New NCAA Soccer Roster & Scholarship Limits
Major changes are expected to be instituted for D1 college sports. New NCAA scholarship rules and roster limits will be set for the 2025-2026 season.
In the proposed changes, fewer roster spots and more scholarships will be given to collegiate soccer players.
But, this doesn’t paint the entire picture.
We’ll dive into the two major areas: roster sizes and scholarships.
New NCAA Scholarship Rules
Although we focus on soccer, the new rules apply to all NCAA D1 schools. Here’s a summary of the changes:
- No Scholarship Cap: D1 schools can now offer scholarships to every athlete on their roster. In previous years, each sport had a specific limit.
- Roster Limits: The NCAA has implemented new roster limits. These limits either match or surpass the current scholarship restrictions for each sport.
- Scholarship Structure: All sports will be allowed to offer partial scholarships. This change affects sports like football and basketball.
Changes in Roster Size
In soccer, D1 college roster sizes will max out at 28 players.
Many programs carry 35+ players. This includes a combination of scholarship and walk-on players.
Unfortunately, this means that schools will need to trim down their rosters.
This will have a trickle-down effect.
The bottom players will need to find a new team if they want to continue playing. Indirectly, this will make it more difficult for high school players to get recruited.
A significant amount of players from top D1 schools may be transferring to mid-major or D2 programs.
What Are the Soccer Scholarship Limits?
Under the new guidelines, men’s and women’s soccer programs will be allowed to offer 28 scholarships.
In its current state, the men have 9.9 and women have 14 full scholarships it can give out. This was typically spread out as partial scholarships across the top of the roster.
It will be interesting to see how the top schools can allocate their scholarships to soccer programs.
For instance, many ACC programs focus their efforts on the big revenue drivers such as football and basketball.
Will some of the money be shifted to programs like soccer? Only time will tell very soon.
How This Impacts High School Soccer Players
The Class of 2025 and 2026 are impacted significantly.
There are a lot of question marks and coaches want to finalize their current rosters before committing to recruits.
Additionally, there will be a large amount of players entering the transfer portal in the next couple of years. Many of these players can make an immediate impact on other teams.
The combo of the above will make it more challenging for high school players to get early offers from their “dream schools”.
High school players and parents should continue their recruiting efforts. You’ll get feedback on the status of the programs as you get deeper. Don’t let these changes affect how you go about the process.
As the rules come into effect and schools adjust, we’ll provide more detail. For now, know that it’s coming in 2025.
