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College Soccer News took a long and hard look at the 2003 incoming recruiting classes throughout the nation to arrive at our final rankings. Our 2003 recruiting class rankings tend to reaffirm the premise that the schools with a winning tradition on the national level generally attract the "prime timers" as everyone wants to be part of a winning program. In recruiting the rich tend to get richer and vice versa but there are always exceptions. Recruiting is an art and the overall level of talent available continues to increase yearly thus creating greater opportunities to close the gap between the programs that have always been on top and those who seek to take their place. Our rankings included a lot of research and input from knowledgeable individuals throughout the country.
Rankings of recruiting classes can vary depending upon the process and criteria used. As in the past one of our major considerations in 2003 was the extent to which the recruiting class filled what we perceived as the gaps a team needed to address and the overall potential of the class to enhance the competitiveness of the team. We included a factor to give a little extra credit to a class if it appeared the class reflected a new pace or direction upward for a program.
College Soccer News spent a lot of time determining the rankings but we will be the first to point out that rankings or predictions of any kind are always somewhat subjective. Some classes are still not finalized but we made our decisions based upon the best information available to us at this time. Bottom line - The 2003 College Soccer Season is just around the corner and there is a talented group of incoming freshmen who will have an impact on the final outcome. |
