OKLAHOMA CITY – USA Softball, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, is proud to announce the Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) as the Official Recruiting Partner of USA Softball. The four-year partnership (2022-2026) will provide recruiting education to student-athletes and families who attend USA Softball events while also hosting exclusive online webinars for USA Softball members.
Founded in 2000, NCSA works with families, club, high school and college coaches to help hundreds of thousands of student-athletes find their best college fit.
“The NCSA partnership is a great opportunity for the youth teams that play USA Softball,” said USA Softball Women’s National Team/University of Washington Head Coach, Heather Tarr. “The NCSA platform is a prominent way for athletes to gain the knowledge and tools needed to elevate their chances of playing softball at the most elite level. I can’t wait to see the success that this opportunity will bring to our USA Softball athletes and coaches.”
As a part of the partnership with NCSA, athletes ages 13 and over will have the option to create a free NCSA profile when registering for USA Softball events while gaining access to NCSA’s online tools and recruiting network of over 2,500 collegiate softball coaches across the U.S.
Additionally, USA Softball will integrate NCSA recruiting software, Coach Packet by NCSA, into its events. Coaches attending USA Softball events will be able to access to the latest rosters, player data, schedules and custom evaluation metrics digitally through Coach Packet’s dedicated universal iOS app. All USA Softball National Teams will also receive access to NCSA’s team recruiting platform, Team Edition, which allows coaches to track and guide their athletes' college recruitment process with easy-to-use software.
In an effort to help create an equal opportunity for all student-athletes to pursue their sport at the college level, the partnership will allow USA Softball to select up to 25 athletes to receive NCSA’s All In Award. The All In Award is given to deserving student-athletes who demonstrate financial need, a strong desire to play collegiate athletics and a commitment to leverage their athletic talent to improve their life.
Each All In Award recipient receives NCSA’s most comprehensive recruiting membership at no cost, providing highly-personalized support and guidance to ensure they have the best opportunity to find a college that is the right fit for them.
“Representing over 120,000 teams and more than 2 million members, there is no bigger player in the game than USA Softball,” said NCSA President and COO Lisa Strasman. “NCSA’s partnerships with National Governing Bodies are some of our most important relationships, and we’re thrilled to partner with USA Softball to help their athletes and coaches find success in recruiting.”
USA Softball is the eleventh National Governing Body to name NCSA its official recruiting partner. USA Hockey, USA Baseball, US Lacrosse, USA Field Hockey, USA Track and Field, USA Volleyball, USA Wrestling, USA Water Polo, US Youth Soccer and USA Triathlon all work with NCSA to support their members with recruiting education and guidance.
ABOUT USA SOFTBALL
USA Softball (USAS) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USAS sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations. USAS is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament, and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch, and modified pitch. USAS annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USAS umpire program is among the nation’s largest and is widely known as the best-trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USAS is responsible for training, equipping, and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships, and other international and domestic events. For more information on USAS, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
ABOUT NEXT COLLEGE STUDENT ATHLETE
Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) is the world’s largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network.
NCSA leverages proprietary technology and data with professional expertise and personal relationships to connect tens of thousands of college-bound student-athletes to more than 35,000 college coaches nationwide across 37 sports each year.
NCSA is a subsidiary of IMG Academy, one of the world’s largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational institutions.
Learn more about NCSA at www.ncsasports.org.