What Is June 15 in College Sports Recruiting

If you’re serious about playing sports in college, June 15 should be on your radar. 

But let’s clear something up:

June 15 isn’t the start of recruiting. It’s a checkpoint, a big one, but if you’re waiting until then to get ready, you’re already behind.

Here’s what June 15 actually means, why it’s important, and how to prepare for it the right way.

What Is June 15?

In most NCAA Division I and II sports (excluding football and basketball), June 15 after your sophomore year is the first date college coaches are allowed to:

• Call or text you directly
• Send private recruiting messages
• Make verbal scholarship offers
• Have official recruiting conversations (not just general interest)

Before this date, communication is limited. Coaches can’t speak directly to you, but they can talk to your club or high school coach, watch you play, and track your progress quietly.

So June 15 doesn’t start recruiting, it opens the door for direct contact.

Why June 15 Doesn’t Mean "Now It Begins"

By the time June 15 hits, most coaches already have a list of who they want to reach out to.

They’ve been watching you, and possibly thinking about recruiting you. Quietly evaluating. Asking around.

So if your name isn’t already on their radar by then, it’s unlikely you’ll suddenly become a priority.

Recruiting starts long before you get a phone call.

How to Prepare Before June 15

If you're a freshman or sophomore, don’t wait for a date on the calendar. Use this time to:

Build your highlight reel

Pick the best clips from your games and put them together in a short video (2–5 minutes). Show your skills, hustle, and game awareness. Coaches use this to decide if they want to learn more.

Organize your game footage

Keep full games and key plays in one place, Google Drive (free), or YouTube (free). Make it easy to share when a coach asks. Highlight reels are for attention. Full games are for evaluation.

Get your social media cleaned up

Delete anything immature, negative, or off-brand. Coaches look at your Instagram, TikTok, and X to see what kind of person you are. If it’s questionable, clean it.

Fill out college recruiting questionnaires

These are online forms from college teams that ask for your basic info: height, position, GPA, contact info, etc. Filling them out shows interest, and puts you in their system.

Create a simple, professional LinkedIn profile

You don’t need job experience, just a clean photo, your sport, your goals, and a short bio. This shows you’re thinking beyond sports and preparing for your future.

Set up a presence on LaunchBreak to connect with mentors

LaunchBreak is a free platform that connects athletes with people who can help, mentors, advisors, job leads, and training resources. It’s where athletes go to grow off the field. But the platform is only for women.

Take The Warm-Up Course to figure out who you are as an athlete

This free, narrated course walks you through who you are, what you represent, how you want to show up and so much more! So when a coach calls, you’re not scrambling to answer: “Tell me about yourself.”

Your job before June 15 is to be findable, prepared, and presentable. June 15 isn’t magic.

It won’t turn you into a recruit overnight. But it can be the moment a coach finally reaches out, if you’ve done the work ahead of time.

And if you haven’t? You still have time to show up differently.

Start with your identity.

Then build your presence.

And when the message comes through, you’ll be ready to respond, not just react.