Data study · 2021–22 to 2025–26

Am I a D1, D2 or D3 player? What each level looks like

5'6"–5'8" players on college rosters are 13% D1 and 66% D3; 7'0" and up players are 75% D1 and 6% D3. In between, every three inches moves the odds: 23% D1 at 6'0"–6'2", 38% at 6'6"–6'8", 64% at 6'9"–6'11". At the same position, a D1 player stands about 2.7 inches taller than a D3 player. The high-school scoring average a college bio quotes is nearly the same at every level — a median of 17.6 points at D1 and 16.0 at D3.

Computed from 38,534 players · 2021–22 to 2025–26 · updated Sep 16, 2026

38,534

rostered players, each counted once

23%

of 6'0"–6'2" players are D1

64%

of 6'9"–6'11" players are D1

1.6 pts

between the D1 and D3 median quoted scoring averages

Height draws the clearest line between the levels.

The D1 share climbs from 13% at 5'6"–5'8" to 23% at 6'0"–6'2", to 38% at 6'6"–6'8" and 75% at 7'0" and up. The D3 share runs the other way: 66% at the bottom band, 6% at the top.

At the same position, D1 players stand about 2.7 inches taller than D3 players.

A D1 guard averages 6'3" and a D3 guard 6'1"; a D1 forward averages 6'8" and a D3 forward 6'5"; a D1 center averages 6'11" and a D3 center 6'8" (2025–26 rosters). The position you play sets the scale; the level sets where on it you sit.

The scoring average in a bio barely separates the levels.

Among players whose college bio quotes a high-school average, the median is 17.6 points at D1, 17.0 at D2 and 16.0 at D3 — 1.6 points apart across the whole ladder. 71% of the D1 averages are 15 or more; so are 60% of the D3 averages. A bio quotes a number worth quoting, so this is what the levels look like at their best, not what they require.

Where rostered players play, by height

share of players at each level · 2021–22 to 2025–26 · every position · each player counted once, at their latest season

5'6"–5'8"

D113%

D221%

D366%

n = 379

5'9"–5'11"

D115%

D226%

D360%

n = 3,034

6'0"–6'2"

D123%

D227%

D351%

n = 9,846

6'3"–6'5"

D128%

D228%

D345%

n = 12,965

6'6"–6'8"

D138%

D233%

D329%

n = 8,897

6'9"–6'11"

D164%

D224%

D312%

n = 2,958

7'0" and up

D175%

D219%

D36%

n = 434

Bars are percentages of the band, so each group adds to about 100.

	D1	D3	Difference
Guards · average height	6'3"	6'1"	1.9 in
Forwards · average height	6'8"	6'5"	2.8 in
Centers · average height	6'11"	6'8"	3.4 in

Level distribution of rostered players by height · 2021–22 to 2025–26

The ladder

Height	Players	D1	D2	D3
5'6"–5'8"	379	13%	21%	66%
5'9"–5'11"	3,034	15%	26%	60%
6'0"–6'2"	9,846	23%	27%	51%
6'3"–6'5"	12,965	28%	28%	45%
6'6"–6'8"	8,897	38%	33%	29%
6'9"–6'11"	2,958	64%	24%	12%
7'0" and up	434	75%	19%	6%

Average height by position at each level · 2025–26 rosters · middle half in brackets

By position

Position	D1	D2	D3
Guards	6'3" (6'2"–6'5")	6'2" (6'1"–6'4")	6'1" (6'0"–6'3")
Forwards	6'8" (6'7"–6'9")	6'7" (6'6"–6'8")	6'5" (6'4"–6'7")
Centers	6'11" (6'10"–7'0")	6'10" (6'8"–6'11")	6'8" (6'6"–6'9")

Programs and rostered players at each level · 2025–26

Roster spots

Division	Programs	Rostered players	Average roster
D1	364	5,560	15.3
D2	279	4,382	15.7
D3	403	7,094	17.6

High-school scoring average quoted in the player's college bio, by the level reached · 2021–22 to 2025–26

What the bios quote

Division	Players with a quoted average	Middle half	Median	15 or more
D1	4,383	14.0–21.2	17.6	71%
D2	1,758	13.7–20.3	17.0	67%
D3	598	12.0–19.0	16.0	60%

Why the answer is a distribution, not a cut-off

No height makes D1 certain and none closes it: the D1 share is 13% at 5'6"–5'8" and 75% at 7'0" and up, and every band in between holds players at all three levels. What a level "requires" is a range that the ladder table shows, band by band.

D3 is the biggest level by roster spots — 403 programs and 7,094 rostered players in 2025–26, against 364 programs and 5,560 players at D1 — so for most heights it is also the most common outcome, which is arithmetic before it is a judgement.

What the bio numbers can and cannot say

6,739 of the 38,534 players here (17%) have a high-school scoring average quoted in their college bio. A school quotes the number it wants a reader to see, so these averages describe the players the bios chose to describe — and they run high at every level. They cannot say what average is needed to play; they can say that, even at their most flattering, the levels' averages sit within a few points of each other.

A player averaging fewer points on a strong schedule, in a role a coach can name, is the case these numbers cannot see. That is what the Recruiting Fit Report is built to score, program by program.

How to read this for your own case

How to read it

Find your band first.

A 6'0"–6'2" player is in the most-asked-about band: 51% of players that height play D3, 27% D2 and 23% D1. That is the field you are competing in, not a verdict on you.

Then your position.

The ladder mixes guards, forwards and centers. A 6'4" guard and a 6'4" forward are different cases: check the by-position table for the average at your position at each level, and where your height sits against its middle half.

Treat a scoring average as the weakest signal here.

The quoted averages differ by about 1.6 points between D1 and D3, while the D1 share climbs from 13% to 75% across the height ladder. Points against whom, in what role, matter more than the number — and the rosters cannot see your schedule.

The honest test is program by program.

This page says what each level looks like. The Level Calculator on this site turns your height, position and state into a level estimate from the same rosters, and the free preview scores your profile against every program in the data.

See which level your profile actually points to

Your height, position, stats and offers, scored against every program in this data. The free Market Preview takes six minutes and needs no card.

Start my free preview

Methodology

Source · sample · scope

38,534 players · 1,060 programs · 2021–22 to 2025–26

Definitions and scope

Source: Official rosters and player bios published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, 2021–22 to 2025–26, collected by Depth Chart.
Sample: 38,534 distinct rostered players with a listed height, each counted once at the division of their most recent season in the window. The bands cover 5'6" and up; 21 players outside them count toward the total but appear in no band. A band with fewer than 30 players would not be shown.
Level: The division of the player's most recent season in the window. A player who moved between levels is counted where they were last listed.
Positions: Roster position normalised to guard, forward or center; combined listings (G/F) count under their first position. The by-position table reads the 2025–26 season only.
Heights: As listed by the school, rounded to the inch.
Roster spots: Every player listed on a 2025–26 roster, and every program with at least one. A program's roster page may be partial early in a season.
Quoted scoring averages: The high-school points-per-game figure a player's college bio states, from the player's most recent high-school season we hold, for 6,739 of the 38,534 players (17%). A quoted figure outside 0.5–60 is treated as a misread and dropped. A division with fewer than 30 quoted averages would not be shown. These are the figures schools chose to publish, not a sample of all players.
Computed: Sep 16, 2026 · methodology 2026-08-28.1

Share this study

On a phone, Share… opens your share sheet — Instagram, TikTok, Messages.

from the same data