My son, who is a freshman at a D3, was first seen by his coach at HF in FL Fall of his junior year. He talked to his coach at a Top96 event that same Fall. Then in January they had a significant conversation about his grades, test scores and what kind of school he was looking for. The coach told him he needed to take a math and science SAT II and apply EA. Over the next few months, they kept in touch via email, and my son even got a hand-written note from the coach asking him to apply EA. We met with the coach on campus the summer before senior year, and the coach explained the application process in detail telling us that he would be "sponsored" through admissions, but they had the final say. My son was invited for a visit during D3 fall baseball, got accepted and loves the baseball team and school.