. His times sit one step below the 42 he will race in college, and every college coach in the country has years of experience reading 39-inch times. A Canadian high school boy races over 36. His times sit two steps below, and most American coaches have never had to evaluate a 36-inch time before. Some will try. Some, like that Division II coach, will not.

Canadian girls face the same gap on a smaller scale, depending on the province. A senior girl in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan races over 30 inches, and every NCAA program recruits her to race over 33. Girls in British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick already race the 100m hurdles at the college height. Heptathlete Lily Stroda, now at Texas A&M, carried a 13.66 over 30 inches and a 13.90 over 33 inches into her recruitment, and her 33-inch time is the one run over the barrier she now races in the SEC.

There is no official conversion between hurdle heights, and it is not your job to make one. Stride pattern, height, and technique change how much a taller barrier costs each athlete, so any number you calculate is a guess the coach did not ask for. Report every result exactly as you ran it, label the height, and give the coach the rest of the picture.

How to present a time run over a lower barrier

Say your fastest 110m hurdles time is 14.2 over 36 inches and your fastest over 39 is 14.8. Both results are valid, but only the second one answers the question American coaches are asking. Take the 36-inch races off the top of your profile so the personal best coaches see first is a 39-inch time, and state plainly in your bio that you train over 39 inches year-round and are comfortable moving up to 42.

Then let your other events do the work. High school boys in Ontario and British Columbia race the 400m hurdles over 36 inches, the same barrier university men race, so a 400m hurdles time from those provinces needs no explanation at all. Your open 400m shows your flat speed, and an indoor 60m hurdles time shows where your sprint hurdling is heading. Coaches also ask about relays, so pitch yourself as a hurdler who can score in the sprints and on relay legs too.

The problem is solvable for every Canadian hurdler willing to plan around it. Kai Jenney, now a hurdler at Western University, did exactly that during his recruitment (read his full story). Here is how I put it to him on an October advising call:

"If the U.S. is a focus for you, then let's remove those 36s from your profile entirely, even if it moves your PR back slightly. What I'm hearing is that coaches aren't viewing your PR as a PR anyway. So all you're doing is adding time to the process on their end, and we don't want to do that. We'll use the bio and the highlight space to explain a little bit more about who Kai is and how confident he is with the higher hurdles."

Brett Montrose

Founder & Co-CEO | Recruitment Advisor, Streamline Athletes

Book an advising session with Brett

How to present your hurdle times to college coaches

1. Label the height on every result. A 14.2 with no height next to it will be read as a 39-inch or 42-inch time and judged against the wrong barrier. Your Streamline Athletes profile records the barrier height with each hurdle result, and the profiles we send to coaches show it beside every time. Put it in every email too.
2. Your Streamline Athletes standards match your barrier. A 110m hurdles time over 36 or 39 inches, or a 100m hurdles time over 30, is measured against standards for that height, so a 36-inch time is never judged against a 42-inch standard. Your time itself is never converted.
3. Put the right personal best first. The time at the top of your profile should be the one closest to the college height, even if a lower-barrier time is faster.
4. Race the college height when you can. Athletics Canada U20 competitions run the men's 110m hurdles over 39 inches and the women's 100m hurdles over 33. Indoor 60m hurdles at U20 and senior meets get you closer still. One result at the right height does more for your recruitment than three faster results at the wrong one.
5. Lead with the event that needs no translation. Boys who race the 400m hurdles in Ontario or British Columbia high school, or at U20, are already over the 36-inch barrier NCAA men race. Girls race the 400m hurdles over 30 inches at every level from U18 to the NCAA. Canadian U18 boys, and high school boys in Quebec and New Brunswick, race the 400m hurdles over 33 inches, so label those results too.
6. Show your flat speed and your relay value. Coaches recruiting a sprint hurdler also want to know what you can run in the 100m, 200m, or 400m, and whether you can fill a relay leg. Versatility is the one big tip I give any high schooler who wants to be recruited.
7. Say it in one sentence. A line in your bio saying you train over 39 inches year-round and are comfortable moving up to 42 answers the question before the coach has to ask it.

The U SPORTS difference

If you are weighing Canadian universities, the calendar changes the math. The U SPORTS national championship is held indoors in March, so the sprint hurdles race that counts at nationals is the 60m hurdles, run at senior heights. There is no 400m hurdles at U SPORTS nationals, and outdoor racing happens through club and Athletics Canada competition instead.

That can shape your choice. At a U SPORTS program, a hurdler gets an indoor varsity season over the 60m hurdles and an outdoor season with a club. If you are still deciding between the two systems, start with why you should consider a U SPORTS program and how athletic scholarships compare in Canada and the United States.

Frequently asked questions

What height are high school hurdles in Canada?

Senior boys race the sprint hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m) in every province that publishes its specifications: over 110m in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and over 100m in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Senior girls race over 30 inches (0.762 m) in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, and over 33 inches (0.838 m) in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Alberta and Saskatchewan girls race an 80m hurdles instead of the 100m. Newfoundland and Labrador holds no hurdle events at its high school championship.

What height are high school hurdles in Ontario?

At OFSAA, senior boys race the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m). Senior girls race the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles over 30 inches (0.762 m). Junior and novice divisions race shorter hurdle distances, and some race over lower barriers.

What height are college hurdles?

NCAA men race the 110m hurdles and indoor 60m hurdles over 42 inches (1.067 m) and the 400m hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m). NCAA women race the 100m hurdles and 60m hurdles over 33 inches (0.838 m) and the 400m hurdles over 30 inches (0.762 m).

Do college coaches convert 36-inch hurdle times?

There is no official conversion. Some coaches will estimate one, and some will not evaluate a 36-inch time at all. Report every result as you ran it, label the height, and get at least one result at a U20 or senior height as early as you can.

What height do American high school hurdlers race?

Under NFHS rules, American high school boys race the 110m hurdles over 39 inches (0.991 m) and the 300m hurdles over 36 inches. Girls race the 100m hurdles over 33 inches and the 300m hurdles over 30 inches.

Does U SPORTS hold an outdoor hurdles championship?

No. The U SPORTS national track and field championship is held indoors, so the 60m hurdles is the sprint hurdles event at nationals and the 400m hurdles is not contested. University athletes race outdoors through club and Athletics Canada competition.

Get your hurdle times in front of the right coaches

Every Canadian hurdler faces some version of this problem, and every version is solvable with a plan. In a 1:1 advising session, we'll look at your results at every height, decide which ones lead your profile, and build a list of programs where your times, grades, budget, and location fit.

• Canadian athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.
• U.S. and international athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.

Keep reading:

• The Lead Leg: How Kailer Jenney Put Academics First and Chose Western
• Canadian U18 Record Holder Lily Stroda Commits to Texas A&M University
• How to build your college track and field target list
• Track and field college recruitment standards: what performances do I need?
• NCAA roster size and scholarship changes in track and field

Updated September 2026

Yes. Athletes can contact college coaches from the Streamline Athletes app using the Contact Coach button, the trusted way to get in touch with college track and field coaches. Streamline Athletes does the groundwork: it checks your verified PRs against each program's standards, finds the coach who recruits your events, and puts your profile in the email. You add a note in your own words and press Send. The coach answers with one click. Starting conversations with coaches is part of Plus. Plus includes unlimited conversations, with up to five active at a time.

