What Does it Mean to be a Walk-On in College Volleyball?

The term “walk-on” began in 1902 as theatre slang to describe an actor with a “minor non-speaking role” or an actor that “would appear in crowd scenes”, like what we call an “extra” now. “Walk-on” didn’t become part of the sports world jargon until 1974. At that time, volleyball players could contact the coach and ask to tryout or “walk-on” to the team after they went through the admissions process and were a regular student at the school. 

Back in 1974 AND now, a “walk-on” offer means there is NO athletic money for the roster spot. The family has to pay the total cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, fees, books, etc) for their player to attend the school. 

Can you chip away at the total cost? Absolutely! With academic/merit aid, grants, financial aid, FAFSA, etc. Many times I have found that college coaches are able to direct the athlete to the right people at the school to apply for academic and other types of scholarships. In my experience, the coaching staff wants to help their athletes put the pieces of the puzzle together to get the cost down. 

For Division 1 and Division 2 women’s volleyball teams, preferred walk-ons or recruited walk-ons are highly sought-after roster spots. The college volleyball recruiting process, in general, is the same for a walk-on roster position as for a full scholarship roster position. Also, preferred walk-ons and recruited walk-ons are the same thing and it means you would not know the walk-on players are any different from other players on the team. They get priority housing registration and pre-registration for classes, uniforms and gear is the same along with use of the facilities, training room, weight room, and everything the athletes receive is the same. 

Walk-ons sometimes, BUT NOT ALWAYS, don’t get as much playing time as scholarship players. Liberos and defensive specialists are (more often than not) walk-ons and obviously play A LOT! There are so many good liberos in club volleyball for college coaches to choose from and this is one reason they are more often walk-ons. It’s a very competitive position and has to do with supply and demand. Also, most college programs take 3-5 liberos on their roster and usually have one libero in each class, so they don’t have enough scholarships to go around. Yes, there are some top college programs with amazing liberos that may be on full scholarship but, in general across all college programs, most liberos are walk-ons or sometimes partial scholarship athletes. 

Here are a few reasons why a setter or hitter would be recruited as a WALK-ON (there are many more!):

  • The volleyball program needs a setter, middle blocker or a pin hitter, but doesn’t have any athletic scholarship money left for the position.
  • The level of play of the college program is higher than the player, currently, but a good setter or hitter can add a lot of value to the team in practice, especially if they have a great attitude. 
  • Just to be safe coaches may want to take a 3rd setter on the roster for practice and in case of injury, but have no athletic scholarship for a 3rd setter. 
  • Coaches may want an outside hitter that could also be a defensive specialist, if needed. A utility player with good ball control that can play 2 or 3 positions can be valuable on a roster, but they don’t have an athletic scholarship available. 
  • A setter or hitter may be in-state and really want to go to the school. The coach may see potential in the player, love their work ethic and attitude, but their position isn’t a priority in their class. If the player is willing to walk-on and pay lower in-state tuition, it becomes a great fit for both the player and the program. 

Division 1 volleyball is a “headcount” sport meaning there are 12 full scholarships available per year that cannot be split up. The four individual years can be split up to make a partial scholarship between more than one player over the 4 years, but each year there are 12 full scholarships given. The remaining 3 to 8 athletes on the roster, with normally 15-20 players, are walk-ons. 

NOTE: there are two common types of PARTIAL volleyball scholarships for D1 with a total of 12 scholarships. College coaches can set up the offer like below (which I think is in the best interest of the athlete) or they can rearrange the years based on what they have available or their preference. This is all part of the verbal commitment agreed upon before the National Letter of Intent signing date.

  • A 2-2, full scholarship for first 2 years only, family pays for the last 2 years OR 
  • A 3-1, full scholarship for first 3 years only, family pays for the last year. (academic aid can help too)

Division 2 volleyball programs have 8 full athletic scholarships that can be split up between the players. It’s an equivalency situation, meaning, the 8 scholarships can be partial scholarships split between more than one player as long as the total adds up to 8 full scholarships. Division 2 players can receive a full athletic scholarship, but it’s not common. 

