The Reclassification Reality: Your Playbook for the Future

In the high-stakes world of high school athletics, there’s a buzzword that can change your entire path: reclassification. Once a strategy to catch up on academics, it’s now a calculated move for elite student-athletes aiming to fast-track their professional dreams. For a select few, like basketball phenoms Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa, and football star Ryan Williams, reclassifying has been a successful way to get a jump start on their careers and lucrative professional contracts. They’re the exceptions to the rule, proving that for some, this calculated risk pays off.

The Allure of the Fast Track

Flagg, who reclassified to the class of 2024, was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft at just 18 years old. His goal was to get to his second NBA contract sooner, a deal that could be worth nearly $300 million. Similarly, Dybantsa, a top prospect for the 2025 NBA Draft, has already secured multi-million dollar NIL deals and is on the same accelerated path. On the gridiron, Ryan Williams reclassified a year early and made his college debut at Alabama at just 17, dominating older opponents. These athletes used reclassification to skip ahead and accelerate their path to massive financial success, but their stories are not the norm.

The Hard Numbers You Need to Kno

While these success stories are captivating, they represent a very small fraction of all student-athletes. The reality is that the vast majority of high school players will not make it to the professional level. Here are the facts:

• Roughly 3% of high school football players will go on to play Division I college football.
• Just 1% of male high school basketball players will play Division I college basketball.
• The odds of making it to the pros are even smaller: only 0.023% of high school football players will make it to the NFL, and just 0.03% of high school basketball players will reach the NBA.

Your Winning Strategy

Reclassification is a complex decision, and for every success story, there are countless others who don’t follow the same path. Instead of focusing on the exceptions, your playbook should be built for you. The skills you’re developing right now—resilience, teamwork, time management, and discipline—are your greatest assets, on and off the field. They’re what will help you build a career and a life, whether your next stop is a professional locker room or a corporate office.

The game is about more than just a scholarship or a professional contract; it’s about a lifetime of success. By being a student-athlete, you’re already ahead of the game.