Key takeaways

• Streamline Athletes checks the standards for you. Contact Coach appears on programs where your verified performances meet the program's standards.
• It finds the right coach: the one who recruits your events.
• It sends your profile. Build it once, and every note carries it.
• You send the email, in your own words, right from the app, from "{Your name} via Streamline Athletes."
• Coaches answer with one click: Interested or Not a fit.
• Your email and phone number stay private until a coach clicks Interested.
• Follow-ups are on by default, and they stop the moment the coach responds.

How Contact Coach worked before, and how it works now

Contact Coach has been part of Streamline Athletes for years. Until September 2026, pressing it sent a request to our team. We reviewed your fit with the program, then wrote and sent the first email to the coach for you.

While that process sounds cumbersome, it allowed us to build relationships with collegiate coaches and thoroughly understand what every school looks for in their event groups, over time and across different event groups.

Now, we've relaunched our interface for athlete-to-coach contacting in order to give athletes more control and make sending your complete profile to a coach instantaneous, while maintaining the data-driven approach that coaches have come to know and trust over the past decade.

Streamline Athletes still does the groundwork. The fit check, the choice of coach, and your profile are all handled for you, now automatically in the app. We've updated recruiting standards for nearly every program athletes contacted in the past year, using standards directly from coaches, potential conference impact, and thousands of athlete-to-coach emails sent since 2017. What changed is the send: the email now comes from you, in your own words, right from the app.

What stayed the same: your verified profile, your Wishlist, and the Opportunities dashboard that tracks every conversation.

What Streamline Athletes handles for you

• The fit check. Every program on your Wishlist is checked against your verified PRs, using standards from coaches, potential conference impact, and thousands of athlete-to-coach emails sent since 2017. Where you're a fit, the program card shows Contact Coach. Where you're not a fit yet, the card says so.
• The coach. Your note goes to the coach at that program who recruits your events.
• Your profile. Your verified performances, college entry year, grades and where you're from go into every email automatically, with a link to your full verified profile.
• The follow-ups. Two polite follow-ups go in your name if the coach hasn't answered, and they stop the moment the coach responds.

You handle the part only you can write: why you want that school.

How to contact a coach from the Streamline Athletes app

1. Build your profile once. Add your verified performances, academics, and contact details.
2. Save programs to your Wishlist from Explore Programs. They appear under Opportunities > Wishlist.
3. Press Contact Coach on a program where you're a fit. A short screen opens: Contact {School}.
4. Finish the sentence "I'm interested in {School} because..." in your own words. The coach reads it as one full sentence.
5. Pick up to three verified PRs to lead with. They head the email and its subject line. The coach can see every verified performance on your profile, too.
6. Add anything else you'd like the coach to know (optional), such as your next race.
7. Check your follow-ups. They're on by default: if the coach doesn't answer, two polite follow-ups go in your name. Edit them or turn them off. They stop the moment the coach responds.
8. Press Send. The app confirms: "Sent to {School}'s coaches." Stuck on a step? Contacting a coach from your Wishlist covers the entry-year prompt, plan limits and the "We don't recommend" message.

If we don't yet hold a current email for a program's coach, your note is saved and sends automatically as soon as we do. The app lets you know when that's the case.

What the coach receives

Build your profile once. Every Contact Coach note carries your profile: your verified performances, college entry year, grades and where you're from, with a link to your full verified profile. The coach also reads your note in your own words, led by the up to three verified PRs you chose. Those PRs appear in the subject line too, for example "2027 Entry · 400m (55.84) interested in Wofford College." Your email and phone number stay private until the coach clicks Interested.

What happens after you press Send

Coaches answer with one click, right from the email.

• Interested. We send one email introducing you and the coach, with both sets of contact details. From there, you talk directly by email. The request shows as "Ongoing" under In Conversation.
• Not a fit. The program moves to Archived as "Coach Not Interested." The coach can tell us why, which helps us point you to programs that fit better.
• No answer. The request closes at the end of its countdown, and you get an email with next steps.

Every request shows where it stands in your Opportunities dashboard: Wishlist, In Conversation, or Archived.

Is my contact information private?

Yes. The coach sees your note and your verified profile. Your email address and phone number are shared only when the coach clicks Interested.

Who can use Contact Coach?

• Essentials (free): programs recruiting on Streamline Athletes can contact you an unlimited number of times. Starting conversations is part of Plus.
• Plus: unlimited athlete-started conversations, with up to five active at a time. A closed request frees its slot for another program. Plus also shows each program's standards in your events.

To press Send, you need a complete profile: contact details, graduation details, citizenship, academics, and at least one verified performance. Your college entry year also has to be one coaches are still recruiting for. If yours is out of date, the app prompts you to update it before you send.

Where Contact Coach fits in your recruiting plan

Contact Coach is one of two ways conversations start on Streamline Athletes. The other is inbound: athletes who complete their profile to 100% hear from programs where they're an athletic, academic, and geographic fit on paper within 24 hours. Those requests appear under Requests in your Opportunities dashboard.

To decide which programs deserve a Contact Coach note, read How to Build a Target List and Email Coaches for Track & Field Recruitment. Once a coach clicks Interested and you're talking by email, How to Contact College Coaches and Maintain a Relationship has an email template and tips for keeping the conversation going.

Frequently asked questions

Can athletes contact coaches from the Streamline Athletes app?

Yes. Press Contact Coach on a Wishlist program where you're a fit, finish the sentence "I'm interested in {School} because..." in your own words, choose up to three verified PRs to lead with, and press Send. Your note goes by email to the coach who recruits your events, along with your verified profile.

Can I contact any program?

You can contact programs where you're a fit. The app checks your verified PRs against each program's standards. Where you're not a fit yet, the program card says so. Plus members can see each program's standards in their events.

Is Contact Coach free?

Programs recruiting on Streamline Athletes can contact you an unlimited number of times on every plan, including Essentials, the free account. Starting conversations with coaches is part of Plus. Plus includes unlimited athlete-started conversations, with up to five active at a time.

What does the coach receive?

Your note in your own words, the up to three verified PRs you chose to lead with, and your profile: verified performances, college entry year, grades, and where you're from, with a link to your full verified profile.

Do coaches see my email address and phone number?

Only after they click Interested.

What happens if a coach doesn't answer?

Follow-ups are on by default, so up to two polite follow-ups go in your name. If the coach still hasn't answered, the request closes at the end of its countdown and you get an email with next steps.

Can I message coaches inside the app?

Contact Coach sends your note by email. When a coach clicks Interested, we send one email introducing you both, and you talk directly by email from there.

Open your Wishlist and contact your first program.

• PRs get you onto a recruiting list. Habits, attitude, and coachability decide whether you stay on it.
• Coaches consider trajectory. A gap between your 60m and your 200m can read as potential rather than a red flag.
• Relay splits carry almost no weight in recruiting. Coaches evaluate fully automatic timed open marks because those compare fairly across every athlete.
• Your GPA is a recruiting stat. It opens scholarship money, clears eligibility, and tells a coach you are dependable.

I follow a lot of college coaches on Instagram. Coach Taylor Cudequest is a unique follow.

He is the head track and field coach at PennWest Edinboro (AKA Edinboro University) and he spends a good portion of his feed explaining, in public, how he decides whether to recruit somebody. He posts example athlete profiles with PRs and grades before giving his verdict. He calls out the things athletes do that quietly cost them offers. He tells parents what he notices when they sit in his office.

That kind of transparency is rare, and it is worth more to a high school athlete than most recruiting content you'll find online today. Below is what his content tells us about how a D2 coach evaluates recruits, organized by what you can do with it.

