How to Get a Basketball Scholarship: Who Gets One and What It Covers

To get a basketball scholarship, you need to be good enough for a college level that gives athletic aid — NCAA Division I or II, the NAIA or a junior college — meet the academic rules, and get in front of coaches early with stats, film and a clear plan. Division III schools give no athletic scholarships at all, and at every other level most scholarships are partial.

The rules changed in 2025. Division I swapped scholarship caps for roster limits, and some schools now pay players directly. This guide covers what each level can offer now, what a scholarship actually covers, the academic and recruiting rules, and the steps that get players recruited.

How Many Basketball Scholarships Are There?

The number depends on the level:

Level	Athletic scholarships	Teams, 2025–26
NCAA Division I	Up to the roster limit of 15 at schools that opted in to the House settlement	365 men's, 363 women's
NCAA Division II	10 full-scholarship equivalents, men and women	299 men's, 299 women's
NCAA Division III	None	408 men's, 419 women's
NAIA	About eight full-scholarship equivalents per team	200-plus
Junior college (NJCAA)	Division I full, Division II partial, Division III none	Hundreds

NCAA team counts are the NCAA's projections for 2025–26. The NAIA and junior college figures come from recruiting service NCSA and the associations' own rules, so check them with each school.

What Changed in Division I Basketball in 2025?

Until 2024–25, Division I men's basketball was a "head count" sport with 13 full scholarships per team, and women's basketball had 15. The House settlement replaced those caps from 2025–26:

• Roster limits instead of scholarship caps. Division I basketball rosters are limited to 15 players.
• Scholarships up to the roster limit. The NCAA says schools that opted in can now "offer scholarships to any and all" players on their roster, and aid can be "any amount (full or partial)."
• Direct payments. Participating schools can also give players direct financial benefits, up to $20.5 million per school across all sports in 2025–26, rising 4% a year in the following two years.
• Not every school opted in. Schools that did not opt in still follow the old 2024–25 scholarship limits and do not have to follow the roster limits.

For players, that means two things. At schools that opted in, a basketball scholarship can now be partial, which used to be impossible in men's Division I. And at the top programs, the scholarship may be the smaller part of the package.

What Does a Basketball Scholarship Cover?

According to the NCAA, an athletic scholarship can cover "tuition and fees, room and board, and course-related books." Division I schools can give cost-of-attendance scholarships, which also cover the extra costs of being a student.

Three things to know before you celebrate an offer:

1. Most scholarships are partial. The NCAA says "most student-athletes receive partial aid, not a full ride." In Division II and the NAIA, coaches routinely split their equivalents across the roster.
2. Many are year to year. Division I schools can offer multiyear scholarships, but the NCAA says scholarships are "typically awarded year to year," and renewal is not guaranteed.
3. You have some protection. If a school plans to reduce or not renew your scholarship, it must tell you in writing by 1 July, and you have the right to appeal.

Always ask a coach what the offer is: how much, for how long, and what happens if he leaves or you get hurt.

How Hard Is It to Get a Basketball Scholarship?

Very. The NCAA's own estimates, based on 2024–25 participation:

	Boys	Girls
High school players	540,704	356,240
NCAA players	19,617	16,823
High school to any NCAA level	3.6%	4.7%
High school to NCAA Division I	1.1%	1.4%
High school to NCAA Division II	1.1%	1.4%
High school to NCAA Division III	1.5%	1.9%

Not every NCAA player has a scholarship, and Division III players have none. But the table also shows the opportunity outside Division I: Division II and Division III together take more players than Division I, and the NAIA and junior colleges add hundreds of programs on top.

The players who get scholarships are usually not the ones aiming only at Division I. They are the ones who find the level where they can actually play.

What Does Each Level Offer?

NCAA Division I. The most money and exposure, and the hardest level to reach. Our database covers NCAA Division I rosters, so you can see the size, positions and backgrounds of current players.

NCAA Division II. Ten scholarship equivalents per team, almost always split. The NCAA says athletics aid "can often be combined with academic scholarships and grants," so good grades can be worth real money here.

NCAA Division III. No athletic scholarships, but the NCAA says many Division III athletes receive merit-based or need-based aid. Strong academic schools play here. See NCAA Division III on Athletedom.

NAIA. A separate association with its own eligibility rules, mostly smaller schools. Each sport has an overall aid limit that coaches can split among players, and the NAIA says aid to academically gifted students can be exempt from those limits.

Junior college. Two-year colleges under the NJCAA. Division I junior colleges can give full scholarships, Division II covers tuition, fees and books, and Division III gives no athletic aid. Junior college is a common route to a four-year school, but under the NCAA's new age rule, junior college seasons count against your college eligibility.

What Do You Need Academically?

For NCAA Division I and II, you need to be certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center:

• Register with the Eligibility Center at eligibilitycenter.org, ideally early in high school. Registration is complete once the fee is paid.
• Complete 16 NCAA-approved core courses in English, math, science, social science and other academic subjects.
• Meet the core-course GPA: a minimum of 2.3 for Division I and 2.2 for Division II.
• No test scores needed. Divisions I and II removed SAT and ACT scores from the initial-eligibility rules in January 2023.

