Your guide to women’s college wrestling recruiting
Whether you’re just getting started or deep into the recruiting process, this guide will walk you through what you need to know to wrestle at the college level. From building your highlight video to understanding what college coaches look for, we’re here to help you navigate every step of women’s wrestling recruiting.
NCAA Adds Women’s Wrestling as a Championship Sport
On January 17, 2025, women’s wrestling officially became the NCAA’s 91st championship sport. This designation allows the NCAA to host a women’s wrestling national championship beginning in 2026, with athletes from Divisions I, II and III competing for an official title.
Before earning championship status, women’s wrestling was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program in 2020, a key step that helped drive growth across college campuses and expand opportunities for female wrestlers nationwide.
There were 76 NCAA women’s wrestling programs in 2023–24, with 17 more expected in 2024–25. Over 1,200 women are currently competing at NCAA schools, and at least 45% of student-athletes come from diverse or international backgrounds, making it one of the fastest-growing and most inclusive sports at the collegiate level.
Championship status has long been a goal for the women’s wrestling community, and this milestone marks a major step forward for the sport’s future.
Want to know how women’s wrestling became the NCAA’s 91st championship sport? Check out the full timeline.
How the recruiting process works for women’s wrestling
As an athlete, you can reach out to college coaches at any time. We recommend emailing coaches of programs you are interested in as early as possible, as well as asking each program about their eligibility requirements. Send them your athletic resume, which includes:
- Your academic information
- Wrestling-specific stats or outline of experience in other sports
- Why you are interested in their program
- Your highlight video
Women’s wrestling scholarship facts and rules
Athletic scholarships in women’s wrestling are awarded on a school-to-school basis. Schools decide how many scholarships they can fund on their own, whether it’s through fundraising efforts, donations, an endowment, or set scholarship budget. Because it can be difficult to gauge a student-athlete’s pedigree if they come from a region where women’s wrestling is not popular, scholarships are largely awarded based on academics. Therefore, your best bet for securing a scholarship is to have good grades and test scores in addition to athletic talent.
Women’s college wrestling recruiting rules
Women’s wrestling is now an NCAA championship sport, with the first national championship scheduled for 2026. As the sport transitions from emerging status, there are no specific recruiting rules and regulations. For now, athletes can continue to reach out to college coaches at any time, and coaches may respond.
The Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA), which previously governed the sport, states that athletes cannot sign a Letter of Intent before September 1 of their senior year of high school. We recommend staying proactive and informed as recruiting guidelines may evolve ahead of the first NCAA championship season.
What college coaches are looking for
Women’s collegiate wrestling is growing rapidly, and schools are filling their rosters with athletes who come from a wide range of backgrounds. Some recruits will have had the opportunity to wrestle in girls’ state wrestling championships, unofficial girls’ state tournaments, or girls’ wrestling camps. Other recruits may have gained experience from boys’ wrestling teams or other sports. Fortunately, there are programs for every experience level.
College coaches recruit great students who have a good attitude and solid athletic background. Of course, additional wrestling experience will help you stand out. Coaches look for:
- A national girls high school ranking
- State tournament qualification
- Regional tournament placement
- Wrestling camp experience
- High school wrestling team experience
- Other sports experience
Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association freestyle weight classes in pounds
| 103 | 110 |
| 117 | 124 |
| 131 | 138 |
| 145 | 160 |
| 180 | 207 |
How to get noticed by coaches
With over 75 NCAA women’s wrestling programs and more launching each year, there’s never been a better time to get recruited. As the sport continues to grow – especially now with NCAA championship status – college coaches are actively building their rosters and looking for student-athletes who are coachable, hard-working and committed to both academics and athletics.
Even if you haven’t been nationally ranked or had access to a girls’ wrestling program, there are still plenty of opportunities to wrestle in college. The key is to take a proactive approach by:
- Setting up your NCSA Recruiting Profile
- Emailing college coaches to express interest
- Competing in wrestling camps and tournaments
- Creating a strong highlight video
Academics also play a big role in the recruiting process. Coaches are looking for well-rounded athletes who perform in the classroom and on the mat. Be sure to stay up to date on NCAA eligibility to keep all your options open.
Don’t have an NCSA recruiting profile? Create yours today!
Wrestling recruiting video guidelines
Recruiting videos are an important tool for high school athletes who want to wrestle in college.
College wrestling coaches don’t have the time to see every wrestling recruit in person, and that’s why a highlight video is one of the most important parts of your NCSA Recruiting Profile. A well-made recruiting video illustrates what a high school wrestling recruit has to offer in just a couple of minutes.
In order for your highlight video to be effective, you need to know exactly what coaches are looking for. When it comes to recruiting videos, all sports aren’t the same and NCSA knows what highlights wrestling coaches want to see. For example, a wrestling video should show highlights from your best matches and include a variety of takedowns, escapes, pins, reversal, throws and more to show that you’re a well-rounded wrestler.
If you follow NCSA’s guidelines and create an outstanding highlight video, you’re taking a big step in the wrestling scholarship process.
How to film:
- Include at least two or three matches from the year. The matches should be from state or national tournaments, or from when you are wrestling high-level wrestlers.
- Show all three positions: neutral, top, and bottom. Even though most wrestlers don’t like to show video from the bottom position, college coaches want to see that you can score from this position.
- If you have matches from summer tournaments, those are great to add to show college coaches that you wrestle year-round.
- Keep the video steady and shoot on your own device. Don’t send out video that includes screenshots from wrestling news websites.
- Include time between rounds and referee re-sets. Coaches want to see you wrestle, but they also read your body language. They want to see how you react to coaching between rounds, if you hustle back to the center when the referee calls out-of-bounds, your sportsmanship and overall demeanor (for example, high head and confidence even if you are behind).
- Continue to film from the moment you step on the mat until you step off, even if the match hits a few slow spots.
- Do not zoom in too close or try to show facial expressions. Focus on the three key elements: the wrestler, the opponent and the referee.
- Try to capture as much of the mat as possible, including the referee.
- If possible, try to capture the scoreboard. If capturing the scoreboard requires you to zoom too far out, film the scoreboard between rounds instead. Show the final score on the scoreboard.
- If possible, don’t include clips with injury time.
Women’s wrestling camps and tournaments
If you’re looking to ramp up your skills and experience, camps and tournaments can help you reach the next level. As an added bonus, they can also be a tremendous help to your recruitment process. But do you know where to find them and how to maximize your time there? Read this section to find out.
Find women’s wrestling camps and tournaments.
Colleges with women’s wrestling
With NCAA championship status now in place, women’s college wrestling programs are growing rapidly across all divisions. College coaches are actively looking to fill roster spots with student-athletes who are dedicated, coachable and ready to compete. In order to land a spot on a college roster, you’ll first need to find out which colleges are offering women’s wrestling.
Search for women’s wrestling colleges.
NCSA Women’s Wrestling Reviews From Parents And Athletes
“It showed me there is more options for women’s wrestling in college and gave me more details about each college. It also helped with getting coaches contacts.” – Student-Athlete, Class of 2024
“NCSA has been very helpful with the entire recruiting process” – NCSA Student-Athlete, Class of 2025