We featured Coach Cudequest last year as Edinboro started climbing: Coach Cudequest Leads Edinboro Track and Field's Division II Rise. Since taking over in 2024, his program has broken a pile of school records, crowned multiple PSAC champions, and produced NCAA All-Americans. He was a decathlete at Cal State Northridge and a USA U20 medalist before he started coaching.

Your PRs get you on the list. Your habits keep you there.

This is the through line in almost everything Coach Cudequest posts. Performance opens the door. Everything after that is about whether a coach wants to spend four years with you.

He lays out what he watches while evaluating a recruit:

"How you warm up. How you respond after a bad rep. How you communicate with teammates. How you compete when things aren't going your way. Whether you're coachable. How you treat people when nobody is watching."

Then the line that should stick with any recruit reading this:

"Your marks might get you on a recruiting list, but your habits, attitude, and character can determine whether you stay on it."

In a separate post he described knowing an athlete was different before they ever competed for him. They showed up early. They came prepared. They listened, asked questions, and took coaching. His summary: talent gets noticed, attitude gets recruited.

He has also been direct about how much weight character carries, calling it the most important factor in whether an athlete gets recruited. He watches how you conduct yourself and how you respond when a race or a conversation does not go your way. An athlete who says "great race" after losing one, or who is a good teammate on a day when nothing is working, is telling him something useful. None of that shows up on a results page, and all of it is visible at a meet.

What to do with this: assume you are being watched during warm-ups, between attempts, and after a bad race. Coaches attend meets to see athletes compete, and the parts of a meet that are not the race tell them things the results don't. When you meet with a college coach, attend a campus visit, or post on social media, know that how you carry yourself matters.

For more on how coaches turn results into a recruiting board, see How Data and Results Drive Track and Field Recruiting.

"Would I recruit this athlete?"

A highly informative part of Coach Cudequest's content is that he publishes his decision-making process. He shares an example profile with numbers attached and provides his answer with reasoning. Three of these posts are worth walking through, because together they highlight that performance data is the beginning of the evaluation rather than the end of it.

View this post on Instagram

The high jumper with bad mechanics

The example athlete is 6'7" with a 6'9" personal best, and by Coach Cudequest's own description, has an extremely awkward approach. His verdict was yes, without hesitation. Clearing 6'9" consistently proves something he says he cannot teach, which is knowing how to compete and get over the bar. Mechanics are fixable. His framing:

"Results get my attention. Potential gets me interested. Coachability gets you recruited."

View this post on Instagram

The sprinter whose times don't line up

What if a sprint recruit has an outstanding 60m, but 100m and 200m times that aren't as fast as you'd expect them to be? Cudequest noted that a lot of coaches would pass. He would recruit her, because an elite 60m tells him the speed is already there and the rest is a coaching problem. His line was that he is not recruiting a spreadsheet.

This one matters if your event group has an obvious hole in it. A mismatch across your distances is information, and depending on which end is strong, it can point toward upside rather than a limitation.

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The two-time transfer

This profile had everything on paper: top five in the conference, a big personal best improvement, a 3.6 GPA, and two-time all-conference. But, the example athlete only had two years of eligibility remaining, a strong social media presence, and two previous transfers.

He called it the kind of transfer that makes coaches earn their paycheck and asked whether the athlete could fit the culture. He left the question open, but it's clear that he sees limited eligibility, a pattern of leaving, and a heavy public profile stack up into meaningful risk even when the talent is obvious.

What these three have in common

Cudequest evaluates trajectory and fit, not just the PR. Two athletes with identical personal bests can be worth very different things to a program depending on how they got there and where they are heading.

If you want help reading where your personal bests place you against a specific program, The Conference-Impact Lens walks through it, and our recruitment standards guide covers the benchmarks by division.

Your relay split is not getting you recruited

I see this one all the time. Athletes submit relay splits to their Streamline Athletes profile and question why their times get invalidated. My answer is that coaches do not make recruiting decisions, or even initial athletic evaluations, based on relay split data.

View this post on Instagram

Coaches discount relay splits because splits are not standardized. Coach Cudequest lists four reasons:

What coaches use instead is fully automatic timed open marks, because those compare cleanly against every other recruit in the country. His conclusion:

"Relay splits can support your story. Open times get you recruited."

What to do with this: if your best time this season came off a relay leg, it is worth including as context, but it will not carry your recruiting profile. Get open marks in the 100m, 200m, 400m, or 800m on the board.

What a coach needs in front of them

Coach Cudequest's most-pinned post is a complaint, and it is the most practical thing on his page. Athletes message him without marks attached and without a link to a MileSplit or Athletic.net profile, which leaves him doing detective work before he can even decide whether you are worth a conversation.

The five things Coach Cudequest asks for:

1. Your name
2. What school you go to and who you are
3. What interests you about the program
4. Your personal bests
5. Your intended major

Look at that list: name, school, why this program, marks, major. He is describing a recruiting profile. What frustrates him is that the information usually arrives in pieces, or not at all.

This is one of the problems we built Streamline Athletes to solve. PennWest Edinboro is one of the programs recruiting on the platform. Their staff sees complete athlete profiles, and they reach out to athletes who fit what they are recruiting. That outreach lands in the athlete's Opportunities dashboard.

The athlete decides what happens next. Hit Yes, and the program receives your name, your contact information, and a direct introduction. Athletes with a complete profile who meet a program's criteria will hear from coaches within 24 hours.

The work is the same either way. Coach Cudequest needs your marks, your academics, and a reason you are interested in Edinboro. A complete profile puts all of it in front of him at once, and it does the same for every other program recruiting your event.

Two more things that cost recruits offers

Bringing up money too early

Coach Cudequest has said plainly that opening a first call with scholarship questions sets the wrong tone, because it tells a coach that money is the only thing you are evaluating. What he wants instead is evidence you researched the program, and questions that prove it.

He attaches a second condition that most athletes miss: do not ask about scholarship money if your grades are not where they need to be. The academics come first, and a coach working out what they can offer you is looking at your transcript while they do it.

Matt Morris, head track and field coach at Colorado State University Pueblo, described the same problem when we asked him about it. Scholarship budgets are limited, so coaches need to know a recruit before they can put exact numbers on the table. We covered the timing question in full in When to Ask College Coaches About Scholarships, including what to share about your family’s budget and when.

Worth knowing what to ask instead: our guide to what to ask college coaches covers the questions that move a recruiting conversation forward. And before any of those conversations happen, you need a list of programs to engage with. How to Build a Target List and Email Coaches for Track & Field Recruitment covers how to decide which programs belong on your list.

Going quiet

Coach Cudequest described athletes who engage, express interest, and then disappear. His response is worth quoting because most athletes assume the opposite:

"If you aren't [interested], LET US KNOW! It does not hurt our feelings, it makes our lives easier because we can move on to the next person."

Withdrawing politely costs you nothing and leaves the door open. Ghosting a coach closes it. He has also pointed out that coaches disengage from athletes who are obviously shopping every option without ever narrowing down. If you need a structure for staying in touch, see How to Follow Up With College Coaches and Keep the Conversation Going.

On a visit, the small things break ties

He shared a story about a recruit who wore another school's shirt on an official visit. It cost them the opportunity.

That sounds harsh until you consider what a visit is. A coach is deciding whether to invest years of coaching and a portion of a limited budget in you. Every signal counts, including the ones you did not think were signals.

His guidance for visits:

• Wear neutral clothing or the host school's colors
• Be present and engaged rather than along for the ride
• Send a handwritten thank-you note afterward, or a specific email within 24 to 48 hours

On the thank-you note, he was clear that it will not earn a scholarship on its own. It breaks ties. When a coach is choosing between athletes with similar marks, the impression you left does the deciding.

