With the recruiting season winding down, it has been a historic year for JUCO players earning scholarships and getting ready to call a new place home. Nearly 600 JUCO players have committed to D1 programs for the class of 2019, shattering all records from past seasons.
The previous record was set last year when the Rivals.com database showed 577 players committed for the class of 2018. Before that, the class of 2016 held the record at 562.
What does it all mean? Well, first off, it probably means that we are doing a better job at tracking players. It would take a full force of full time employees to go back and research all the players we missed in past years and I don’t know anybody with that kind of time to commit. But, it also could mean that NCAA D1 programs are starting to see the value in offering guys with experience at the JUCO level who are ready both physically and mentally to compete at the next level. The truth is, we’ll probably never know.
A big congrats goes out to the Jayhawk Conference, who wins our award for the top recruited conference in the nation. The Jayhawk has had 114 athletes from the eight programs commit to D1 schools for an average of 14.25-per-school. All but one program in the conference had at least 11 commits, led by Independence College (22). We aren’t sure how the Pirates went 2-8 for the season, but it shows just how deep and talent-rich the Jayhawk has become in recent years.
Although it has only three teams, the Northeast Conference was next in line with 12-commits-per-school. Lackawanna holds a 17-13 lead over ASA-Brooklyn in the conference as we head down the stretch run.
Much like the Northeast, the Iowa Conference has just three teams and has averaged 11.3 commits-per-school. Iowa Western holds a 15-11 edge over an Iowa Central program that seems to be on the rise.
The Mississippi schools are split into two conferences and seem to be in a good battle to see who wins out. The South currently holds a 66-55 advantage right now, with time running out on the North. The top dogs in the state right now are Northwest (17), Jones County (16), East Mississippi (15), Copiah-Lincoln (12) and Gulf Coast (12).
The now defunct Western States League had a solid year despite knowing football was likely to be cut. Arizona Western (13), Snow (12) and Scottsdale (10) all reached double-digits despite the looming news. Our hunch is, a lot of those players will be heading west to the California ranks in the coming years.
The Golden State is a different kind of animal. As many know, there is no scholarships in California and the state has 68 programs. They have a tiered system, with 36 programs playing in the National Division (upper tier) and 32 playing in the American Division (lower tier). With no scholarships and only a handful of schools with on-campus housing, the Golden State has some pretty sizeable disadvantages when it comes to attracting high-profile talent. However, the foot traffic on California campuses is still constant as scouts from around the country can hit a handful of programs in a day due to the proximity of the schools.
Despite the obvious monetary disadvantages, a lot of programs have had a very good year. Both Fullerton College and City College of San Francisco have had 11 commitments so far this season, with a handful of others approaching double-digits. Riverside City College sits in third place with 10 commitments while College of the Canyons, Mt. San Antonio College and Ventura College have eight apiece. The top conference in the state so far is the National Central League, which is averaging 5.83 commits-per-school.
Back in the NJCAA ranks, the Southwest Junior College Football Conference has a wild race to the finish line. Blinn College currently lead the race with 12 commits, with Kilgore (11), Trinity Valley (10), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (10) and Navarro College (9) right on their heels.
As always, we also like to recognize the independent colleges, which face crazy travel schedules and logistical nightmares. Georgia Military (8), College of DuPage (7) and ASA-Miami (6) lead the pack of the most recruited independents in the nation for the class of 2019.
In closing, these numbers are likely never going to be perfect. With just one person entering the data, it’s an ambitious undertaking. If we are missing something, please hit me up on Twitter to provide any missing commitments.
