Even with the NCAA rules that explicitly prohibit early scouting, coaches have been watching 13 and 14-year-old athletes in hopes they choose to commit to their university.

The rules also prevent coaches from calling players until July of their junior year of high school. Players are not supposed to commit to a school until he or she signs a letter of intent in the spring of their senior year.

However, the rules have “enormous and widely understood loopholes.” College recruiters sidestep the rules by contacting students through their high school or club coaches.

Once students know a school is interested, they can reach out to the college coaches themselves but athletes are limited to what they can discuss or how often they can call a program.

At the age of 15, Haley Berg is no longer a prospective student-athlete. Before starting ninth-grade classes, the Celina native has already accepted a soccer scholarship to the University of Texas.

Berg’s acceptance is a verbal commitment, which is becoming more common. But technically, a verbal commitment is not binding for either the prospect or the college. Only a National Letter of Intent is binding for both parties.

Nathaniel Popper of The New York Times reported:

“There is now a well-evolved process that is informal but considered essentially binding by all sides.”

“Either side can make a different decision after an informal commitment, but this happens infrequently because players are expected to stop talking with coaches from other programs and can lose offers if they are spotted shopping around.”

Early scouting has escalated in the past five years, specifically becoming more prevalent in women’s athletics rather than men’s.

Some coaches classify the trend as an unintended consequence of Title IX, the federal law that requires equal spending on men and women athletic programs.

Colleges have increased the number of women’s athletic scholarships, which have led to more coaches pursuing players. As a result, the intense competition for quality female players has increased the pursuit of younger recruits.

While women’s soccer is known for early recruiting, other sports like lacrosse, volleyball and field hockey have been following suit and in some cases, surpassing it.

The National Collegiate Scouting Association, a company that consults with families on the recruiting process, conducted a study to measure how many student-athletes, who used the service, chose to accept a scholarship offer before the recruiting process officially begins.

The study presented that only four percent of football players and five percent of men’s basketball players commit before the official recruiting process begins. On the other hand, women soccer players surpass both sports with 24 percent committing to colleges early. Lacrosse is the leading sport, recruiting more than 30 percent of their players, male and female, early.