He has also described what happens in his office when a recruit and their parents sit down, and it covers more ground than most families expect: culture, academics, expectations, development, family, and whether the program is genuinely the right place. Sometimes an offer comes out of it. Sometimes the honest answer is that it is not a fit, which he treats as a good outcome rather than a failure.

For how visits differ across associations, see Official and Unofficial Recruiting Visits.

Parents: let your athlete answer

This one is short and worth reading twice.

"If a coach asks your athlete a question and a parent answers first, it's a missed opportunity for the athlete to make an impression."

Coaches are evaluating maturity, communication, and confidence alongside athletic ability, because they are deciding whether this person can represent their program for four years. Every question a parent fields is a data point the coach does not get.

His framing: parents guide, athletes lead. More on where parents add the most value in College Track & Field Recruiting for Parents: Answers to the Questions Families Ask Us Most.

GPA and social media are both recruiting stats

Your transcript

Coach Cudequest calls the belief that coaches only care about athletic performance one of the biggest recruiting myths, and he has watched talented athletes lose opportunities over grades. A strong GPA opens scholarship money, clears academic eligibility, and gives a coach confidence you will still be enrolled in year three. We covered how coaches read academic fit in How College Track Coaches Evaluate Academic Fit.

Your social media profiles

Coaches check social media before making an offer. His advice avoids the usual scolding, and the standard he sets is useful: your profile should show work ethic, character, and investment in your sport, and it should contain nothing that raises a question a coach has to ask about. Follower count is irrelevant. Notice too that a strong social media presence appeared on the transfer profile above as a neutral-to-negative factor, which is a reminder that visibility cuts both ways depending on context.

FAQ

What do D2 track and field coaches look for in recruits?

Marks that fit the program's scoring range, then trajectory, coachability, character, and academic reliability. Coach Taylor Cudequest of PennWest Edinboro describes marks as what gets an athlete onto a recruiting list, with habits and attitude determining whether they stay on it.

Do college coaches care about relay splits?

Not much. Relay splits are not standardized, because rolling starts, handoff position, timing accuracy, and the strength of the field all affect the time. Coaches evaluate fully automatic timed open results so they can compare recruits fairly and accurately.

Does GPA matter for track and field recruiting?

Yes. GPA affects academic eligibility, opens access to scholarship money, and signals dependability to a coach. Coaches have passed on athletes with strong marks over academic concerns.

Do college coaches look at your social media?

Yes. Coaches commonly check an athlete's profiles before extending an offer. They are looking for work ethic and character, and for anything that raises a concern.

What should I include in my first message to a college coach?

Coaches need to know your name, your school, what interests you about that specific program, your personal bests, and your intended major. If you're communicating with coaches via Streamline Athletes, whether the coach contacted you or you hit the "Contact Coach" button, your complete Streamline Athletes profile carries most of this information, so your first email to the coach can look a little different. We commonly recommend specifying why you're interested in the program and/or school, sharing your availability for a call, and always confirming the next steps in the process.

What should I wear on an official visit?

Coach Cudequest at PennWest Edinboro recommends neutral clothing or the host school's colors. Wearing another school's gear on a visit sends the wrong message and has cost recruits opportunities. Streamline Athletes recommends smart casual or athletic gear, as long as it's not apparel you collected from another visit.

How do coaches evaluate transfers?

Talent and results matter, and so does the pattern behind them. Remaining eligibility, the number of previous transfers, and the reasons for leaving all factor in. A strong résumé with multiple transfers attached reads as risk, because the coach is betting on a cultural fit that has not held elsewhere.

Follow Coach Cudequest

He posts recruiting content regularly at @cudequesttaylor. If you are being recruited or about to be, it is one of the better free resources available, and it comes from someone currently making these decisions.

Be recruited by Coach Cudequest and PennWest Edinboro

• Create your free Streamline Athletes account.
• Complete your profile to 100%.
• Receive a request from the coaching staff at PennWest Edinboro and any other programs for which you are an athletic, academic, and geographic fit on paper within 24 hours.

There are eight open ACT test centres in Canada, spread across five provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Four of the eight are in the Greater Toronto Area. There are no ACT test centres in Quebec, anywhere in Atlantic Canada, or in the territories. Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax have none.

ACT does not publish this list anywhere public. To see it, you have to create an account at my.act.org and begin a registration. We did that so you don't have to.

A ninth Mississauga listing appears in the registration flow marked as closed. It is a second entry for the same operator, so the count of active locations is eight.

Why the Canadian list looks so random

ACT test centres are host sites that apply to run the exam. There is no national plan behind the map, which is why a town of 3,500 people in southern Alberta has a centre and Calgary does not.

The Canadian list breaks down into three groups. Four are private academies clustered in the Greater Toronto Area, several of which serve international student populations already writing US admissions tests. Two are commercial testing services that administer exams as a business. The remaining three are schools in smaller communities, including Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, a boarding school better known to our readers as a hockey and athletics program.

The practical takeaway: if you live outside the GTA, expect to travel. An athlete in Halifax or Montreal is looking at a flight or a long drive.

What this list does not tell you

Three limits worth knowing before you plan around it.

• Availability changes by test date. This is the country-level roster of registered centres. Each site sets its own dates and capacity, so not every centre offers every national test date. You will not see specific dates until you select a centre in the registration flow.
• Adding optional sections may shorten the list. This list was pulled without requesting the optional Writing or Science sections. If a school you are applying to wants either one, check whether your nearest centre offers it.
• Format is not shown up front. ACT's registration flow does not indicate paper or computer-based testing at the centre selection stage. Confirm with the centre directly if it matters to you.

Do Canadian athletes even need the ACT?

For NCAA eligibility, no. The NCAA permanently removed standardized test scores from Division I and Division II initial-eligibility requirements at its January 2023 Convention, effective from the 2023-24 academic year. Eligibility now runs on core-course GPA: 2.3 across 16 core courses for D1, 2.2 for D2. Division III sets its own standards at the institution level.

Admissions is a separate gate. The NCAA clearing you academically does not mean a school's admissions office will. Several selective US universities reinstated testing requirements after the pandemic-era test-optional wave, and test scores still drive academic scholarship money at plenty of schools that do not require them. That money matters in track and field and cross country, where athletic aid is split across large rosters.

So the question is not whether the NCAA wants a score. It is whether the specific schools on your list want one. Check each school's admissions page before you book a test.

For the full picture on how the SAT and ACT fit into recruiting, including which test to take and how scores factor into academic money, read our guide to the SAT and ACT for student-athletes.

If no ACT centre works, look at the SAT

The SAT is administered at considerably more locations across Canada than the ACT, including in provinces where the ACT has no presence at all. It is also fully digital now, which changes how test days are scheduled. US universities accept either test and none require both.

If travel is the deciding factor rather than test format, run a College Board test centre search for your area before committing to an ACT date.

Frequently asked questions

How many ACT test centres are there in Canada?

Eight open test centres across five provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Ontario holds four of the eight, all within the Greater Toronto Area.

Can you take the ACT in Quebec or Atlantic Canada?

No. There are no ACT test centres in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, or any of the three territories. Athletes in those regions need to travel to another province or take the SAT instead.

Why is the list of ACT test centres in Canada so hard to find?

ACT does not publish its Canadian centre list on a public page. The only way to see it is to create an account at my.act.org and start a registration, at which point the country-level list appears as a dropdown.

Do I need an ACT score to be eligible for NCAA track and field?

