Too many competing in sports, high school is a lottery ticket for college.  One question that is on the minds of many athletes is: what sport is most likely to lead to a scholarship? Statistically speaking, the sport that leads to the highest percentage of scholarships may not be what athletes expect.

For males, the sport with the highest percentage of high school athletes competing in college is lacrosse with 12.6 percent of high school athletes making it to college. For females, the sport is ice hockey with 25 percent. However, this doesn’t tell the full story since the numbers don’t specify what percentage of the athletes have a scholarship. 

The sport with the highest percentage of male high school athletes that receive a scholarship is gymnastics with 5 percent of athletes receiving scholarships. However, less than 2,000 high school males compete in gymnastics.  Football is the most likely sport with over 100,000 high school athletes. With 2.7 percent or 1 in every 36 athletes receiving a scholarship. This means that at, on average, least 1 person on every high school team will receive a scholarship (statistically speaking).

For females, the sport most likely to warrant a scholarship is rowing. 50 percent of female rowers receive a college scholarship. Although only 4,000 females compete in rowing.  On the other hand, the sport with over 100,000 high school athletes most likely to warrant a scholarship is soccer. In fact, an average of 1 in every 40 female athletes receives a scholarship to play soccer.

One huge caveat is the fact that the numbers don’t include the number of scholarships available in the specific sport. For men the sport with the most scholarships offered is football. D1 schools can offer 85 scholarships. This is then followed by hockey which can provide 18. Followed by Basketball which can offer 13 scholarships. However, in terms of the ratio of roster spots and scholarships football is the best. Having a 2:1 ratio of scholarships to roster spots.

For females, the sport that offers the most scholarships is Rowing which offers 20 scholarships. This is followed by  Track and Ice hockey which offer 18 scholarships. However, the sport with the best ratio of scholarships to roster spots is basketball. With a 1:1 ratio of roster spots to scholarships.