You've probably heard "he needs to average 20 to get looked at." Forget that. College coaches don't recruit points per game, because a 20-point scorer at a weak 2A school and a 20-point scorer at a national powerhouse are not the same player, and every coach in the country knows it.
What coaches actually recruit first is whether your son's body fits the position he wants to play at the level he wants to play it. Height isn't the whole picture, but it's the first filter a coach applies before he ever watches a possession of film. If a 5'10" kid is playing shooting guard, most D1 staffs move on before they see him shoot. That's not fair, and it's not always right, but it's how the process works, and pretending otherwise wastes your son's time.
Below is a real range for each position by college level, along with what should be true about your son's game at each grade. Get the size question answered honestly first. Then the conversation about skill, film, and exposure actually means something.
You've probably heard "he needs to average 20 to get looked at." Forget that. College coaches don't recruit points per game, because a 20-point scorer at a weak 2A school and a 20-point scorer at a national powerhouse are not the same player, and every coach in the country knows it.
What coaches actually recruit first is whether your son's body fits the position he wants to play at the level he wants to play it. Height isn't the whole picture, but it's the first filter a coach applies before he ever watches a possession of film. If a 5'10" kid is playing shooting guard, most D1 staffs move on before they see him shoot. That's not fair, and it's not always right, but it's how the process works, and pretending otherwise wastes your son's time.
Below is a real range for each position by college level, along with what should be true about your son's game at each grade. Get the size question answered honestly first. Then the conversation about skill, film, and exposure actually means something.
Height by Position and Division
These ranges come from two independent recruiting services, Go Big Recruiting and StudBud, cross-checked against each other. Where they disagreed, we used the range where both agreed. Neither of these sources publishes a sample size or a stated method, so treat this as informed recruiting consensus, not a measured statistic pulled from actual rosters. We're building that from real roster data next.
Position | D1 | D2 / NAIA | D3 / JUCO |
|---|---|---|---|
Point Guard | 6'0" – 6'3" | 5'10" – 6'2" | 5'10" – 6'2" |
Shooting Guard | 6'3" – 6'6" | 6'2" – 6'4" | 6'2" – 6'4" |
Small Forward | 6'5" – 6'8" | 6'4" – 6'5" | 6'4" – 6'5" |
Power Forward | 6'7" – 6'10" | 6'5" – 6'7" | 6'5" – 6'7" |
Center | 6'9" – 6'10" | 6'7" – 6'9" | 6'7" – 6'9" |
A note on the center row: one of our sources listed an obviously broken range for elite centers (a seven-inch span), so we dropped that figure and used only the confirmed D1 tier instead. If your son is a legitimate elite-level center prospect, that number understates his ceiling, talk to a coach directly rather than reading it off a table.
Neither source breaks D2 out from NAIA, or D3 out from JUCO, separately. That's a real gap in what's publicly available, not something we're glossing over. If your son is on the edge of a range, the division labels matter less than you'd think, coaches at that level care about skill filling the gap.
Height by Position and Division
These ranges come from two independent recruiting services, Go Big Recruiting and StudBud, cross-checked against each other. Where they disagreed, we used the range where both agreed. Neither of these sources publishes a sample size or a stated method, so treat this as informed recruiting consensus, not a measured statistic pulled from actual rosters. We're building that from real roster data next.
Position | D1 | D2 / NAIA | D3 / JUCO |
|---|---|---|---|
Point Guard | 6'0" – 6'3" | 5'10" – 6'2" | 5'10" – 6'2" |
Shooting Guard | 6'3" – 6'6" | 6'2" – 6'4" | 6'2" – 6'4" |
Small Forward | 6'5" – 6'8" | 6'4" – 6'5" | 6'4" – 6'5" |
Power Forward | 6'7" – 6'10" | 6'5" – 6'7" | 6'5" – 6'7" |
Center | 6'9" – 6'10" | 6'7" – 6'9" | 6'7" – 6'9" |
A note on the center row: one of our sources listed an obviously broken range for elite centers (a seven-inch span), so we dropped that figure and used only the confirmed D1 tier instead. If your son is a legitimate elite-level center prospect, that number understates his ceiling, talk to a coach directly rather than reading it off a table.
