Data study · every season we hold
Where Colorado High School Basketball Players Go to College
Of the 466 players from Colorado high schools on a college roster in our data, 36% played their college basketball in Colorado.
Computed from 466 players · 2020–21 to 2026–27 · updated Oct 10, 2026
36% stay in-state.
Colorado is below the 42% all-state baseline.
Colorado skews toward D2.
41% of Colorado players in the dataset reached D2, against 23% nationally.
Minnesota and California are the first destinations out.
Among players leaving Colorado, 11% went to Minnesota and 9% to California.
Colorado's college players skew heavily toward D2
Colorado
n = 466
All states
n = 33,154
| CO | All states | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | 25% | 35% | −10 pts |
| D2 | 41% | 23% | +18 pts |
| D3 | 34% | 42% | −8 pts |
Where Colorado players land
Destination states| Destination state | Players | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 170 | 36% |
| Minnesota | 34 | 7% |
| California | 27 | 6% |
| Iowa | 24 | 5% |
| South Dakota | 18 | 4% |
| Wisconsin | 17 | 4% |
| Nebraska | 14 | 3% |
| New York | 13 | 3% |
Which programs take Colorado players
Historical landings| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCCS | D2 | Colorado | 16 |
| Adams State | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| Colorado Mesa | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| CSU Pueblo | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| North Central (MN) | D3 | Minnesota | 15 |
| Western Colorado | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| Northern Colorado | D1 | Colorado | 14 |
| Fort Lewis | D2 | Colorado | 13 |
| MSU Denver | D2 | Colorado | 13 |
| Black Hills State | D2 | South Dakota | 11 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Colorado | D1 | Colorado | 14 |
| Colorado | D1 | Colorado | 10 |
| Colorado State | D1 | Colorado | 6 |
| Denver | D1 | Colorado | 5 |
| Wyoming | D1 | Wyoming | 5 |
| Air Force | D1 | Colorado | 4 |
| Idaho State | D1 | Idaho | 3 |
| Morehead State | D1 | Kentucky | 2 |
| Niagara | D1 | New York | 2 |
| Idaho | D1 | Idaho | 2 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCCS | D2 | Colorado | 16 |
| Adams State | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| Colorado Mesa | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| CSU Pueblo | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| Western Colorado | D2 | Colorado | 15 |
| Fort Lewis | D2 | Colorado | 13 |
| MSU Denver | D2 | Colorado | 13 |
| Black Hills State | D2 | South Dakota | 11 |
| Colorado School of Mines | D2 | Colorado | 11 |
| Regis | D2 | Colorado | 7 |
| Program | Division | State | Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Central (MN) | D3 | Minnesota | 15 |
| Colorado College | D3 | Colorado | 10 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | D3 | Nebraska | 10 |
| Buena Vista | D3 | Iowa | 8 |
| Coe | D3 | Iowa | 6 |
| Northwestern (MN) | D3 | Minnesota | 5 |
| Lawrence | D3 | Wisconsin | 4 |
| Cal Lutheran | D3 | California | 3 |
| Carleton | D3 | Minnesota | 3 |
| Carroll | D3 | Wisconsin | 3 |
What this means for a Colorado recruit
How to read itStart local, but don't stop local.
36% of Colorado players in the dataset stayed in-state — the programs most likely to see you play repeatedly are the ones nearby.
Your realistic level matters more than geography alone.
Colorado's historical landings skew toward D2 (41% vs 23% nationally).
Past recruiting is a signal, not a guarantee.
A program that repeatedly rosters players from your state has demonstrated a pathway; it does not mean it will recruit you.
Those are the historical patterns for Colorado. Where does your profile fit?
Depth Chart scores your size, position, level and recruiting profile against all 1,060 programs.
Methodology
Source · sample · scope466 players · 1,060 programs · 2020–21 to 2026–27
Definitions and scope
- Source
- Official rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart.
- Home state
- The state of the high school on the player's record — the same definition the state tool uses, so the two read the same data the same way.
- Level
- Each player counts once, at the highest level they reached across the seasons we hold (D1 over D2 over D3).
- Sample
- 466 players from Colorado high schools, across every season we hold; roster coverage runs 2020–21 to 2026–27. A state with fewer than 200 players in our data is not published, because it would describe a coincidence rather than a pattern.
- Computed
- Oct 10, 2026 · methodology state-landing-pages-1
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How many college basketball players come from outside the US? The international pipeline, by level
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How far from home do college basketball players go?
D1: 23.2% in-state, 41.5% within one state line · D2: 45.6% in-state, 67.4% within one state line · D3: 53.0% in-state, 75.4% within one state line. Computed from 10,268 player-seasons with a home on record, 2026–27 rosters. - Data study
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3,072 players made an NCAA roster for the first time in 2026–27 — 1,187 at D1 — or 5.7 per 1,000 boys playing high-school basketball. The numbers by level, per program and by state.