No. The NCAA removed standardized test scores from Division I and Division II initial-eligibility requirements in 2023. Eligibility is based on core-course GPA and course completion. Individual universities may still require a score for admission, which is a separate decision from NCAA eligibility.

Is it easier to take the SAT than the ACT in Canada?

In terms of access, yes. The SAT has substantially more Canadian test locations, including in provinces with no ACT centre. US universities accept either test, so location is a legitimate reason to choose one over the other.

Test centre list last verified August 2026, pulled from the my.act.org registration flow at the country level. Centres open and close without notice. Confirm current availability directly through your ACT account before making travel plans.

Navigating standardized tests: A guide to the SAT and ACT for student-athletes

Although the landscape of standardized testing has changed greatly, with many universities providing the choice for students to go “test optional” when applying, writing a test can enhance a student’s chance of getting into competitive universities.

Lucas CoreaStreamline Athletes

TL;DR

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Don't open your first message to a college coach with a scholarship ask. Share your family's budget context early, let the scholarship conversation start once there's mutual interest, and expect exact numbers only after a coach knows you, often after a visit. Coaches read a money-first opener as a sign that their scholarship budget is the only thing that matters to you.

I see this all the time at Streamline Athletes:

• A coach sends an athlete an interest request through the platform.
• The program has reviewed the athlete's verified results and academics, and they want to talk.
• The athlete writes back within the hour, and the entire message reads: "Hi coach, what scholarship opportunities are available?"

That athlete was in a great spot, but they just weakened their position.

The coach initiated, which means the athletic and academic fit was already established, but the first thing the coach learned about the athlete as a person is that the conversation starts with money.

I advise athletes and families on this constantly. The scholarship question is important and it needs to be answered. The timing is what athletes and their families get wrong.

Asking about scholarships is one part of getting recruited. To see how it fits with everything else coaches weigh, from your PRs to your grades to where you want to live, start with our complete guide to getting recruited for college track and field.

Why a Scholarship Ask Shouldn't Be Your Opening Message

College coaches expect to be asked about scholarships. Every serious recruiting conversation gets there eventually. What they don't want is to be asked before anything else.

Consider what a money-first opener tells a coach. They reached out because your athletic results and grades fit their program. You replied without mentioning the program, the school, your goals, or a single question about the team. From the coach's point of view, you're not really interested in their program, but only what percentage of their athletic scholarship budget you're worth (which they can't know yet because they haven't met you).

Coaches talk to a large volume of recruits every cycle while dividing a limited scholarship budget across an entire class. A recruit who leads with the program and gets to money at the right time is easier to invest in, and coaches notice the difference immediately.

"I do appreciate knowing about a family's budget early on. But with limits on how many athletic scholarship dollars we can give out each year, we need to get to know recruits before we're able to offer exact amounts."

Matt Morris

Head Men's & Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Coach · Colorado State University Pueblo

Coach Taylor Cudequest, head track and field coach at PennWest Edinboro, made the same point to his own followers from the other end of the PSAC.

"Talking about scholarship on the first call with a coach sets the wrong tone. It tells coaches that all you care about is money, and that is not the kind of athlete we are looking for."

Taylor Cudequest

Head Track & Field Coach · PennWest Edinboro

Coach Cudequest attaches one more condition that athletes rarely hear: do not raise the scholarship question at all if your grades are not where they need to be. The academics come first, and a coach working out what they can offer you is reading your transcript while they do it. We covered more of how he evaluates recruits in What a D2 Head Coach Looks For in a Track and Field Recruit.

When to Ask College Coaches About Scholarships

The money conversation has three parts. Each has its own timing.

1. Share budget context early

Your family's financial picture belongs in the conversation from the start. There's a difference between context and an ask. "I'm looking for an opportunity that could work with my budget of [$XX,XXX] per year" is context that coaches value early in the recruiting process because it tells them whether their school can work for your family.

Some of the strongest financial outcomes stack athletic aid with academic scholarships and need-based aid. A coach who understands your situation can point you toward all three.

"I do appreciate knowing about a family's budget early on. But with limits on how many athletic scholarship dollars we can give out each year, we need to get to know recruits before we're able to offer exact amounts."

Matt Morris

Head Men's & Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Coach · Colorado State University Pueblo

2. Ask about scholarship structure once there's mutual interest

Once you and a coach are in a genuine dialogue, on a call or trading emails about fit, questions about how the program handles scholarships are normal and expected. How does aid typically work for incoming athletes in my event group? Does academic money stack with athletic money at your school? These are fit questions, and coaches respect recruits who raise them at this stage.

There's one version of this question I recommend to almost every athlete I advise: ask about academic scholarships for someone with your GPA studying your intended major. Many student-athletes assume they wouldn't qualify for academic awards. A lot of them do. The question also does double work. It shows the coach you're thinking about your own budget and opens the conversation about your total financial package, and it does so without asking the coach to commit any of the athletic scholarship dollars they have to manage themselves. Academic aid comes out of a different pot, which makes it an easy question for a coach to help with early.

3. Expect exact numbers late, often after a visit

Specific dollar amounts come last, and there's a practical reason for it. A coach is dividing a limited scholarship budget across a full recruiting class, and the amounts depend on who commits, who visits, and how the roster comes together. Most programs won't put a number in front of you until they know you.

"We don't even talk to most kids about scholarships until after they come for a visit."

Matt Morris

Head Men's & Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Coach · Colorado State University Pueblo

How to Get the Scholarship Conversation Started Organically

Whether a coach reaches out to you or you contact a program through Plus, your first message should do three things:

• Share why you're interested in the team and the university, specifically. Name specific reasons that demonstrate you've taken at least a few minutes to do some basic research. "I'm really excited about the political science program and your history of developing women's long jumpers" is so much better than "I love your school."
• Offer your availability for a call, with specific days and times the coach can say yes to. Make your email the easiest one for a coach to respond to.
• Briefly cover your athletic goals, your academic goals, and your budget.

That last point is where budget context lives: one line, near the end, framed as part of who you are as a recruit. Do that and the scholarship conversation tends to open on its own, usually because the coach raises it.

For what a strong first reply looks like line by line, read our guide to following up with college coaches. For deciding which programs to contact in the first place, start with building your target list.

One more piece of context before you raise money at all: athletic scholarship rules differ by association. NCAA D3 programs don't offer athletic scholarships, U SPORTS schools in Canada offer Athletic Financial Awards with their own limits, and NCAA D1 scholarship rules changed under the House settlement. Our recruitment standards guide breaks down the levels, and our D1 roster and scholarship changes article covers the new D1 rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it rude to ask a college coach about scholarships?

No. Coaches expect the money conversation, and every serious recruitment gets there. What matters is timing and framing. A scholarship ask as your opening message signals that money leads your interest in the program. The same question raised once there's mutual interest is normal, and coaches respect it.

Should I tell college coaches about my budget?

Yes, briefly and early. Budget context helps a coach figure out whether their school can work for your family, and it lets them point you toward aid that stacks, including academic scholarships and need-based aid. Context is welcome early. A request for numbers is not.

When do coaches give exact scholarship numbers?

Usually after they know you. Coaches divide a limited scholarship budget across an entire recruiting class, so specific amounts depend on visits, conversations, and how the roster comes together. Many programs wait until after a recruit visits campus to discuss exact figures.

Should I ask college coaches about academic scholarships?

Yes, and you can raise it earlier than athletic money. Ask what academic awards someone with your GPA and intended major might qualify for. Many student-athletes qualify for academic aid without realizing it, and the question shows a coach you're thinking about your full financial package without asking them to commit athletic scholarship dollars, which come out of a budget the coach manages directly.

