OskiSD posted:I think social media has exacerbated the trend to a degree. Kids become aware of commitments and offers and this stokes anxiety and encourages early showcases, camps etc. The supply of young, motivated recruits grows as a result. As noted above, the colleges have ample incentive to strike early so there will always be demand.
We are still early in our process ('22 grad year) but it feels 'later' than I had anticipated. Two dozen players at my son's position have already committed.
I agree that social media exacerbates the problem of early commitments. We were also surprised how early things moved along for our 2020. Ultimately, my son did not commit until the spring semester of his junior year which felt just right. He had time to visit several schools and knew what a good fit would look like. Most of the kids we know who committed early (frosh/sophomore) have experienced voluntary de-commitments due to coach changes or they discovered that the school wasn't a good fit... In one case, a senior still needs to meet the SAT/ACT admission requirement...