As the fall semester gets into full swing, seniors are beginning to narrow down their college decisions, arrange trips to campuses, and polish their applications. For student athletes looking to be recruited for colleges, however, this process has been underway for months or even years.

The collegiate recruitment process can mean different things to different players: some players aspire to play in the highest division possible for a chance to play professionally, while others see the scholarship money to a prestigious university as the main reason to play another four years. Either way, the college recruitment process is a high-stakes environment.

Lois Matsukawa ’25 decided that applying to an elite institution that also allowed her to continue to play volleyball was the right choice for her. In doing so, she was able to verbally commit to Swarthmore in the fall.

“My club coaches really helped me, because we have recruiting coordinators at our clubs. I got a giant list of [Division III] schools, because I knew that I didn’t want to go [Division I],” said Matsukawa. “I wanted to make sure that I had a good academic school to go to.”

Even though Matsukawa opted to play Division III instead of Division I, there is still a great attention of detail to her performance. With millions of dollars in scholarship money on the line, recruitment coaches must be thorough in their assessment of players to ensure they are making the best decision for the college. In this case, it means raising the bar for expectations.

“I reached out to [recruiters in sophomore year], went to a lot of their camps, and that’s how I got to play in front of them,” said Matsukawa. “Even at these college camps, you get feedback from the actual college coaches, which is really important because that’s what they’re looking for in their recruits.”

Walter Gumbinger ’25 has verbally committed to play Division III in golf at Dickinson College. Like Matsukawa, Gumbinger began his recruitment process by sending emails to college recruitment coaches and seeing who would reply. Gumbinger stressed the importance of maintaining relationships with the coaches.

“Once you get the first email, you keep the coaches updated with your scores. For some coaches, I got on the phone, met the coaches, and you are invited to campus,” Gumbinger said.

Gumbinger admits that the pressure to perform at a higher level can be difficult, so he has been finding ways to minimize that stress. One way in which he has reduced his stress is by going to visit a sports psychologist that can help redirect his way of thinking about the game.

“We learn different ways to alleviate stress and to try and focus on something that’s not golf, especially when I’m not hitting the ball,” said Gumbinger. “It’s about learning to focus when you are actually hitting the shots, and then being able to get your mind off of it.”

Although Gumbinger was able toget better control of the mental side of his game, some issues were still hard to control. For example, the vast amount of competition meant that Gumbinger was indecisive in even attempting to be recruited and meant that he got his name out to the coaches later than he would have wanted. For aspiring collegiate athletes, Gumbinger has some words of advice.

“I would say to get your name out there as early as possible,” said Gumbinger. “I wouldn’t say to commit too early to a school unless it’s really your dream school, just because there’s a lot of time; you still have your junior year to really get better and grow so maybe a better opportunity will come.”

For Matsukawa, she found that the pressure came not only from the volleyball court, but in the classroom as well. In order to be recruited to Swarthmore, she had to balance her athletic success and high grades.

“Getting help from my teachers if I was struggling in a class was really helpful,” said Matsukawa. “And then athletically, my coaches were always open to me coming in early to get extra reps just to become a stronger player.”

In fact, the pressure was so intense at one point that Matsukawa had to take a brief period of time to reflect and have her own realization: she understood that the sport itself was never more important than her mental or physical health and wellbeing.

“I think the biggest thing is to ask for help, whether it’s your parents, your coaches, or teachers, just to balance everything out,” said Matsukawa. “[Taking] a break from your sport ... [and discovering] other activities and hobbies that you find interesting outside of your sport is really important.”

David Brophy ’25 is a senior who is currently in the process of looking to be recruited to a college for swimming. Brophy shares a similar story with Gumbinger and Matsukawa in that he began with reaching out to coaches through email, and felt pressure from the whole system.

“I had one of the bigger national meets this past summer in Virginia, and I had to drive all the way down there, and there were a lot of coaches which led to excess pressure,” said Brophy. “I think that added an element of, ‘You need to do well or else maybe you won’t go to a good college.’”

For Brophy, the best way to get over the feeling of excess pressure is to continue to play the sport and make sure that you’re always having a good time doing it, which ultimately results in success in the big moments.

“I just try to stick to what I know,” said Brophy. “Practicing is always really fun. Once you get to the meet, you need to be able to trust yourself and what you’ve been working on.”

Though parts of the recruitment process have been stressful to Gumbinger, he feels that the recruitment system is ultimately set up to give athletes the best chances of success.

The recruitment system is ultimately set up to give athletes the best chances of success.

“I think it’s a great process, because even though somebody may have better stats than you, if the coaches don’t like who the player is, they won’t take them,” said Gumbinger. “That leaves spots open for other players who maybe aren’t as good, but will be a better benefit to the team through their locker room ability or overall support for the team.”

Though both Matsukawa and Gumbinger have faced adversity in their athletic recruitment process, they are ultimately excited to continue their athletics at distinguished colleges, and think that prospective athletes shouldn’t fear when beginning to compete in the college recruitment process. At the end of the day, the recruitment process is supposed to be a system which athletes can look back on fondly as they seek to take their sport to the next level.