Do all college track and field programs offer athletic scholarships?

No. NCAA D1 and D2, NAIA, and NJCAA Division I and II programs can offer athletic scholarships. NCAA D3 programs offer academic and need-based aid only. U SPORTS schools in Canada offer Athletic Financial Awards with their own limits. Performance expectations differ across these levels as well; our recruitment standards guide breaks them down.

TL;DR: College track and field coaches identify recruits through performances first, then check grades immediately after, because your academics decide whether an opportunity exists at all. Grades tell a coach two things: whether you can get admitted without risk, and how much of your education can be funded without spending athletic scholarship budget. In an equivalency sport like track and field, academic money often exceeds athletic money. Show your fit by putting your GPA, transcript, and intended field of study on your recruiting profile next to your verified performances, so a coach can evaluate the full picture in one place.

Academic fit is one part of getting recruited. To see how it fits with everything else coaches weigh, from your PRs to your grades to where you want to live, start with our complete guide to getting recruited for college track and field.

Why do college track coaches care about your academics?

A coach evaluating a recruit is managing risks. The first risk is athletic: will this athlete develop and score points? The second is administrative: will this athlete clear admissions, stay eligible, and fit within a limited scholarship budget? Strong PRs answer the first question. Your grades (or academic marks) answer the second, and coaches will not spend a recruiting cycle on an athlete who might not get into their university.

Track and field is an equivalency sport in NCAA D1, D2, and the NAIA, which means coaches can divide scholarship money across the roster however they choose. Full rides exist, but most offers are partial, and every recruit is a funding decision. An athlete whose grades unlock academic merit aid costs less athletic budget, which makes that athlete easier to recruit. This is why coaches ask about your GPA in the first conversation. It is not small talk.

At Southern Maine, Coach Rob Whitten checks a recruit's grades before their performances. Here is how Southern Maine evaluates recruits.

Coaches identify recruits through performances first: results, rankings, PRs. Grades come immediately after, because the answer determines whether an opportunity exists at all. From there, the conversation is budget fit and intangibles. A recruit whose grades are a question mark is a gamble, and coaches recruit more athletes than they sign. When two recruits are at a similar performance level, the stronger student usually gets the roster spot.

Coaches say it plainly too. PennWest Edinboro head coach Taylor Cudequest calls the belief that coaches only care about athletic performance one of the biggest recruiting myths, and he has watched talented athletes lose opportunities over grades. More on how he evaluates recruits in What a D2 Head Coach Looks For in a Track and Field Recruit.

How do college coaches evaluate academic fit?

Coaches are not comparing you against NCAA minimums. They are comparing you against their school's admission profile. The NCAA's core-course GPA floors of 2.3 for D1 and 2.2 for D2 keep you eligible, but most programs admit well above those numbers, and competitive recruits tend to sit in the 2.8 to 3.5+ range. Some coaches hold a hard 3.0 cutoff regardless of how strong the athlete is, so a low GPA can end a conversation your performances started. The full breakdown of eligibility standards, registration steps, and approved core courses lives in our guide to the NCAA and NAIA eligibility centers.

Beyond the GPA number, coaches look at three things.

1. Course rigor
   A 3.4 built on university-preparation courses reads differently than a 3.4 built on the easiest available schedule. Coaches at academically selective programs know the difference because their admissions offices do.
2. Major fit
   If you plan to study engineering, nursing, business, or certain other fields, admission often runs through the faculty or program, not just the university. Those programs carry their own prerequisites. A coach cannot recruit you into a major you cannot get into.
3. Trajectory
   An upward grade trend through grade 11 and 12 reads as maturity. Coaches sign people for four or five years. Evidence that you handle increasing academic load while training and competing is part of your case.

Strong academics can move borderline athletic cases. A coach with one roster spot and two athletes at similar performance levels will take the one who clears admissions cleanly and brings merit aid to the table. Your grades can win you a spot your PRs alone would not.

How do you show academic fit on your recruiting profile?

Coaches act on complete information. A Streamline Athletes profile that shows your verified track and field performances next to your academics lets a coach evaluate athletic and academic fit in one review instead of chasing you for documents weeks later.

Here are three steps to take when completing or updating the Academic Information section of your Streamline Athletes profile:

Step 1 - Add your GPA or average
Enter your GPA or percentage average in the Academic Information section of your profile. This is the single number coaches filter on first.

Step 2 - Upload your transcript or report card
A recent transcript or report card backs the number and shows course rigor. Documents you upload stay private and are shared only with coaches you choose to correspond with. Coaches trust documents over self-reported figures, and a documented GPA lets a coach evaluate your academic fit in the same pass as your performances. Add or edit a previously entered academic year ("performance"), then scroll down to the Upload Attachment card to attach supporting documentation.

Step 3 - Add your desired field of study
Your intended major shapes which schools and faculties are a match, and it tells a coach whether their institution can offer what you want. If you are undecided, say so; that is still useful information. When editing your Streamline Athletes profile, scroll down to the bottom of the Academic Information section to find the "Desired Field of Study" section. Add more than one academic area if multiple fields apply.

One rule sits above all three steps: report your grades accurately. Coaches use your self-reported GPA to decide whether an opportunity could exist before they invest time and energy into recruiting you. An inflated number will be exposed the moment you share your transcript. Padding the number wastes everyone's time, yours included.

How do international grades convert to a US GPA?

If you were educated outside the United States, your grades do not need to arrive pre-converted. Report them accurately in the scale your school uses and upload the documents behind them. Canadian athletes can enter their percentage average on their Streamline Athletes profile as is; coaches recruiting across the border work with percentages all the time, and the Eligibility Center handles the official conversion. Where a rough conversion earns its keep is targeting. If a US program you want holds a cutoff on the 4.0 scale, knowing approximately where your average lands tells you whether that school deserves your recruiting time or whether it belongs on a longer-shot tier of your target list.

Two warnings before the numbers:

• First, these are approximate equivalencies for planning. Grading scales vary by school, district, province, and exam board, and no single conversion chart is official.
• Second, the NCAA Eligibility Center runs its own country-specific conversions, published in the NCAA Guide to International Academic Standards for Athletics Eligibility. Its core-course GPA is calculated unweighted from approved core courses only. Your transcript GPA and your NCAA GPA are two different numbers, and the Eligibility Center's is the one that decides eligibility.

How does academic money work across divisions and associations?

Athletic scholarships get the attention, but in track and field, academic money frequently does more of the work. How the two interact depends on where you compete.

In NCAA D1 and D2, partial athletic aid combined with academic merit scholarships is a normal recruit package, and full rides go to the athletes a coach prioritizes most. Nearly all D1 programs have opted into the House settlement structure, which replaced sport-by-sport scholarship caps with roster limits and changed how coaches budget their classes. We cover those changes in detail in our breakdown of the NCAA roster and scholarship changes. The practical takeaway does not change: an athlete who brings academic money to the table is easier to fund.

In NCAA D3 there is no athletic aid at all, so your grades are your scholarship. D3 programs recruit hard, and the money conversation is a conversation about your transcript.

In the NAIA, athletic scholarships can stack with institutional and academic aid with fewer restrictions, so a strong student often assembles a larger total package at an NAIA school than a comparable partial offer elsewhere.

