A Guide to College Basketball Scholarships for High School Students

Only one percent of high school athletes will go on to play NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball—but we already knew the competition was tough. Even though the odds of landing a scholarship are slim, it isn’t impossible. There are several competitive opportunities, from NCAA D1 to D2 and JUCO programs, where basketball scholarships are available. While D3 college coaches can’t offer athletic scholarships, they still provide appealing financial packages that can cover a bulk of college costs.

New NCAA Men’s Basketball Scholarship Limits

Starting in the 2025-2026 academic year, the NCAA may eliminate D1 scholarship limits if a proposed settlement is approved, enabling all sports to distribute scholarships more flexibly among athletes. This change is expected to have a significant impact on college basketball recruiting. More details and the latest updates here.

Theses changes would impact men’s basketball recruits in the following ways:

• D1 men’s basketball programs will be allowed to offer 15 scholarships, increased from the current limit of 13.
• D1 men’s basketball will have a maximum roster limit of 15 players.
• D1 men’s basketball, once a headcount sport, will now be classified as an equivalency sport. This means programs can now offer a mix of partial and full-ride scholarships.

Keep in mind, these are the maximum scholarship and roster limits the NCAA allows for each program. Schools are not required to reach these maximums. 

NCAA basketball scholarships by division level

How to get a basketball scholarship 

Every coach has a specific set of criteria they look for when recruiting student-athletes. Here are the most important aspects you should keep in mind as you search for scholarships:

1. Compete at the highest level possible: To accurately assess a recruit’s ability to compete in college, coaches want to see them play against high-ranked recruits from across the country. That’s why AAU is so popular among top-tier programs—it provides recruits with a chance to play at the national level. However, this level of AAU is the most expensive as recruits are often required to travel to several tournaments. While club basketball can help, it isn’t a necessary requirement to secure a scholarship. Varsity high school teams can also offer great competitive opportunities.
2. Compete in the summer during live periods: Scheduling conflicts make it difficult for college coaches to watch recruits play in-person during the regular season. So, they turn to live periods. These stretches in the offseason allow coaches to hit the road and scout several players at once. Bottom line: playing in front of college coaches in the summer is essential.
3. Attend elite camps: In addition to tournaments, college coaches also evaluate recruits at elite camps. These events, which can be invitation only, attract top talent and college coaches from across the country. There’s one caveat—camps Division 1 schools tend to invite Division 2 or 3 coaches to attend as well, but more likely than not, no other Division 1 programs will be in attendance. Make sure to attend camps at schools that are at the top of your target list.
4. Excel academically. Grades and test scores matter to college coaches. Academic aid can ease the burden on the coach to provide athletic aid. More importantly, it speaks to a recruit’s character. Coaches know that students who work hard in the classroom are responsible, independent and will have a smoother college transition than those who don’t. 
5. Create a highlight film. The best way to secure an in-depth and in-person evaluation is by sending coaches highlights and game film. Highlight film acts as a first impression—it’s a quick way to show coaches a snapshot of the recruit’s skill set.
6. Be proactive. Despite what families may think, coaches don’t simply discover recruits. Unless they’re one of the very best players in the country, recruits need to do some work to get noticed by college coaches. This is especially important in basketball where student-athletes are still allowed to talk to coaches via phone when they’re the ones initiating the contact. Don’t sit around: research, email and call coaches.
7. Know your best college fit. Lastly, don’t forget to visit the college roster for every team on your target list. The last thing families want to do is waste their time emailing coaches at schools that aren’t a good fit. Here are a few things student-athletes should look at: the players who are in their position (are they seniors who are graduating?), athletic stats (how do they measure up?) and backgrounds (does the coach recruit from a particular region or tournament?)

What are the odds of getting a basketball scholarship?

In short: It isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible either. From NCAA D1 to JUCO, there are 27,429 men’s basketball athletes across nearly 1,740 programs. The odds of a high school basketball player making a D1 basketball roster is 105:1, and the odds of a high school basketball player making any college roster is 18:1.

Starting in the 2025-26 season, D1 men’s basketball will no longer be a headcount sport. Instead, like D2, NAIA, and JUCO schools, it will become an equivalency sport. This means coaches can choose to award full scholarships or divide their funds to offer partial scholarships to multiple athletes.

