Phase 01 — The Blueprint
Most families start the recruiting process by reaching out to coaches. That is the second step. The families who get the most choices start here — with a foundation that every email, every camp, and every conversation is built on.
If you read this guide and don’t walk away with at least one thing you can use this week — email us. We’ll make it right.
What’s Inside
The Phase 1 page on D1ProjX gives you the framework. This guide gives you the specifics — the actual research process, the roster analysis method, the Clearinghouse reality, and the data that shows exactly what separates the families who get choices from the ones who don’t.
The Clearinghouse — What It Actually Looks Like
Sign up in 9th grade, get the number, store it accessibly — it is on nearly every questionnaire across close to 100 schools. The fee and full submission come later. Most families make it harder than it is.
How to Actually Build the List — The Specific Process
The filtering tool we used, the NCAA ranking method that doubled our options, and how geography and academic constraints shaped and shifted our final 100-school list.
Roster Research — What to Actually Look For
Position counts by class, previous recruiting class patterns, player geography, physical profiles going back multiple years. The research that separates families who walk into coach calls knowing everything from the ones who show up cold.
The D3 Revelation
The quality of academics, facilities, and competition at the top D3 programs is genuinely underestimated by almost every family entering this process. Including ours — until the process taught us otherwise.
Size, Skill & What You Can Actually Control
Size opens a door. Skill keeps it open. Here is what coaches actually see first — and what a family can do something about before a single camp is attended.
“I would’ve had no clue where to start if you weren’t helping me.”
A parent D1ProjX helped through the complete recruiting process
Why D1ProjX
More than the big guys give you
for under $100 total.
Recruiting consultants charge thousands of dollars for information that should be available to every family. Every guide in The Blueprint series is built from a real recruiting process — not a framework someone read about.