Wesleyan is a highly-respected liberal arts college with 3,000 undergraduate students on over 300-acres of idyllic New England campus. They offer 45 majors and over 900 courses annually, providing students with diverse opportunities to expand and explore. At the same time, and as a liberal arts college, Wesleyan offers a comprehensive learning experience that emphasizes breadth alongside depth. Wesleyan is also well-known for having an open curriculum that encourages discovery and creativity.
The student body at Wesleyan is known for being diverse, progressive, and open-minded. They are also global. Wesleyan runs study abroad programs in Italy, Spain, and France, and students have access to an additional 150(ish) pre-approved programs around the world.
Looking at Wesleyan from a sports perspective — as that is why you are reading this post — they have 30 varsity sports and are a member of the competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in NCAA Division III. They have won a dozen NESCAC championships since 2000, including national champion Men’s Lacrosse and Women’s Tennis teams. About 900 students participate in intercollegiate sports at Wesleyan annually including the varsity teams, club sports, and intramural programs. And around 60% of Wesleyan students participate in some athletic activity. Notable alums at the top of the athletic world include famed coach Bill Belichick and Michele A. Roberts, former Executive Director of the NBA Players Association, and Jed Hoyer, GM of the Chicago Cubs during the 2016 World Series winning season.
Wesleyan is a popular college for strong students, and the acceptance rate is under 18%.
In this post, we’ll break down what you need to know if you are a student-athlete interested in playing on a Wesleyan team.
If you’re a student looking for your perfect fit, send us an email. We help students get into their dream school.
What is Wesleyan looking for in Student Athletes?
The Wesleyan athletic facilities are at the heart of the campus, and they expect student athletes to be fully integrated into the Wesleyan community, not working parallel to daily student life as happens at so many larger schools and programs. Since Wesleyan is DIII and in NESCAC, there are no athletic scholarships. Because of this, students need to be playing for the love of the game. There is access to ample need-based aid, though, and the administration and coaching team believe athletics “enhance a liberal arts education.” By their estimation, learning on the field, court, track, or in the pool goes hand-in-hand with learning in the classroom.
When looking for athletes to join this community, Wesleyan knows what they want. An inflated individual ego doesn’t vibe with the Wesleyan way, so don’t approach the coaches nor admissions with a pile of fancy stats and expect that to impress them alone. The athletics and admissions teams at Wesleyan expect athletes to set an example of hard work and commitment for their peers, so they look for student-athletes who are leaders on their teams and in their community.
Recruited Athletes
If Wesleyan can’t give you scholarships for being an athlete, what’s the point of recruitment other than the personal satisfaction of playing? Well, it’s because being awesome at your sport can be a major leg up in the admissions process. While Wesleyan’s coaches can’t just hand you a spot at the college per NESCAC regulations, they can support your application with admissions which can easily be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. Having coach support is extremely helpful when you apply, and they may even ask to have your application reviewed ahead of the early deadlines. If so, and if they are impressed, Wesleyan may let you know that it is ‘likely’ you’ll be accepted (which means you will be accepted as long as you keep your grades, activities, and athletic performance in line with when they reviewed your application. If this sounds attractive, let’s dig into how to kickstart the recruitment process.
First, you need to get to know the Wesleyan athletics website. This may lead you, at first, to some frustration. For example, if you click on the “Prospective Students” on the main navigation it will take you, ostensibly, to a recruitment questionnaire — but it doesn’t work for every sport. This isn’t a big red flag for us as college websites are often less than impressive as far as how they function and how frequently they are updated. Luckily for athletes, the people who haven’t fixed the website aren’t the same people who would be coaching your team.
If there isn’t a questionnaire, go to your individual sport page through the ‘Sports’ tab in the main navigation and click on “prospective students” next to where it says “coaches” to learn more about the team you’re interested in joining. For example, the baseball team page for prospective students includes videos about the team, information on notable alumni, and a step-by-step guide to recruitment.
Whether or not you can do a questionnaire, you will want to reach out to the coaching staff directly. So, click on “Coaches” to access the direct contact information for the coaching staff. It’s worth workshopping your email to the coaches for a few days (or even weeks) before you send it. This is like applying for a job, so you need to approach it very professionally. When you reach out to the coaches, be prepared with a current transcript, athletic resume, and a highlight reel.
It’s super important that you follow any directions when they are given, like on the baseball “prospective students” page. The coaches care about you being a top student and a strong athlete, but they care just as much about how you are as a team member and whether you are “coachable.” Showing that you can follow basic instructions is a key part of that.
Walk-Ons
As a DIII school, Wesleyan often looks for walk-ons to fill out their teams. Walk-ons are varsity-caliber athletes who didn’t go through the recruitment process. You may be a walk-on because you didn’t decide to play in college until after you got in (or even after you got to campus), or you may be directed towards the walk-on option because the coaches aren’t certain they have a spot for you — which may not be a skill thing, just a position problem.
If you are considering trying your luck as a walk-on, expect to have to go through a try-out or test period. Before that, you need to let them know that you’re interested. So, start doing all the steps that a recruit would do. Fill out a questionnaire if there is one. Contact the coaches. Put together an athletic resume and highlights reel. Do all the ‘things’ that you would as a recruit so you can pique their interest in you as a player even if you won’t have the admissions boost.
Club Sports and Intramurals
Outside of varsity athletics, Wesleyan fields 20 club sports teams. A competitive alternative to varsity sports that still practice multiple times a week and compete in games against other schools, but are student run and have a more relaxed time commitment, especially when out of season. Club teams do receive financial support from Wesleyan through Wesleyan Student Involvement (WSI), as well as practice and competition space through the Department of Physical Education and Athletics. Recognized teams include Equestrian, Rugby, Ice Hockey, Boxing, Volleyball, Fencing, and more.
In addition to club sports, there are 12 intramural leagues including softball, basketball, and soccer. These teams are the most relaxed way of participating in sports at Wesleyan, and it’s a ton of fun. You’ll only compete against fellow Wesleyan community members, and the intensity is dialed way down.
Playing sports at Wesleyan is fun at whatever level you compete, and something we love about the program is that you truly get to enjoy your educational experience at the same time.
If you’re considering Wesleyan, we can help.