In U SPORTS, athletic financial awards are capped at tuition and compulsory fees, and the money story is grades-first in a different way. U SPORTS removed its national rule requiring an 80% entering average to receive an athletic financial award, effective 2024-25, though individual conferences and schools can still apply stricter award criteria, so confirm the rules at each school on your list. Separately, many Canadian universities award entrance scholarships automatically based on your admission average. For a strong student, that automatic academic money can rival or exceed anything athletic on the table.

"There are far more academic scholarship dollars available than athletic — so grades, grades, grades."

Jason Reindl

Head Coach, Track & Field / Cross Country · University of Saskatchewan

How do coaches use ACT and SAT test scores when they evaluate you?

The NCAA stopped requiring test scores for Division I and Division II eligibility in 2023. Scores still matter at some schools, and not for eligibility reasons. At most programs nobody will ask. At academically selective ones, your score can decide whether a coach keeps recruiting you.

Coaches do not make admissions decisions. At a school where admissions is competitive independent of athletics, a coach has a limited number of slots to spend and cannot afford to waste one on a recruit who gets rejected. Highly selective private universities and academically demanding Division III programs are the clearest examples. You will know you are talking to one of them because the coach asks about your score early, or at least checks that you are registered for a test.

Even at those schools, most programs publish guidelines rather than hard cutoffs. Coaches weigh academic commitment alongside growth potential, character and work ethic. A score a little below a published guideline does not usually end the conversation. A score well below it does.

Scores also affect academic scholarship money, and that matters more in track and field and cross country than in most sports. Athletic aid gets split across a large roster, so academic awards often make up a bigger share of an offer than athletic money does. Raising a test score can be worth more to your final cost than shaving a tenth off a personal best.

Ask early. Coaches will tell you what their program needs academically if you ask them directly. If you are deciding between the two tests, our guide to the SAT and ACT covers the differences. If you are in Canada, check where you can take the ACT before booking a date, because there are only eight test centres in the country.

What should you say to a coach about your academics?

When you express interest in a program, mention your GPA or average and your intended field of study alongside your primary events and PRs. That is the information a coach needs to run your name past admissions and to start thinking about a funding package.

If your grades are a weakness, address it rather than hiding it. An honest note about an upward trend, a course correction, or a plan to retake a class reads far better than a surprise on the transcript later. Coaches have seen every version of this and they value recruits who manage it directly.

For the full playbook on building your school list and starting coach conversations the right way, start with our guide to building a target list.

FAQ

What GPA do college track coaches want to see?

There is no universal number, but competitive NCAA recruits usually fall in the 2.8 to 3.5+ range, well above the NCAA's eligibility floors of 2.3 for D1 and 2.2 for D2. Some coaches hold a 3.0 minimum regardless of performance level. Coaches evaluate your GPA against their school's admission profile, and higher grades unlock academic merit aid that makes you easier to fund.

Can strong academics make up for weaker performances in recruiting?

Often, yes, at the margins. Coaches choosing between athletes at similar performance levels usually take the stronger student because they clear admissions cleanly and bring academic aid that preserves athletic budget. Grades will not replace performance standards, but they regularly decide borderline cases.

How do recruitment platforms combine academic and athletic profiles?

Streamline Athletes puts verified performances and academic information in one profile. Athletes add their GPA or average, upload a transcript, and list their intended field of study alongside athletic performances verified against official meet results. Coaches evaluate athletic and academic fit in a single review, which is what turns interest into contact.

How do NCAA D3 track athletes get scholarship money?

D3 programs do not offer athletic scholarships. Financial packages come from academic merit aid and need-based institutional aid, which means your transcript is the primary driver of your offer. Many D3 schools award substantial merit money to strong students.

What is an admissions pre-read in track recruiting?

A pre-read is an early review of a recruit's transcript by a school's admissions office, requested by the coach, to gauge whether the athlete would be admitted. Formal pre-reads are most common at academically selective programs and uncommon elsewhere. The universal version is informal: coaches identify recruits by performance, then check grades immediately to confirm an opportunity exists, which is why an accurate GPA on your profile matters from first contact.

Do Canadian universities consider grades in track and field recruiting?

Yes. U SPORTS removed its national 80% entering-average requirement for athletic financial awards starting in 2024-25, but conferences and schools can apply stricter criteria, admission in Canada is faculty-based, and many universities award entrance scholarships automatically based on admission average. Strong grades expand both admission options and total funding.

TL;DR

Most athletes approach track and field recruiting by division ("I want to go D1"). Coaches don't think in divisions. They think in conference championships, because their budgets, scholarships, and jobs depend on scoring at that meet. The Conference-Impact Lens is a way of building your target list of college programs by identifying the conferences where your current marks would score at the championship meet, either immediately or within a couple of seasons. This guide explains how coaches use conference scoring to make roster and scholarship decisions, shows you what the same mark is worth across four different conferences, and walks you through running the lens yourself on TFRRS in about 20 minutes.

Matching your PRs to programs is one part of getting recruited. To see how it fits with everything else coaches weigh, from your PRs to your grades to where you want to live, start with our complete guide to getting recruited for college track and field.

The Division Myth

The most common scenario I see in advising sessions, and it happens constantly, is an athlete dead set on the D1 concept. What they don't realize is that Division I is a massive division: hundreds of schools, with Power Four programs that compete, recruit, and spend in a different stratosphere from their mid-major counterparts. There are plenty of D2 teams that would beat D1 programs in a dual meet. The label on the athletic department tells you almost nothing about where you fit.

Here's the scale of the spread inside one division. At the 2026 SEC outdoor championships, the last scoring time in the men's 100m final was 10.19. That time wins most high school state championships in the country, and at that meet it was worth a single point. Hundreds of D1 programs have never had an athlete run it.

When I work with athletes and families in this situation, I use the Conference-Impact Lens to explain how roster and scholarship decisions get made. It replaces "which division do I want" with a better question: at which conference championship meets would my marks score points?

What the Conference-Impact Lens Is

College coaches are blunt about this when you get them talking. Their jobs depend on improving within their conference year over year, and they are always looking for athletes who will score for them at the indoor and outdoor conference championships, whether that's a true freshman or a transfer. Results drive recruiting decisions, and the results that matter most are the ones posted at the conference meet.

Two rule changes made this filter sharper. In Division I, roster limits from the House settlement mean coaches carry fewer athletes and need impact recruits who can score at the conference level. In Division II, conference scoring is what equates to scholarship dollars. Fewer spots, tighter budgets, and a championship meet that decides how both get spent.

Here's the part most families miss. You might be the top thrower for some schools on your list, but you wouldn't crack the top 20 in their conference. That usually means the program doesn't prioritize your event group or is rebuilding that part of the roster. Being the best on a roster in your event tells you less about your roster and scholarship opportunities than where you sit within the frame of the conference.

Do Coaches Recruit on Current Marks or Potential?

You are most valued where you can score at the conference championship meet. Your ability to make an immediate impact based on your current PRs, not your projected ones, is what turns coaches' heads, provides a roster spot, and opens up scholarship offers. Showcase that impact in multiple events, including relays, and your value goes up.

What about potential? Potential to become a conference scorer can be rewarded with scholarships too, but potential that requires development over time is not a sure thing anymore. There is no standardized way coaches make projections, and different programs weigh different events and event groups differently. A coach who knows they can always bring in in-state walk-on middle-distance runners is less likely to spend scholarship money on out-of-state athletes in those events unless they're close to guaranteed to score in Year 1. That same coach might take a thrower who just started strength training, because they see a path to a conference scorer by Year 2 in an event where their roster is thin.

The takeaway: build your target list around where your current marks land, and treat projection as a bonus that some programs will value and others won't. This is exactly the kind of evidence that belongs in your Athlete Recruitment Plan.

