Yes, college coaches (at least some) over the past few years have followed players in 8th and 9th grade. There are 5 D1 commits on our 15u team (only 1 of whom is a "stud"); 2 of those kids committed prior to freshman year. So yes, coaches are well aware of good 15 year old players. It was not uncommon for 8th and 9th grade students to be made a verbal offer prior to the recent recruiting rule change. It remains to be seen whether these changes will slow down the number of young recruits, but based on these recent 2022 and 2024 commits, it doesn't appear the new rules have changed anything.