Neither source breaks D2 out from NAIA, or D3 out from JUCO, separately. That's a real gap in what's publicly available, not something we're glossing over. If your son is on the edge of a range, the division labels matter less than you'd think, coaches at that level care about skill filling the gap.
Grade by Grade: What Should Be True
8th and 9th grade. This isn't evaluation time, it's foundation time. Nobody is measuring your son against a division-level height chart yet, because bodies aren't done changing and nobody can tell you with confidence where he'll land. What matters at this age is getting him into real competition, not comfortable competition. A kid who only plays against weaker teams at this age has nothing built up by the time it counts.
10th grade. This is when the size conversation starts to matter for real. If your son is already tracking toward one of the D1 ranges above, that's useful information, not a promise, use it to pick the right level of AAU or club competition instead of guessing. If he's tracking short of a D1 range for his position, that's not bad news, it's early information that should shift where you're spending your time and money on exposure.
11th grade. This is the year the size question stops being theoretical. Contact rules open up, and coaches start building real evaluations. If your son's height is sitting clearly inside a D1 band for his position, D1 conversations are worth having. If he's short of it, don't waste the next year chasing D1 offers that the numbers say aren't likely, redirect that energy toward D2, D3, or NAIA programs where the fit is real and the recruiting process will actually move.
12th grade. By now the height question is mostly answered, he is what he is. What's left is proving the skill fits the level. A player who's built like a D1 guard but plays like a D3 guard still ends up at D3. Size gets you a look. It doesn't get you an offer.
Treat every number in this post as a window, not a wall. A late bloomer who's an inch short of a D1 range today isn't disqualified, he's early. Coaches have offered plenty of players who didn't fit the chart because the rest of the game made up the difference. Kobe Bryant put it simply: hard work outweighs talent, every time. Use these ranges to plan smart, not to talk yourself or your son out of a shot he hasn't taken yet.
Grade by Grade: What Should Be True
8th and 9th grade. This isn't evaluation time, it's foundation time. Nobody is measuring your son against a division-level height chart yet, because bodies aren't done changing and nobody can tell you with confidence where he'll land. What matters at this age is getting him into real competition, not comfortable competition. A kid who only plays against weaker teams at this age has nothing built up by the time it counts.
10th grade. This is when the size conversation starts to matter for real. If your son is already tracking toward one of the D1 ranges above, that's useful information, not a promise, use it to pick the right level of AAU or club competition instead of guessing. If he's tracking short of a D1 range for his position, that's not bad news, it's early information that should shift where you're spending your time and money on exposure.
11th grade. This is the year the size question stops being theoretical. Contact rules open up, and coaches start building real evaluations. If your son's height is sitting clearly inside a D1 band for his position, D1 conversations are worth having. If he's short of it, don't waste the next year chasing D1 offers that the numbers say aren't likely, redirect that energy toward D2, D3, or NAIA programs where the fit is real and the recruiting process will actually move.
12th grade. By now the height question is mostly answered, he is what he is. What's left is proving the skill fits the level. A player who's built like a D1 guard but plays like a D3 guard still ends up at D3. Size gets you a look. It doesn't get you an offer.
Treat every number in this post as a window, not a wall. A late bloomer who's an inch short of a D1 range today isn't disqualified, he's early. Coaches have offered plenty of players who didn't fit the chart because the rest of the game made up the difference. Kobe Bryant put it simply: hard work outweighs talent, every time. Use these ranges to plan smart, not to talk yourself or your son out of a shot he hasn't taken yet.
It's not the most talented kids who get scholarships.
It's the ones with the right plan.
Our playbooks break down timelines, outreach,
and scholarship realities - by sport.
It's not the most talented kids who get scholarships.
It's the ones with the right plan.
Our playbooks break down timelines, outreach,
and scholarship realities - by sport.