Can you play college basketball without a scholarship? 

Yes, but it is very unlikely. Basketball players on NCAA D1 teams who aren’t on a scholarship are called walk-ons. With the new NCAA scholarship rules and roster limits starting in 2025-2026, the exact impact on walk-ons are uncertain and will vary across different sports and schools. To understand how these changes might affect you, stay in touch with coaches and ask about their plans for walk-ons, as this can differ significantly between programs.

NCAA D2, NAIA programs and JUCO colleges are more willing to allow walk-ons to compete for roster spots—and even earn a scholarship. For example, a student-athlete could walk on to a D2 program their freshman year and then earn a scholarship the next year and year after as these coaches award partial scholarships and renew them on a yearly basis.

How many scholarships are available for men’s D1 basketball?

• Division 1 men’s basketball scholarships per team: 15 (if NCAA proposed settlement is approved)
• Total # of men’s basketball teams: 352
• Avg. team size: 15

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, NCAA D1 men’s basketball teams will have a roster limit of 15 and will be able to offer 15 scholarships. Basketball will now be classified as an equivalency sport, which means coaches can decide how to split those scholarships into partial or full awards for their recruits.

These scholarships are highly competitive, with less than one percent of high school athletes reaching this level. Until the new rule takes effect, D1 basketball will remain a headcount sport, allowing each program to award 13 full scholarships that cover everything—tuition, housing, books, and more.

How to get a D1 basketball scholarship

The first thing you need to know about NCAA D1 basketball scholarships is that coaches recruit early. And we mean early—in some cases middle school. So, if a student-athlete is looking to land a D1 scholarship, they need to be on a coach’s radar before their junior year.

Then, obviously, they need to be good. These are the best collegiate basketball players across the country and coaches are extremely selective when offering athletic scholarships. Elite D1 athletes rank nationally, such as making the ESPN Top 150 list. Less than one percent of high school athletes go on to play D1 basketball. 

D1 coaches typically find top recruits through AAU club teams as they roster top talent and compete nationally. But AAU ball is by no means the required path to competing in college outside of D1.

Playing in tournaments over the summer is an important way to get coach exposure. Another option is to attend an elite camp hosted by the college. In this case, families want to make sure they’re picking camps where the student-athlete is a good fit athletically and academically to maximize their chances of being evaluated. Remember that academics do matter to college coaches. The higher a recruit’s GPA and test scores, the more doors that will open for them. 

Most importantly, student-athletes need to be proactive. They should create a highlight film, obtain game film and create an online profile showcasing their stats and academic information. Then—and we can’t reiterate this enough—they need to contact college coaches. Send them an introductory email, follow up when it’s relevant and let coaches know when they’ll be calling.

Basketball is unique in that student-athletes and coaches can talk via phone when the recruit initiates the contact. So, coaches aren’t allowed to call recruits, but if the student-athlete puts the work in and reaches out to them by phone, coaches can talk to them.

If student-athletes aren’t hearing back, they might be reaching out to programs that aren’t an athletic fit. This is when families can lean on their high school or club coach to help them build a list of realistic target schools.

How many Division 2 men’s basketball scholarships are there?

• Maximum scholarships available per team: 10
• Total # of D2 men’s basketball teams: 306
• Avg. team size: 18.1

NCAA D2 coaches can award up to 10 men’s basketball scholarships per team. These are equivalency scholarships, meaning coaches receive a pool of athletic aid and decide how many athletes will receive scholarships. As a result, some players may be offered partial scholarships instead of full rides.

Division 3 men’s basketball scholarships

• Maximum scholarships available per team: 0
• Total # of D3 men’s basketball teams: 414
• Avg. team size: 19.5

It’s true that NCAA D3 schools can’t offer athletic scholarships. However, they do leverage other types of aid the recruit might qualify for, such as academic scholarships, merit-based aid and grants, to create a competitive scholarship package.

D3 is mostly made up of small private schools, so they tend to have these kinds of funds readily available. In fact, 82 percent of all D3 athletes receive some form of aid. Student-athletes with high test scores and a strong GPA will benefit the most from D3 scholarships.   

