Data study · 2026–27 season
How far from home do college basketball players go?
41.5% of D1 players play in their home state or one that borders it; 67.4% of D2 players play in their home state or one that borders it; 75.4% of D3 players play in their home state or one that borders it. International players are most common at D1 (6.6% of the division's rosters).
Computed from 10,268 player-seasons · 2026–27 · updated Oct 15, 2026
D3 keeps players closest to home.
41.5% of D1 players are in their home state or one bordering it, 67.4% of D2 players are in their home state or one bordering it, 75.4% of D3 players are in their home state or one bordering it.
The in-state share is the number to know.
53.0% of D3 players and 23.2% of D1 players play in their home state — before counting bordering states.
Homes outside the US, by level.
6.6% of D1 rosters list a home outside the US, 4.4% of D2 rosters list a home outside the US, 1.5% of D3 rosters list a home outside the US.
Share playing in their home state or next door
By division
n = 3,889 · 3,214 · 3,165
Bars are scaled to the closest-to-home division; exact shares are in the table.
Where players play relative to home · 2026–27 rosters
| Division | Players | Home state | Bordering state | Farther in the US | International |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 3,889 | 23.2% | 18.3% | 51.9% | 6.6% |
| D2 | 3,214 | 45.6% | 21.8% | 28.3% | 4.4% |
| D3 | 3,165 | 53.0% | 22.4% | 23.1% | 1.5% |
What this means if you're being recruited
"How far away will my kid be?" has a data answer: between 41.5% (D1) and 75.4% (D3) of rosters are filled from the school's own state and its neighbours. The roster pattern suggests recruiting remains strongly regional, especially below D1 — for a family building an initial school list, nearby programs deserve particular attention.
Distance here is a state relationship, not miles — a family in Texarkana is "far" from El Paso and "bordering" Louisiana. Our high schools carry no map coordinates yet, so we publish what the rosters actually support rather than an invented mileage figure.
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Methodology
Source · sample · scope10,268 player-seasons · 1,060 programs · 2026–27
Definitions and scope
- Source
- Official 2026–27 rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart, joined to each roster's listed hometown state.
- Buckets
- Home state = the college is in the player's listed home state; bordering = the two states share a land border (DC borders MD and VA); farther = elsewhere in the US; international = the roster lists a home outside the 50 states and DC (countries and Canadian provinces both appear in that field).
- Not miles
- No mileage is computed or implied — our high-school records carry no coordinates, and a state-line answer is what the data honestly supports.
- Sample
- 10,268 player-seasons with a home on record on 2026–27 rosters. Players with no listed hometown are outside the study.
- Computed
- Oct 15, 2026 · methodology 2026-08-28.1
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