MWCConnection Recruiting Roundup 8-31-26. Teams in new conferences are taking bigger recruiting swings.

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It’s another week of the Recruiting Roundup.

Something I’m attempting to keep an eye on is how a team’s recruiting efforts are impacted by being in a new conference. Are schools seeing a boost going from the Mountain West to the Pac-12? How about moving from the Sun Belt, MAC, or CUSA to the Mountain West or Pac-12? Or even the jump from the FCS level to the FBS level?

The actual results may not be fully realized until classes are signed at the end of this cycle, but some information can be collected now. One high school recruiting coordinator shared some of his perspective:

“They (teams in new conferences) have more money, so they shoot their shot with players who are a higher caliber or are more heavily recruited. They’ve already told me to start sending them the players who I think are P4 because they know they can pay a handful of them.”

Based on this, it appears that teams believe they can take a few more big swings now. But it doesn’t seem to be because of conference prestige; rather, it’s because of deeper pockets. That also makes sense; if the budget is a bit bigger, then there is room for a more talented player or two. This means that players who were deemed out of reach in the past are worth spending time and resources on now in hopes of landing them. It’s worth keeping this in mind when comparing the 2027 recruiting classes to previous ones.

Another interesting angle is that agents may be advising recruits to take a look at certain schools a bit more because they can get paid by them. Or, get paid and see early playing time, which is a pitch that may resonate with recruits who might be a bit more money at a bigger school, but not have as clear of a path to play right away. The recruiting coordinator says:

“Agents are also more excited about working with schools in the Pac-12 because of the higher budget. They know the players that they represent can get a better shot at early playing time while also being fairly compensated.“

It may not be what people want to hear, but it is interesting to see how programs in new conferences are being perceived by high school players.

As for the cover photo, recruiting remains slow. There were no commitments and a handful of offers (six). However, three of those five were from the Rams, so they are featured this week.

Class of 2027 Cover Photo Total:

• Oregon State: 3
• San Jose State: 3
• UNLV: 3
• Colorado State: 2
• Fresno State: 2
• Hawaii: 2
• North Dakota State: 2
• San Diego State: 2
• UTEP: 2
• Wyoming: 2
• Air Force: 1
• New Mexico: 1
• NIU: 1
• Washington State: 1

Recruiting Calendar:

Starting tomorrow and going through the rest of the summer, we are now in a dead period. All in-person contact of any kind is off-limits. But that doesn’t mean recruiting stops; it just slows down as coaches focus on the start of the season. As always, it is okay for texts, calls, and DMs.

Next College Student Athlete says:

The most restrictive of all the recruiting periods is the NCAA Dead Period. During the dead period, coaches may not have any in-person contact with recruits and/or their parents. In other words, coaches are not allowed to talk to recruits at their college campus, the athlete’s school, an athletic camp or even the grocery store.

While the term “dead period” makes it seem like all recruiting stops during this time, that’s actually not the case. Athletes and coaches are still allowed to communicate via phone, email, social media and other digital communication channels. While NCAA Division 1 programs are prohibited from conducting any in-person recruiting, D1 college coaches can still contact student-athletes via digital forms of communication during the dead period.

Commitment Spotlight:

Visit Recap:

Recruiting Updates:

Offers:

• Air Force:
• Boise State:
• Colorado State: 3
• Fresno State:
• Hawaii:
• Nevada: 1
• New Mexico:
• NIU:
• North Dakota State: 1
• Oregon State:
• San Diego State:
• San Jose State:
• Texas State:
• UNLV:
• Utah State:
• UTEP: 1
• Washington State: 1
• Wyoming:

Visits

Commits:

Decommits

Follow @Mike_SBN on Twitter for all the latest recruiting news and updates.

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