12-Year-Old Golfer Offered Scholarship to Oklahoma


For most middle-school students, the choice of where to attend college is far from their minds. However, Brad Dalke, the country's No. 1-ranked junior golfer, has already made that decision. The 12-year-old has verbally committed to the University of Oklahoma after being offered an athletic scholarship by head coach Ryan Hybl earlier this week.

What was once considered a rarity in the world of recruiting for college sports is now becoming increasingly common. While recent reports of young recruits accepting verbal offers in football and basketball abound, this latest commitment by a golfer demonstrates that the premature recruiting of potential collegiate athletes spans all sports.

"This demonstrates that all high school student athletes in all sports should take an active roll in the recruitment process," says professional golfer and NCSA Athletic Recruiting speaker, Brandi Jackson. "From lacrosse to swimming to golf, the somewhat disturbing reality is that talented student athletes are getting recruited at a very young age. While I advise student athletes to keep their options open before committing to a school (especially when they are still growing and perfecting their game), it is important for young student athletes to be proactive and prepared to engage in the recruitment process."

The NCAA agrees with the premature nature of many of these offers to student athletes still in middle school. In recent moves to change the game of college recruiting, coaches are limited to only contacting recruits and their families once a month from June 15 of their sophomore year of high school through July 31 of their junior year and twice a week after August 1 of the senior year.

The above report was provided by NCSA Athletic Recruiting.

Since 2000, the firm has grown to become the leading collegiate recruiting source for more than 35,000 college coaches and more than 10,000 verified college athletes across the country. NCSA Athletic Recruiting is a leading educational resource for parents, athletes and coaches involved in the recruitment process. Through the educational resources on their website, www.ncsasports.org, and more than 1,000 presentations of the seminar "College Recruiting Simplified," the organization has helped over 1 million athletes and parents learn about the process. NCSA's new book, "Athletes Wanted," shares tools for maximizing athletic scholarship and life potential. For more information, visit www.athelteswanted.org.