The recruiting service industry has a problem it doesn't want to talk about: a significant portion of the market operates on tactics that range from misleading to outright predatory. Families who are new to college recruiting — especially first-generation college families with no network to consult — are the primary targets. They don't know how the system works, they're afraid of making a mistake that costs their kid an opportunity, and that fear is extremely profitable for companies willing to exploit it.
This isn't about whether all recruiting services are scams. They're not. Some provide genuine value, and our guide to whether recruiting services are worth it covers the honest assessment. This article is about the specific warning signs that separate a legitimate service from one that's going to take your money and deliver nothing you couldn't have gotten for free.
The most common recruiting service red flags
Not every red flag means a service is a scam. But the more of these you see, the more carefully you should evaluate before handing over your credit card.
They won't tell you the price until you get on the phone. If a service's website says "schedule a call to learn about pricing" instead of listing what it costs, that's deliberate. Hidden pricing exists for one reason: the company knows the number will cause sticker shock, and they want to build emotional investment before revealing it. Legitimate services that are confident in their value put prices on their website.
They guarantee results. No one can guarantee your athlete a scholarship. Not a service, not a scout, not a platform. NCAA rules explicitly prohibit recruiting services from charging fees based on placing an athlete at a school with financial aid. Any service promising a specific outcome — a scholarship, a roster spot, a certain number of coach contacts — is making a promise they can't legally keep.
The contract is binding with no meaningful cancellation option. Some services structure their pricing as fixed-term installment contracts, not month-to-month subscriptions. You commit to the full amount at signing — often $1,500–$4,200+ — and the cancellation window closes within days. After that, you owe the balance regardless of whether the service helps. If you can't cancel when it stops working, the company's incentive to keep working for you disappears.
They pressure you to decide immediately. High-pressure sales tactics — "spots are filling up," "your athlete is falling behind," "this price is only available today" — are sales techniques, not recruiting advice. A legitimate service will give you time to research, compare options, and make an informed decision.
Their staff are salespeople, not recruiting experts. Some services employ representatives who work on commission and have no background in college athletics. They're trained to sell packages, not to understand recruiting. If the person on the phone can't answer specific questions about your athlete's sport, division targets, or recruiting timeline, they're reading from a script.
"Your athlete has been selected" — the mass marketing playbook
If your family has ever filled out a form on a recruiting website, you've probably received an email that looks like personal interest from a college coach. It might reference your athlete by name, mention their sport and position, and suggest that a coach has reviewed their profile and wants to learn more.
In most cases, this is mass marketing — not genuine recruiting interest.
College coaches use recruiting platform databases to send bulk emails to every athlete who matches basic criteria: sport, graduation year, and geographic region. The goal isn't to recruit your athlete. The goal is to drive attendance at paid camps and ID events — some of which generate six figures in revenue for the coaching staff running them.
The difference between real interest and mass marketing is specificity. Real interest comes from a coach's institutional email address (ending in .edu) and references something specific — a game they watched, a time they ran, a stat they noticed. Mass marketing comes from a platform or no-reply domain, uses generic praise that could apply to any athlete, and points you toward a paid camp or showcase. If the email doesn't mention anything specific about your athlete's performance, it's an ad, not an evaluation.
Hidden pricing and high-pressure sales tactics
The most aggressive recruiting services follow a predictable sales playbook. Understanding it in advance makes it much harder to be pressured into a decision you'll regret.
Step 1: The "free assessment." You sign up for a free evaluation of your athlete's recruiting potential. This isn't an assessment — it's a lead generation tool. The service now has your contact information and your athlete's details, and a salesperson will call.
Step 2: The call with your athlete present. The sales representative asks that your teenager join the call. This is strategic. The rep builds excitement in your kid — talking about their potential, which colleges might be interested, what opportunities await. If you question the price, you're positioned as the parent standing between your child and their dreams. One parent described it as paying "from $2k to $7k depending on how much you love your kid — while your kid is on the phone too."
Step 3: The rushed contract. During the call, the rep sends a digital contract for electronic signature. Parents report being told it's "everything we already discussed" and being rushed through the signing. The cancellation window — often just three business days — starts immediately. By the time you've had a chance to research the service, the window has closed.
Step 4: The realization. Weeks or months later, families discover that the "personalized coaching" is group webinars, the "direct coach access" is a database they could search themselves, and the contract they signed is a binding financial obligation with no exit. At major services, individual recruiting coaches manage 50+ athlete accounts simultaneously — making genuinely personalized attention structurally impossible.
This isn't speculation. The Better Business Bureau has logged over 120 complaints against NCSA alone in the past three years, with the majority involving billing disputes and service delivery concerns.
Guaranteed scholarships and other promises no one can keep
The NCAA is clear: recruiting services cannot charge fees based on placing an athlete at a school with financial aid. Any service that ties its pricing to scholarship outcomes is operating outside NCAA guidelines — and potentially jeopardizing your athlete's eligibility.
Beyond legal rules, the math makes these promises impossible. Only about 2% of high school athletes receive any athletic scholarship, and the average scholarship covers roughly 25% of the cost of attendance. Full rides exist in only six sports at the D1 level. A service promising scholarship results is promising something outside their control.
Other promises that should raise suspicion:
- "We'll get your athlete in front of thousands of coaches." Being in a database isn't the same as being evaluated. Coaches report ignoring platform-generated communications and preferring direct outreach from athletes.
- "Our coaches have placed athletes at [list of elite schools]." Ask for specifics: which athletes, which sport, which year. Marketing pages showcase the best outcomes — the average experience is different.
- "We have connections at [university]." A large platform with 40,000 coaches in its database doesn't have "connections" — it has a directory. Ask: will someone personally call a coach on my athlete's behalf, or will they send an email through a platform?
How to protect yourself before paying
If you're still considering a service after reading the red flags above, three steps will tell you most of what you need to know.
Search the company name plus "complaints" and "scam" before your first call. Read the BBB page and sport-specific forums (HSBaseballWeb, DiscussFastpitch, VolleyTalk). Marketing testimonials are curated. Forum discussions are not.
Demand the full contract in writing before the sales call. Pricing, cancellation policy, refund terms, contract length — all of it. If they won't send it, they're relying on the pressure of a live conversation to get your signature before you've thought it through.
Never sign during the first call. Tell them you need 48 hours. If they say the offer expires, let it expire. A company that won't give you time to think doesn't deserve your money.
For a complete evaluation checklist — including what to ask about coach caseloads, NCAA compliance, and whether the service's platform is actually used by coaches at your target schools — see our full guide to whether recruiting services are worth it.
The bottom line
The recruiting service industry includes legitimate companies, well-meaning consultants, and outright predators — and the predators are specifically designed to look like the legitimate ones. The families most at risk are the ones who know the least about how recruiting works, which is why the best defense isn't a checklist of red flags. It's understanding the system well enough that you can tell when someone is selling you something you don't need.
If a service hides its pricing, pressures you to sign immediately, guarantees results no one can guarantee, or makes your teenager part of the sales pitch — walk away. The entire recruiting process can be done for free by families willing to invest the time.
For a full assessment of whether paid recruiting help makes sense for your family, our guide to whether recruiting services are worth it covers when paying adds value and when it doesn't. If you're evaluating NCSA — the largest service in the market — our honest NCSA review breaks down what each tier delivers. And if you've already decided to skip the services, our guide to NCSA alternatives covers the free tools and approaches that work.