With roster limits coming, College golf recruiting at unusual times

The writing was on the wall.

Rumors were rampant at junior golf tournaments across the country this summer of a storm brewing on the horizon. Many juniors in the Class of 2025 had been committed to their future homes for nearly a year, if not longer. On National Signing Day, however, not all of them are where they thought they’d be.

That’s because of impending NCAA-mandated roster limits in college golf. And the results are just beginning to rear its ugly face.

“I pushed my son to get out ahead of this,” one parent, whose son was committed to a Big 10 program for nearly a year before being told he would have to move on late this summer, told Golfweek. “But we know other kids who were not ahead of this, and I don’t know what they’re going to do.

College sports is in the midst of its largest change ever, one that is severely altering the landscape of college athletics. A preliminary approval granted by the U.S. District Court of Northern California last month for the pending $2.78 billion House vs. NCAA settlement means schools will be allowed to directly compensate players via revenue sharing. In addition, scholarship limits are being removed across all Division I sports that opt into revenue sharing.

As a part of that agreement, the NCAA plans to impose roster limits in each sport, beginning in fall 2025, which means current players and recruits have seen playing opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye.

The Class of 2025 is the first victim of the changes, but it’s likely to affect the Class of 2026 and current college players even more in the coming year.

Each school is likely to lose at least one roster spot, if not numerous. Add it all up, it means hundreds of student-athletes who are on rosters this year, or thought they were signing to join their dream school Wednesday, are going to have to find a new place to play in 2025 and possibly beyond.

“I think a lot of the coaches are not behaving like adults here and doing what is the right thing to do with the kids and let them know fast enough to make a decision,” said the parent, whose son is signing with a mid-major program Wednesday. “I don’t feel very bad for the coaches. I know they’re mad about it, but, you know, they could have called every kid in July and told them this is happening and they should look for another spot because they don’t know what they’re gonna be able to do.

“But they chose not to do that, and now they’re all mad.”

While some schools…