A walk-on in college sports is an athlete who becomes part of a team without being recruited and awarded an athletic scholarship). Being considered a walk-on is far more common in college sports than most families and athletes realize. Walk-ons are not offered athletic aid, but a scholarship can be earned for future seasons. There are different types of walk-ons, including:

• Unrecruited Walk-On: These are athletes who decide to attend a school, despite not receiving any recruiting interest from the team’s coach. Once on campus, they are responsible for contacting the coach and attending an open tryout or training camp.

• Preferred Walk-On: These recruits are guaranteed a spot on the roster by the colleges coach. The coach wants the recruit on their team, but didnt have a scholarship available.

• Walk-On (Unrecruited): This is the typical walk-on story where athletes make it into the school on their own and find a way on the team through an open tryout. Most athletes have at least talked to a coach before enrolling and confirmed they can try out.

Walk-ons are not offered athletic aid, but a scholarship can be earned for future seasons. Coaches usually love walk-ons because they show their commitment to the sport by giving the same effort and the same day-to-day schedule as scholarship players, even if they’re not getting anything. However, playing time is harder to come by for walk-ons, and scholarship players generally have a much easier path to playing time than walk-ons.