HERO Sports is giving you a feel for all things FCS recruiting. This is a ranking of FCS teams using HIGH SCHOOL commitments only (not transfers) … this is only one way our FCS rankings differentiate us from 247Sports and Rivals etc. We don’t pay any attention to the star rating, this ranking is based solely on the collective of how each athlete is coveted, who wanted him … and how many wanted him.
That’s it. Film evaluation is something I will leave up to the coaches, as they have their jobs on the line with that. I figure if their jobs are on the line, they’re probably doing a pretty good job of figuring out who they want to offer a spot on their teams. And they are certainly better than I am at making that determination.
Quick rankings explanation:
- Only high school recruits are taken into account. Transfers are separate and will be evaluated much later this spring.
- The system is based on school offers, NOT 247Sports or Rivals. Every level of D-1 (P5, G5, FCS) has a particular tiered point total. This method is meant to be reactive (to how coveted he was), not predictive (of what will happen next).
- When it comes to team rankings, it’s the value of all of its Dec. signees and Feb. signees’ point totals combined. Every kid counts.
- I respect PWOs — preferred walk-ons. They get credit too. The FCS is the perfect level for walk-ons. They matter to these schools.
- LAST NOTE: The Ivy League – While I’ve included the Ivy recruits in the individual Top 300 this year, I didn’t include them this year in the team rank because the criteria would be skewed. If I’d included them, for instance, Princeton would have been No. 1 below by a mile and several others would easily be in the Top 10. The problem is, Princeton has more than 35 incoming freshman and with 22 recruits inside the Top 500 of the FCS, it’s just unbalanced since many FCS scholarship programs sign only 15 to 18 players in a year. So we’re going to rank the Ivy League against the Ivy League and will release that soon.[divider]
FCS TOP 50 TEAMS RANKING
(visit FCS Top 300 for individual)
| RK | TEAM | CONF |
| 1 | James Madison | CAA |
| 2 | Furman | SOCON |
| 3 | Delaware | CAA |
| 4 | NDSU | MVFC |
| 5 | Stephen F. Austin | SOUTHLAND |
| 6 | Villanova | CAA |
| 7 | South Dakota | MVFC |
| 8 | Illinois St. | MVFC |
| 9 | Kennesaw State | BIG SOUTH |
| 10 | FAMU | MEAC |
| 11 | Tennessee St. | OVC |
| 12 | Central Arkansas | SOUTHLAND |
| 13 | Charleston Southern | BIG SOUTH |
| 14 | Tenn-Martin | OVC |
| 15 | Jacksonville St. | OVC |
| 16 | South Dakota State | MVFC |
| 17 | Eastern Washington | BIG SKY |
| 18 | UC Davis | BIG SKY |
| 19 | Eastern Kentucky | OVC |
| 20 | Chattanooga | SOCON |
| 21 | Montana St. | BIG SKY |
| 22 | Youngstown | MVFC |
| 23 | Northern Iowa | MVFC |
| 24 | Georgetown | PATRIOT |
| 25 | Rhode Island | CAA |
| 26 | Mercer | SOCON |
| 27 | Richmond | CAA |
| 28 | Holy Cross | PATRIOT |
| 29 | Elon | CAA |
| 30 | Wofford | SOCON |
| 31 | East. Tenn. State | SOCON |
| 32 | Sac. State | BIG SKY |
| 33 | Lehigh | PATRIOT |
| 34 | Alabama State | SWAC |
| 35 | Colgate | PATRIOT |
| 36 | Fordham | PATRIOT |
| 37 | Northern Arizona | BIG SKY |
| 38 | Missouri St. | MVFC |
| 39 | Stony Brook | CAA |
| 40 | New Hampshire | CAA |
| 41 | Houston Baptist | SOUTHLAND |
| 42 | Tenn. Tech | OVC |
| 43 | Eastern Illinois | OVC |
| 44 | McNeese | SOUTHLAND |
| 45 | Murray St. | OVC |
| 46 | Monmouth | BIG SOUTH |
| 47 | Morgan State | MEAC |
| 48 | Nicholls | SOUTHLAND |
| 49 | Western Carolina | SOCON |
| 50 | Samford | SOCON |
PAST FCS RECRUITING RANKINGS
2019 Top FCS Teams
2019 Top FCS Recruits
2018 Top FCS Teams
2018 Top FCS Recruits
2017 Top FCS Teams
2017 Top FCS Recruits
