NCAA DIVISION I:

Point Guard (5'8" +)

*Great ball handling skills
*Great passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays exceptional floor leadership
*Excellent court awareness
*Exceptional athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Shooting Guard (5'10" +)

*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Extremely athletic with very good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Small Forward (5"11" +)

*Extremely athletic with good lateral quickness
*Very versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Power Forward (6'0" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Extremely athletic
*Ability to run the floor extremely well
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Center (6'2" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor extremely well
*Extremely athletic
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

NCAA DIVISION II:

Point Guard (5'7" +)

*Very good ball handling skills
*Very good passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays very good floor leadership
*Excellent court awareness
*Very good athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Shooting Guard (5'8" +)

*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Very good athleticism with very good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Small Forward (5'10" +)

*Very athletic with good lateral quickness
*Versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Power Forward (5'11" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Very Athletic
*Ability to run the floor well
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Center (6'0" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor well
*Very Athletic
*Minimum of 7 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6'3" and above 

NCAA DIVISION III:

Point Guard (5'5" +)

*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays good floor leadership
*Good court awareness
*Good athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum 7 PPG 

Shooting Guard (5'7" +)

*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Athletic with good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum 7 PPG 

Small Forward (5'8" +)

*Athletic
*Versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum 7 PPG 

Power Forward (5'9" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Good rebounding skills
*Athletic
*Ability to run the floor well
*Minimum 7 PPG 

Center (5'11" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor well
*Athletic
*Minimum 7 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6'2" and above 

NAIA DIVISION I:

Point Guard (5'6" +)

*Very good ball handling skills
*Very good passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays good floor leadership
*Very good court awareness
*Very good athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Shooting Guard (5'8" +)

*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Very good athleticism with very good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Small Forward (5'9" +)

*Very athletic with good lateral quickness
*Versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Power Forward (5'10" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Very Athletic
*Ability to run the floor well
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Center (5'11" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor well
*Very Athletic
*Minimum of 7 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6'2" and above 

NAIA DIVISION 2:

Point Guard (5'5" +)

*Very good ball handling skills
*Very good passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays good floor leadership
*Good court awareness
*Good athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Shooting Guard (5'7" +)

*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Good athleticism with good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Small Forward (5'8" +)

*Good athleticism
*Versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Power Forward (5'10" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Good rebounding skills
*Athletic
*Ability to run the floor well
*Minimum of 7 PPG 

Center (5'11" +)

*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor well
*Athletic
*Minimum of 7 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6'2" and above 

Preferred Grades for All Divisions:

3.0 GPA + 24 ACT + 1000 SAT (out of 1600)
(No scores needed for underclassmen) 

In order to compile these Recruiting Guidelines, NCSA tracked hundreds of former NCSA student-athletes who have gone on to compete at the collegiate level, polled college coaches across the nation, and analyzed college rosters at all levels of competition.

Women's Basketball – Statistics Help Tell The Story

In an effort to better serve our basketball recruits, NCSA recently surveyed DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and JUCO Women's Basketball Coaches about the role that statistics play when reviewing college recruits.

The overall feedback from the survey was that coaches highly value statistics, from average points and rebounds per game to assists, so keep your information updated as much as possible, especially when you are logging higher stats. For example, Division I Coaches said that on a scale of 1 – 5, with 5 being very important, they rank statistics as a 4 in terms of overall importance. So what numbers are college coaches expecting to see?  

Women's Basketball Results
 

Level of Play 

Importance of Statistics* 

Avg Points
Per Division 

Avg Rebounds Per Division 

Avg Assists Per Division 

NCAA I 

3.25 out of 5.00 

12.4 

6.2 

3.7 

NCAA II 

3.60 out of 5.00 

11.0 

3.5 

2.5 

NCAA III 

3.11 out of 5.00 

8.3 

5.9 

3.6 

NAIA 

3.40 out of 5.00 

9.0 

4.3 

2.8 

JUCO 

3.50 out of 5.00 

7.0 

4.0 

4.5 

* Scale of 1.00 – 5.00, with 5 being Very Important

Although statistics are an important factor, they do not tell the entire story, especially in regards to specific positions and overall playing performance. Our feedback indicates that coaches are looking for wing players to be able to score, point guards to distribute and lead and post players with great size, footwork and hands. In some instances, these skill sets are as important, if not more important to college coaches than statistics. Level of competition also plays an important role in stats. In addition, work ethic, attitude, leadership and a winning mentality are all factors that gain the attention of college coaches.  

NCSA reminds players that AAU is one of the biggest recruiting tools for college coaches. Finding a quality AAU team that competes nationally will allow student-athletes to gain maximum exposure. 

Basketball by the Numbers

Schools Offering Basketball

NCAA Division I 

331 

NCAA Division II 

289 

NCAA Division III 

436 

NAIA 

228 

Junior College 

392 

Total 

1,682 

Athletic Scholarship Opportunities

NCAA Division I 

13 

NCAA Division II 

10 

NAIA Division I 

12 

NAIA Division II 

6 

NJCAA (*varies per school) 

15 

Student-Athlete Participation

NCAA Division I 

4,744 

NCAA Division II 

4,206 

NCAA Division III 

6,202 

NAIA 

3,511 

Junior College 

4,801 

HS Student-Athletes 

456,967 


Note: Division III schools offer merit, academic, and need-based scholarships.