Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) has been named the official recruiting partner for Basketball New Zealand, the national sports organisation (NSO) of basketball in New Zealand.
The partnership will offer NCSA’s online recruiting tools and resources to Basketball New Zealand athletes who hope to continue their athletic careers at United States (U.S.) colleges.
Currently, over 100 Kiwis are on scholarship at U.S. colleges, with more than half of them at NCAA Division I schools.
Athletes aged 13 years or older will have the opportunity to create a free NCSA profile when registering for Basketball New Zealand events and gain access to college recruiting resources.
NCSA will also provide recruiting education seminars at BBNZ events as well as webinars to help educate athletes and families on the recruiting process.
Vice President of Business Development for NCSA parent-company Reigning Champs Phil Wallace says NCSA is proud to be broadening their reach and helping propel the careers of talented Kiwi youngsters.
“For over 20 years, NCSA has been helping student-athletes from around the world achieve their goal of competing at the collegiate level.
“With support from NCSA, Basketball New Zealand will now be able to offer comprehensive recruiting support to young men and women who dream of continuing their athletic career – and their education – in the U.S.”
The partnership will allow Basketball New Zealand to select up to 25 athletes to receive NCSA’s All In Award. The cornerstone of NCSA’s give-back mission, the All In Award is given to deserving student-athletes who have a strong desire to continue their athletics in college and require financial assistance.
Recipients will receive NCSA’s MVP Membership at no cost, providing highly-personalised support and guidance to ensure that each student-athlete finds a college that is the right fit for them.
Basketball New Zealand High Performance Manager Leonard King says the partnership is a step in the right direction for both the NSO and athletes.
“Basketball New Zealand is absolutely thrilled to partner with Next College Student Athlete (NCSA); our focus is clear, we want to provide more Kiwis with a pathway to the U.S. college system.
“Joining forces with America’s top college recruiting network is a significant step for Basketball New Zealand and demonstrates how serious we are with helping our members achieve their goal of playing college basketball in the States.
“We are incredibly proud and excited for our athletes to be able to leverage the NCSA online recruiting platform, with its unique algorithm system matching players to the right level, the right program and the right school.”
Basketball New Zealand will also integrate NCSA’s recruiting software, Coach Packet, into its events.
Coach Packet provides easy access to the latest rosters, player data, schedules and custom evaluation metrics by taking the historic bundles of paper handouts at recruiting events and complementing them with a dedicated universal iOS app.
The partnership will also grant Basketball New Zealand Associations access to NCSA’s team recruiting platform, Team Edition, which allows coaches to track and help guide their athletes’ college recruitment process with easy-to-use software.
Team Edition provides exposure to athletes and teams, connecting users to NCSA’s database of more than 35,000 college coaches across 34 sports.
Basketball New Zealand Talent Manager Mel Downer says working with the best in the business will uncomplicate what can be an overwhelming experience.
“We are so excited to partner with leading recruitment company, NCSA. With more and more New Zealand athletes choosing to pursue an athletic scholarship to attend college in the United States, it is imperative that they access to the most relevant and up to date information.
“This will ensure the process is smooth and enjoyable and with NCSA’s track record spanning over 20 years, we are pleased to be able to utilise their expertise to help the wealth of talent in New Zealand with their basketball dreams.”
Basketball New Zealand is the first foreign governing body to partner with NCSA. NCSA its official recruiting partner of eight U.S. national governing bodies: USA Baseball, US Lacrosse, USA Field Hockey, US Tennis Association, USA Track and Field, USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo and USA Wrestling.
For more information on NCSA’s recruiting process and how to utilise their tools, click here.
About NCSA
Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) is the world’s largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Reigning Champs LLC, NCSA leverages proprietary technology and data with professional expertise and personal relationships, connecting hundreds of thousands of college-bound student-athletes to more than 35,000 college coaches nationwide across 34 sports each year.
Learn more about NCSA here.
