Investigation of Recruiting Criteria of Leading NCAA Division I Softball Coaches‪.‬

Purpose of this investigation was to determine the recruitment criteria of the 50 winningest active coaches in NCAA I collegiate softball. Twenty-seven of the NCAA Division I head coaches completed a survey designed to assess their recruiting evaluation standards and measures. The survey 15 items based on the evaluation of a recruit including statistics, use of recruiting tools, measuring intangibles and tangibles, the preference of a multi-sport high school athlete or a multi-position player, when to begin recruiting, most desired positions recruited, and the important elements of a successful recruiting athletic program. Based on the analyses of the survey date, most of the coaches use similar criteria. Results indicated similar explanations and findings in current talent identification, recruiting techniques, and applications. There are 400,000 student-athletes enrolled in 1300 universities playing 23 sports under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2009). According to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), of the 1300 universities, approximately 1100 sponsor softball programs, and of those 1100 schools, 262 are Division I schools (NFCA, 2009).