NAIA basketball scholarships

• Maximum scholarships available per team: 8
• Total # of NAIA D1 men’s basketball teams: 226
• Avg. team size: 20 

Each team can award up to eight scholarships. The NAIA uses the equivalency model where coaches receive athletic funds and decide how to distribute scholarships among athletes.

Typically, to make the most of their recruiting efforts, coaches award multiple athletes on their team with partial scholarships. That does mean, however, that some student-athletes need to supplement with other types of aid, such as academic scholarships and need-based aid.

JUCO men’s basketball scholarships

• Maximum scholarships available per team: 15
• Total # of NJCAA men’s basketball teams: 430
• Avg. team size: 15

Junior college is not as cut and dry when it comes to men’s basketball scholarships. First, it depends on the division. There are three divisions within the NJCAA, and only Division 1 and 2 can offer athletic scholarships to basketball players.

Division 1 is the only division that can offer a full ride. Division 2 can cover tuition, fees and books, but they can’t pay for housing. In addition to an athletic scholarship, both divisions will pay for an athlete’s transportation costs to and from the college by direct route once per year. 

Basketball scholarship requirements

Every potential NCAA D1 and D2 college-athlete is required to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center and submit their transcripts and answer questions pertaining to their amateur status.

In order to secure a roster spot and athletic scholarship, student-athletes must meet the academic requirements and be cleared by the Eligibility Center.

While the requirements differ slightly between divisions, the overall method for determining eligibility is the same: student-athletes must pass 16 core courses throughout high school, maintain a minimum GPA in these core courses.

Learn more about the specific Eligibility Center requirements to better understand the GPA you need to qualify. 

What are the best colleges for basketball scholarships?

The key to securing a basketball scholarship is finding college programs that are the best athletic fit. Think about it this way—coaches are going to prioritize scholarships to their strongest players, so student-athletes need to find programs where they can make an impact right away. If a recruit’s athletic ability doesn’t quite match up, the coach is less inclined to offer a scholarship opportunity.  

To help you in your search, we’ve compiled a list of the best colleges for basketball scholarships across all the division levels. Recruits interested in these programs should visit the team’s roster to determine if they’re an athletic fit and learn more about the coach’s recruiting method, such as which areas they recruit in.

Here’s a look into the best colleges within each level:

• Top men’s basketball colleges: Stanford University, University of Florida, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Columbia University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania
• Top D1 men’s basketball colleges: Stanford University, University of Florida, Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania
• Top D2 men’s basketball colleges: Colorado School of Mines, Hillsdale College, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Bentley University, Truman State University
• Top D3 men’s basketball colleges: John Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) University of Chicago, Amherst College, Washington University in St. Louis, Emory University, Tufts University
• NAIA: Dordt University, University of California – Merced, Indiana Wesleyan University, Oklahoma City University, University of Michigan – Dearborn
• JUCO (according to the NJCAA): Barton Community College, South Plains College, South Lake Community College, Vincennes University

How many full ride scholarships for basketball are there? 

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, NCAA D1 men’s basketball will shift to an equivalency sport, allowing coaches to offer up to 15 scholarships per team. This is a significant change from the current setup, where D1 teams can offer 13 full-ride scholarships that cover all college costs. With this new flexibility, coaches can split these scholarships into partial or full grants, depending on what works best for their team and budget.

Keep in mind, schools aren’t required to offer the full 15 scholarships allowed by the NCAA. The number they can provide depends on their funding, which helps them tailor their support to meet their athletes’ and team’s needs.

At the D2, NAIA and JUCO levels, college coaches can distribute their allocated athletic aid to as many players as they wish. Therefore, you’ll often find student-athletes on partial scholarships, especially at the D2 and NAIA levels. Even though JUCO programs offer equivalency scholarships, they receive a maximum 15 per team, which usually means athletes receive close to full-ride scholarships here.

To fully understand your financial aid package opportunities, it’s best to connect directly with a college coach at a program you’re interested in. And if you’re considering D3 schools, even though they can’t offer athletic scholarships, they can still help with other financial aid packages.

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