When a college volleyball coach is talking to an athlete, they have different ways of talking about a walk-on roster spot during the recruiting process.

For example, during a phone call or zoom meeting the coach might say: 

  • “We have no more scholarships available for your class and the position we are recruiting you for is a walk-on position.” 
  • “We have two more players we are looking for in your class, a full-scholarship outside hitter and a walk-on libero.” 
  • “This would be a walk-on opportunity, are you OK with that?”
  • “We are looking for a walk-on setter in your class.”
  • “We had 2 seniors decide to take their Covid 5th year, so we will take one walk-on hitter in your class”. 
  • “We might need a middle blocker in your class, it depends, but it will most likely be a walk-on spot.”

So, how can a player and their family respond to a walk-on opportunity when this comes up in conversation or in an email with a college volleyball coach?

The initial reaction must be positive:

  • If you need time to think about it, graciously thank the coach for letting you know and tell them you and your family need time to consider this and give them a time when you will let them know. 
  • If you know up front it WILL NOT work for your family, then you can let the coach know in the conversation. Ask them if anything changes to please let you know. You can also ask if you were to be a walk-on could you earn a scholarship in later years? Has this ever happened in the past? 
  • If you know that you and your family are OK with a walk-on opportunity, then let the coach know this in the conversation with excitement and keep moving forward in the recruiting process…AND you can still ask the questions above! 

The earlier a coach notifies the player and family that the roster spot they are recruiting the player for is a walk-on spot, the better. In my mind, when the coach brings this up in the first conversation I think that’s the best and most respectable thing for the coach to do. When a coach brings it up at the end of the recruiting process when they are ready to offer you (and you have not asked because you didn’t know to ask), it puts a lot of stress on athletes. Coaches need to be upfront and honest, if they know a position is a walk-on spot, they should tell the player early in the recruiting process, out of respect for the player and their family. 

When a volleyball player is in the recruiting process, one of the HARDEST parts is discussing what the roster spot opportunity is after you know they need your position in your grad year. If the coach doesn’t let you know in an email or on the phone right away, it’s very hard for a player to bring up! Players are young and some are shy and afraid they might put off the coach by asking. 

MY ADVICE…blame it on your parents that you need to know! I’m kind of joking here…but basically because where you play volleyball in college and the entire decision directly affects your family…I think you can say “your parents need to know”, from a financial perspective, as part of the conversation. 

In an email in your own words, you could say something like this: 

“I’m so excited to move forward in the recruiting process with your program. I wanted to clarify if this position on your team is a scholarship or a walk-on? It would be helpful for my parents and I to know what to expect for planning purposes, thank you so much!” 

On the phone with a college coach, if they have never specified between scholarship or walk-on, they usually ask if you have any questions at the end of the call. Your question could be something similar: 

“Yes, my parents asked me and I wasn’t sure if this is a scholarship or a walk-on spot? It would be super helpful for us to know from a financial planning perspective and what to expect.” 

Finally, a walk-on verbal commitment offer is given to a volleyball player in the same manner as an athletic full or partial scholarship verbal commitment offer. If a player is to the point of receiving an offer, it’s a very exciting time. After the player accepts the walk-on offer, they tell their coaches, family and friends and post it on social media. People don’t ask about the scholarship situation, whether it’s a walk-on or a full scholarship. The athlete is celebrating and it’s a memorable time! National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing day is also a great day for the player and family. It’s ceremonial, there is no actual paper to sign, the athlete is celebrating becoming a collegiate volleyball player and looking forward to the next chapter! 

I hope this article has helped you to better understand how recruiting works for a walk-on roster spot in women’s college volleyball, Division 1 and Division 2! 

As I always say….keep emailing, keep going, keep working to find the perfect fit for you to fulfill your dream of playing volleyball in college! You are amazing and you got this! 

Get my College Volleyball Recruiting Checklist and make sure you’ve covered all of your bases. 

Join my College Volleyball Recruiting for Parents Facebook Group and see my posts with more recruiting tips and information!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email
Scroll to Top