Division III schools set their own admission rules, but the NCAA asks incoming Division III athletes to register for an NCAA ID, and international Division III athletes need their amateur status certified.

Age matters too now. Under the NCAA's new age-based rule, you get five seasons in a five-year window that can start before you enroll. Our guide on how old you can be to play college basketball explains the clock.

When Can College Coaches Contact You?

In Division I men's basketball:

• Any time: coaches can send general recruiting material, and you can call them.
• 15 June after your sophomore year: coaches can start calls, texts, emails, direct messages and verbal offers.
• 1 August before your junior year: official visits can start.

Women's basketball has its own recruiting calendar with different dates and periods, and the NCAA publishes the current Division I calendars every season.

Before those dates, the contact has to come from you. That is why the players who get recruited early are usually the ones who emailed coaches first.

How to Get Recruited for a Basketball Scholarship

1. Be honest about your level. Ask your coach, and coaches at the levels you are targeting, where you would realistically play. Then build a list of 30–50 schools across Division I, Division II, the NAIA and junior colleges.
2. Get good film. A three- to five-minute highlight video, plus at least one full game. Coaches want to see your decisions, not only your best plays.
3. Put everything in one place. Height, position, stats, film, grades, graduation year and contact details. Use our basketball resume template, or build a free player CV on Athletedom and send it as one link.
4. Email coaches directly. Short, specific and personal. Our guide on how to email a basketball coach has templates that get answered.
5. Play where coaches watch. Grassroots events, camps and showcases help, but only if the coaches on your list will be there. Ask them where they recruit.
6. Keep your grades up. A higher GPA opens more schools and, in Division II and the NAIA, can stack academic money on top of athletic aid.
7. Follow up. Send updated stats and film after big games, and a short note before the dates when coaches can contact you.

Can International Players Get Basketball Scholarships?

Yes, and many do. International players receive athletic scholarships at Division I, Division II, NAIA and junior college programs. A few things work differently for them:

• Certification. The Eligibility Center certifies your academics from your home school records and checks your amateur status. Contracts, salaries or bonuses from a club at home can affect it, so be ready to document them.
• The age clock. Under the NCAA's new rule, the clock starts at full-time enrollment at any college or university, including one at home, or the academic year after you turn 19, whichever comes first. Studying full time at a university at home can cost you seasons.
• Admission. Each school sets its own admission requirements, and many ask international students for an English test.
• Being seen. College coaches recruiting abroad work from stats, film and recommendations. Our guide on how to get scouted in basketball covers how European players get in front of them, and coaches can find players directly in our basketball player market.

Common Mistakes That Cost Players Scholarships

• Aiming only at Division I. Most college basketball players play below Division I, and so does a lot of the scholarship money.
• Waiting to be discovered. Coaches can't contact you before 15 June after your sophomore year, but you can contact them any time.
• Highlight videos with no context. Put your name, number and jersey color at the start, and show defense as well as scoring.
• Ignoring the paperwork. Late Eligibility Center registration or a missing core course can stop a scholarship that is otherwise agreed.
• Not asking what the offer is. "Scholarship" can mean anything from a full ride to a small partial award.

The Short Version

• Athletic scholarships exist in NCAA Division I and II, the NAIA and Division I and II junior colleges. Division III gives none.
• Division I basketball rosters are capped at 15, and schools that opted in to the House settlement can give scholarships, full or partial, up to that limit.
• Division II teams have 10 scholarship equivalents for men and 10 for women.
• Scholarships cover tuition, fees, room, board and books at most, and most are partial.
• About 1.1% of high school boys and 1.4% of girls go on to Division I.
• Register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, complete 16 core courses and meet the core GPA.
• Build a profile, email coaches early and target the level where you will actually play.

Sources

• NCAA: DI Board of Directors formally adopts changes to roster limits — scholarships up to roster limits for schools that opt in, effective 1 July 2025.
• NCAA: House settlement implementation questions and answers (February 2026) — aid in any amount, the $20.5 million benefits cap and its increases, rules for schools that did not opt in.
• WRHI: NCAA eliminates sport-specific scholarship caps, introduces roster limits — the 15-player basketball roster limits and the previous 13 and 15 scholarship caps.
• NCAA: Division II athletics scholarships — 10 equivalents in men's and women's basketball, the partial-scholarship model.
• NCAA: Scholarships and financial aid — what scholarships cover, partial aid, year-to-year awards, the 1 July notice and appeals.
• NCAA: Division III initial eligibility — no athletics scholarships, merit and need-based aid, registration.
• NCAA: 2026–27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete — core courses, core GPA, test scores, multiyear scholarships, amateurism certification.
• NCAA: Probability of competing beyond high school — participation and percentages by division.
• NCAA: Membership composition and sport sponsorship — men's and women's basketball teams by division, 2025–26.
• NAIA: Financial aid — how NAIA aid limits and academic exemptions work.
• NCSA: Men's basketball scholarships and NCSA: Men's basketball recruiting rules — NAIA and junior college limits, Division I contact and official visit dates.

Scholarship rules and recruiting calendars change every year. Check the NCAA's current rules and ask each school's compliance office before you plan around them. Last checked October 2026.