The Most Consistent Recruiting Programs (2021-25)
Over the last few weeks, we’ve done a lot with recruiting. Our Class of 2025 recruiting rankings dropped as did our honorable mentions. With another year’s worth of recruiting data, it’s a good time to add it to the recent past, in order to see who have been the consistent forces on the recruiting trail.
We’ve taken recruiting data from 2021-25 (since Willie Saylor took over InterMat) and compiled it in such a manner to hopefully answer questions about who has been the most consistent in the recruiting game. During this span, we have mentioned the top 25 teams in our rankings, plus listed five honorable mentions. A team that was ranked #1 for a particular year has received 30 points. #2 was worth 29 points…an so on. Once we got a point total, it was divided by five for the five years observed - giving us a particular average.
Teams below have been sorted in order of their average - largest to smallest.
The teams listed below have appeared at least once in our recruiting rankings (2021-25) or honorable mentions.
1. Oklahoma State: 124 points - 24.8 average
2. Penn State: 118 points - 23.6 average
3. Iowa: 113 points - 22.6 average
4. NC State: 111 points - 22.2 average
5. Ohio State: 104 points - 20.8 average
6. Virginia Tech: 103 points - 20.6 average
7. Nebraska: 101 points - 20.2 average
8. Cornell: 96 points - 19.2 average
9. Stanford: 95 points - 19 points
10. Iowa State: 93 points - 18.6 points
11. Rutgers: 81 points - 16.2 average
12. Missouri: 77 points - 15.4 average
13. Michigan: 71 points - 14.2 average
14(t). Minnesota: 68 points - 13.6 average
14(t). North Carolina: 68 points - 13.6 average
16. Arizona State: 58 points - 11.6 average
17. Oklahoma: 48 points - 9.6 average
18. Wyoming: 46 points - 9.2 average
19(t). Pittsburgh: 43 points - 8.6 average
19(t). Oregon State: 43 points - 8.6 average
21(t). Army West Point: 42 points - 8.4 average
21(t). Penn: 42 points - 8.4 average
23. Wisconsin: 40 points - 8.0 average
24. Purdue: 38 points - 7.6 average
25. Virginia: 37 points - 7.4 average
26. Illinois: 36 points - 7.2 average
27. Indiana: 34 points - 6.8 average
28(t). Lehigh: 33 points - 6.6 average
28(t). Navy: 33 points - 6.6 average
30. South Dakota State: 33 points - 6.6 average
31. Princeton: 32 points - 6.4 average
32. North Dakota State: 31 points - 6.2 average
33. Maryland: 27 points - 5.4 average
34. Northwestern: 24 points - 4.8 average
35(t). Air Force: 23 points - 4.6 average
35(t). Bucknell: 23 points - 4.6 average
37. Northern Iowa: 20 points - 4.0 average
38. Little Rock: 17 points - 3.4 average
39. West Virginia: 15 points - 3.0 average
40(t). Campbell: 12 points - 2.4 average
40(t). Northern Colorado: 12 points - 2.4 average
42(t). Brown: 11 points - 2.2 average
42(t). Lock Haven: 11 points - 2.2 average
44. Columbia: 10 points - 2.0 average
45. California Baptist: 8 points - 1.6 average
46. Drexel: 6 points - 1.2 average
47. Cal Poly: 5 points - 1.0 average
48. SIU Edwardsville: 4 points - 0.8 average
Of course, recruiting is only part of the game when it comes to success at the collegiate level. There is also retention and development. Schools that have poor retention might have a higher recruiting score, while programs known for their development might end up with better results than this study would indicate.