Most families want an honest answer to one question: what are the chances of playing college soccer? The NCAA publishes the best available numbers. Here they are, with the caveats that matter.
The NCAA numbers
The NCAA compares how many students play high school soccer with how many play NCAA soccer in the same year. Its latest figures use 2024-25 data and were updated in March 2026.
| Boys / men | Girls / women | |
|---|---|---|
| High school players | 484,908 | 393,048 |
| NCAA players | 28,746 | 31,200 |
| Any NCAA division | 5.9% | 7.9% |
| Division I | 1.4% | 2.8% |
| Division II | 1.7% | 2.2% |
| Division III | 2.8% | 3.0% |
Put simply: roughly 1 in 17 high school boys and 1 in 13 high school girls who play soccer go on to play it in the NCAA, and Division III is the largest single destination for both.
What the numbers do and don't say
- They are estimates. The NCAA divides one year's college players by one year's high school players and calls the results approximations, not exact accounting.
- They count NCAA schools only. NAIA and junior college soccer are not included, so the chance of playing college soccer somewhere is higher.
- They leave out club-only players. The high school figures do not include players who only play club soccer, and the NCAA notes the true odds could be lower in some sports.
- Scholarships are rarer still. Across all sports, the NCAA says only about 2% of high school athletes are offered athletics scholarships.
College to pro: there is no official number
The NCAA publishes pro odds for several sports, but not soccer. It leaves out men's soccer because there are so many professional routes, such as MLS and USL, and it dropped women's soccer after the NWSL discontinued its draft. What can be counted is small: the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, held on December 18, 2025, had 90 picks, set against 28,746 men playing NCAA soccer. A draft pick is not a guaranteed career. MLS NEXT, the league's youth platform, says 162 of its alumni are on MLS rosters this season.
How to use these numbers
The odds are a reason to plan, not to quit. Cast a wide net across Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college as well as Division I, keep your grades strong, and focus on what you can control: your development across all four pillars. Our guide to how to play college soccer explains each level, and routes without an elite club covers paths that don't depend on MLS NEXT or ECNL.
Whatever the odds, what you can control is your own development. Take the free development assessment to see which parts of your game to work on next - it describes where your game is today and does not predict whether you will play college or professional soccer.
Sources: NCAA Estimated Probability of Competing (March 2026); NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete 2026-27; 2026 MLS SuperDraft recap; MLS NEXT 2026-27.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of high school soccer players play in college?
NCAA estimates using 2024-25 data show 5.9% of high school boys and 7.9% of high school girls who play soccer go on to play NCAA soccer. Those figures leave out NAIA and junior college soccer.
What are the odds of playing Division I soccer?
The NCAA estimates that 1.4% of high school boys and 2.8% of high school girls who play soccer go on to play Division I. Division III is the most common NCAA destination for both.
What percentage of college soccer players go pro?
There is no official figure. The NCAA does not publish one for soccer because of the many professional routes and because the NWSL discontinued its draft, and the 2026 MLS SuperDraft had 90 picks.
Curious where you actually stand? Soccer Reach turns your level, age and honest self-assessment into a free Player Development Score, with the parts of your game to work on next.
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