For a working example of that judgment call, PennWest Edinboro head coach Taylor Cudequest walks through three recruit profiles and gives his verdict on each in What a D2 Head Coach Looks For in a Track and Field Recruit, including one sprinter whose event times do not line up the way you would expect.

What the Same Mark Is Worth in Four Different Conferences

The tables below show the winning mark and the last scoring mark from six event finals at four conference championship meets. Same events, same season, four different competitive realities.

Marks from the 2026 outdoor conference championships, pulled from TFRRS. Every mark links to the official event results. Last updated July, 2026.

How to read these tables

The last scoring mark is the entry point. If your current PR is at or near it, you would have scored at that meet, and that makes you an impact recruit for programs in that conference. The winning mark is the ceiling. Between them sits the full range of athletes earning roster spots and scholarship money at that level. All four meets score eight places.

The four conferences, and why these four

SEC: The SEC is the ceiling of the sport, a Power Four conference where championship finals regularly run deeper than national finals in some events. Big Ten and ACC scoring marks run comparably. If your marks score here, you are being recruited by everyone.

Mountain West: The Mountain West is the strong mid-major tier, and a conference in transition. After the 2026 outdoor season, five of its programs (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State) left to join the rebuilt Pac-12, which begins competition in 2026-27. The marks below reflect the final championship before that split, so they represent the rosters now spread across both conferences. When the new Pac-12 holds its first outdoor championship in spring 2027, this row will update to reflect both meets.

MAAC: The MAAC is a low-major D1 conference. It shares a division label with the SEC, and the tables show you what that label is worth.

GLIAC: The GLIAC is one of the strongest conferences in D2, where conference scoring equates directly to scholarship dollars. For athletes fixated on the D1 label, these marks are the reality check in the other direction, because strong D2 conferences run deeper than most families expect.

What does it take to score in the men's 200m?

The MAAC champion ran 20.34, a time that scores at any conference meet in the country. Eight places back, the last scoring time was two full seconds slower. Conference winners can be elite anywhere; depth is where the tiers separate. [Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

What does it take to score in the women's 800m?

The spread between last scoring marks is more than 18 seconds. A 2:19 scores points in a strong D2 conference and at a low-major D1, and the same time doesn't survive the prelims at the SEC meet.
[Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

What does it take to score in the men's 1500m?

The Mountain West final looks like the softest of the four, and it's the most misleading number in this entire section. That final was tactical: the winning time was 4:03.72, but the prelims the day before ran as fast as 3:46. To score, you first have to make the final, and the prelim is where the fitness standard gets set. [Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

What does it take to score in the women's 5000m?

The Mountain West winner ran faster than the SEC winner. Mid-major distance programs recruit and develop at a national level, and the division label tells you none of that.
[Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

What does it take to score in the men's long jump?

The SEC's last scoring jump, 7.58m, would have won the MAAC and GLIAC competitions outright.
[Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

What does it take to score in the women's shot put?

The SEC's last scoring throw beat the MAAC's winning throw by more than three meters. In the throws, the gap between tiers is measured in meters, not centimeters.
[Sources: SEC, Mountain West, MAAC, GLIAC]

Marks flagged "w" were set in wind over the +2.0 legal limit (Mountain West 200m final: +2.8; GLIAC long jump: +3.7). They stand as championship results and scored full points, but they aren't record-legal comparisons.

How to Run the Conference-Impact Lens Yourself

Everything you need is free on TFRRS, the official results database for college track and field. The whole exercise takes about 20 minutes per event.

1. Pick a conference and find its championship meet. Search TFRRS for the conference name plus "outdoor championships" and open the most recent edition. Confirm the year in the page header, since old editions of the same meet surface in search.
2. Open the final for your event. Meet pages list every event. Use the FINAL section, not the prelims, and check the points column to see how deep the meet scores. Most score 8 places; some score 10.
3. Write down two numbers: the winning mark and the last scoring mark. The last scoring mark is your entry point. If your PR is at or near it, you would have scored at that meet.
4. In the middle distances, check the prelims and season bests too. Championship finals from 800m up are often tactical. The prelim times and season bests tell you the fitness standard; the final tells you the placing standard.
5. Repeat across three or four conferences. One meet tells you about one conference. Three or four tell you where your competitive band starts and ends.
6. Build your target list inside that band. Programs in conferences where you'd score now are your core list. Programs one tier up are your reach if you're still improving. Then browse programs by conference and put the evidence to work in your Athlete Recruitment Plan.

Where the Conference-Impact Lens Has Limits

The lens is the best first filter, but it isn't the only one. A few situations change the math:

Academics come first, always. You need the academic standing to get into the school before any of this matters. The Ivy League is its own thing entirely, with admissions standards that sit above athletic fit.

Some programs recruit for where they want to be, not where they are. A team that isn't competitive within its conference but aspires to be will take more developmental athletes to level up the program. If a coach is building, your ceiling can matter more than your current marks.

Event group depth cuts both ways. With roster limits in D1, some teams double down on their strength areas and drop event groups altogether. A conference where your marks score is not a guarantee that every program in it recruits your event. Check the roster before you check the box.

Sorting through these situations is where a second set of eyes helps. It's a big part of what I do in recruitment advising sessions with athletes and families.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Conference-Impact Lens?

The Conference-Impact Lens is a way of building your target list of college programs by identifying the conferences where your current marks would score at the championship meet, either immediately or within a couple of seasons. It replaces division-first thinking with the question coaches are already asking: can this athlete score at our conference championships?

Are all NCAA D1 track and field programs the same level?

No. Division I spans hundreds of programs with enormous spread between them. At the 2026 outdoor championships, the last scoring time in the SEC women's 800m was 2:01.74, while the last scoring time in the MAAC women's 800m was 2:20.17. Both meets are Division I. The division label describes institutional classification, not competitive level.

What does it mean to score at a conference championship?

Scoring means finishing in a points-earning place at the conference championship meet, most commonly the top 8 (some meets score 10 places). Team standings are decided by those points, and coaches' budgets, scholarship allocations, and job security are tied to how their team finishes. That is why coaches recruit athletes who can score.

Should I pick a college by division or by conference?

By conference. Divisions tell you how a school is classified; conference championship results tell you the competitive level you would face and whether your marks would earn points there. Learn what the division labels mean, then use conference results to find your fit.

Can a D2 program be more competitive than a D1 program?

Yes, routinely. At the 2026 outdoor championships, the GLIAC (a D2 conference) produced a faster winning 1500m time, a faster winning 200m time, and a further winning shot put than the MAAC (a D1 conference). Strong D2 conferences run deeper than most families expect, and in D2, conference scoring equates directly to scholarship dollars.

How do I find conference championship results?

Use TFRRS (tfrrs.org), the official results database for college track and field. Search the conference name plus "outdoor championships," open the most recent edition, and read the event finals. The winning mark and the last scoring mark for your event are the two numbers to write down.

Why are championship times sometimes slower than season bests?

Because championship finals are often tactical, especially from 800m up. Athletes race for place, not time, so winning times can run well behind what the same athletes ran in the prelims or during the season. Check prelim times and season bests alongside the final to understand the true standard at a conference meet.

What marks do I need to compete in the SEC?

Check the most recent SEC outdoor championship results on TFRRS for your event. If your PR is at or near the last scoring mark in the final, you are at SEC scoring level. The same method works for any conference, which is the point of the Conference-Impact Lens: the answer comes from current championship results, not from a fixed list of standards.