College Soccer Divisions Explained: D1, D2, D3, NAIA and NJCAA Compared

The five levels at a glance

For 2026-27 the NCAA projects 213 men's and 349 women's soccer teams in Division I, 204 and 261 in Division II, and more than 400 men's teams in Division III. The NAIA lists 233 member schools for 2026-27. Rules change every year, so check the details below against the sources at the end.

NCAA Division I

Division I changed more than any other level in 2025. Schools that take part in the House v. NCAA settlement (the defendant conferences and the schools that chose to opt in) no longer have a soccer scholarship limit. Instead they have a roster limit of 28 players for men's soccer and 28 for women's soccer, and they can give full or partial aid to any or all of those 28. Division I schools that did not join the settlement still work within the older scholarship limits. Our roster limits guide explains what the cap means for recruits.

• Eligibility: register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. You need 16 core courses with at least a 2.300 core-course GPA, and 10 of those courses, 7 of them in English, math or science, must be done before your seventh semester of high school.
• Contact: coaches can call, text and email you from June 15 after sophomore year. In-person contact off campus and visits open on August 1 before junior year. Before June 15, a Division I soccer coach cannot take your phone call, but you can email film at any age.
• Offers: Division I no longer uses the National Letter of Intent. A commitment is made through a signed written offer of athletics aid.

NCAA Division II

Division II uses equivalency scholarships: a team can award up to 9.0 full scholarships in men's soccer and 9.9 in women's soccer, and coaches usually split them into partial awards across many players. There is no roster cap in the Division II rules.

• Eligibility: the NCAA Eligibility Center, with 16 core courses and at least a 2.200 core-course GPA.
• Contact: coaches can call, text and email you at any time. In-person contact and official visits start on June 15 before junior year.

NCAA Division III

Division III schools do not give athletic scholarships. Aid can't be based on athletic ability, participation or performance, so families rely on academic merit aid and need-based aid. Ask each school's admissions and financial aid office what a player with your grades could expect.

• Eligibility: no academic certification from the NCAA Eligibility Center. Domestic players create a free Profile Page; international players need their amateur status certified.
• Contact: calls, texts, email and recruiting materials have no timing limits. In-person contact off campus is allowed once sophomore year is complete, and official visits start January 1 of junior year.

NAIA

The NAIA is a separate association with its own rules and its own eligibility center. Each soccer team can give up to 12 scholarships in total. Academic scholarships count toward that 12 unless the player meets the NAIA's academic exemption, which is based on high school GPA, class rank or test scores. The NAIA sets no limit on roster size.

• Eligibility: register with the NAIA Eligibility Center. Entering freshmen must be high school graduates and meet the NAIA's GPA, test score or class rank standards.
• Contact: there is no recruiting calendar for high school players, so you and NAIA coaches can talk at any time. Tryouts are limited to two days per school.

Our recruiting rules guide compares the contact rules across all five levels.

NJCAA (junior college)

The NJCAA is the governing body for two-year colleges, and it has three divisions with different aid rules:

• Division I: full scholarships are allowed: tuition and fees, room and board, books, up to $250 in course supplies and one round trip home each year.
• Division II: tuition, fees, books and up to $250 in supplies, but no room and board or travel.
• Division III: no athletic scholarships.

In soccer, each team can sign up to 24 players to Letters of Intent, counted separately for men and women. Players can sign only after finishing junior year of high school, and the soccer signing date is November 1. Official visits start June 1 before junior year. Eligibility is checked by the college, based on high school graduation or a state-recognized equivalent such as the GED. Junior college can be a route to two years of college soccer before transferring to a four-year program.

How to build a target list across levels

• Start with academics and money. Decide what you want to study and what your family can afford, then look at which levels can help with cost through athletic aid, academic aid or both.
• Be honest about level. Ask your club coach, and coaches at camps, where your game fits today. Aim at a range of levels so your list does not depend on one outcome.
• Ask each coach about the roster. How many players they carry, how many they need in your class and in your position, and how they use aid.
• Plan around the contact dates. Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA coaches can talk with you earlier than Division I, so those conversations can start sooner.

The coach email guide covers what to send, the highlight video guide covers the film coaches expect to see, and the recruiting timeline shows when to do it.

Quick answers: college soccer levels

What does D1 mean in soccer?

D1 is short for NCAA Division I. The NCAA has three divisions, Division I, II and III. The NAIA and the NJCAA are separate associations with their own rules.

What is D2 soccer?

NCAA Division II. A team can award up to 9.0 full scholarships in men's soccer and 9.9 in women's soccer, usually split into partial awards, and coaches can call, text and email you at any time.

How many players are on a college soccer team?

It depends on the level. Division I schools in the House settlement are capped at 28 players for men and 28 for women. Division II, Division III and the NAIA set no roster cap, and the NJCAA limits how many players a team can sign to Letters of Intent (24), not the total roster. Ask each coach how many players they carry.

How we help

Our coach outreach programs build your list across all five levels and email the coaches for you from our agency inbox, at the times the rules let them answer. We can't control which coaches reply or what they offer, and our fee is the same whatever the outcome. If you want a second opinion on where your player fits, get a free recruiting evaluation.