Podcast: On the college recruiting challenges facing high school/club players

On the latest episode of the 'The Goal' podcast, we discussed the current college recruiting landscape. (Rick Naples/NESJ)

On the latest episode of New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast, hosts Matt Langone and Matt Doherty discuss the current college soccer recruiting landscape.

Recruiting looks a lot different in 2025 than it did just five years ago, and that hasn’t exactly been a good thing for prep, high school and club players looking to land a spot at the next level.

That’s particularly been the case on the boys soccer side.

The booming transfer portal seems to be increasing with players every year, and a continuing influx of international talent has made it significantly more difficult for high school juniors and seniors to receive offers.

Oftentimes, it’s a long waiting game with a slow drip of results. 

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Langone and Doherty discussed all of that and more. Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On the transfer portal:

Doherty: “That is obviously affecting high schoolers. I think it’s delaying the process. No 1., some coaches — off the record — are like, ‘I want to see what the portal looks like before I commit to a high schooler.’ So, I just think there’s just so many different ways to build a roster now that weren’t there five years ago — the portal wasn’t a thing, the amount of people in the portal wasn’t a thing.”

On the rise of the Division 3 college soccer:

Doherty: “The rise of Division 3 soccer is a big part of this and the key factor is because Division 1 is becoming way more competitive and there’s just so many different pools to pick from. A lot of these players who could play D1, they could go to a lower-level Division 1 school and kind of earn their way up. But, now, they’re like ‘you know what? Instead, I’m going to go to a high academic Division 3 school and I’m going to get a great education and I’m going to play high quality soccer.’ I think that path is starting to become more popular.”

On the frustrations for players:

Langone: “It’s going to be tough, because for players and parents, when you commit to one of these year-round clubs, these high level clubs, a lot of these top-level players go into that with the expectation that ‘I’m going to play college soccer. This is why I’m sacrificing. This is why I’m committing to this.’ So, it’s got to be frustrating for the families. … Some of these kids who are still uncommitted, they’re going to end up on their feet. They’re going to end up at good programs. They’ll play college soccer. It’s just slower.”

On advice for players:

Doherty: “Some of the college coaches that I talked to, I was like, ‘what would be your advice to high schoolers?’ And they said commit early. Find that spot, find that school that values you and that you like, and make sure you lock up that roster spot. Don’t take it for granted.”

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