The FSN Team is proud to officially announce, For Stars Preps, the home of high school rowing recruiting coverage and information. The journey to the next level hasn’t always been as linear as ball sports, such as football, basketball, and baseball, but the four main components including size, athleticism, teamwork, and the rower’s competition level, have been a staple to test the strength and capability for the athlete to train at the Collegiate Level; however, now is the time for youth rowing to take the leap in the right direction to not only enhance the publicity for the sport, but the athletes involved and tracking their story throughout youth to the professional level.
To further elaborate into the context and baseline for this new division of our company, For Stars Preps, our team has identified a few of the most frequently asked questions about FSP’s recruiting media content and the strategies behind our findings and analysis. FSN has and will always be an open book to our supporters and followers.
What are the differences between rankings, star ratings and evaluation scores?
FSN has THREE different ways to assess a player:
Rankings: Including a rower or coxswain in a list, usually 1-to-50 or 1-to-100, and generally updated annually for each class year and assorted watchlist.
Star Ratings: Identifies a rower or coxswain as a FIVE-, FOUR- or THREE-Star Recruit in his or her high school class, where historically, the breakdown of each star position clocks out to be the following:
• 5-Star Rower = 0.02-0.05% of their Class
• 4-Star Rower = 12-15% of their Class
• 3-Star Rower = 40% of their Class
Each year, the athlete’s overall rating may or may not upgrade year-to-year, and are more common than not, freshly updated each racing season with the understanding that historically, the weight of the star rating and tier level, has the ability to hold more weight than another academic year encompassing less rising stars or talent as a whole within each of the three tiers. These athlete star ratings are showcased during the duration of time when our Rowing Rankings will be aired onto the public domain, with the exception of star ratings being added periodically during the Fall and Spring Racing Seasons, which is standard across mainstream sports in the United States.
Evaluation Score: A subjective observation and analysis of a rower in one particular setting, whether that be done virtual or live in person, and recorded at various times throughout the racing season(s).
In 2026, FSN will be introducing our optional “video evaluation” product for purchase, which certifies that a rower will in fact be evaluated and provided with an analysis of his or her athletic performance similar towards a remote-coaching efficiency assessment that you may identify in generic private coaching and training. One may question the sole purpose of a video evaluation and the overall benefit to purchasing one, and in the most simplistic answer — no purchase of a video evaluation will not warrant a receipt of a specific score or ranking/star rating, which will help the FSN Staff gauge more of an alternative approach to a live in-person performance evaluation.
Our FSN Rankings and Watchlists via “For Stars Preps” which may incorporate star ratings from College Coaches and their verified opinions is implemented into the evaluation for the sole purpose to base the athlete’s athletic potential as an overview of the College Rowing Market for recruits comparative to his or her peers in their class and at that position, indicative of the holistic perspective of the athlete’s rowing career. Youth rowers hosted on the FSN Website via “For Stars Preps” are not required to be affiliated to a scholastic and/or junior club program, competing in any NGB sanctioned regattas or camps/clinics in order to receive a FSP attested star-rating as their respective peers and competition.
Generally, youth rowers that acquire a FSN-verified efficiency score, star rating, placed on a Watchlist or FSP Rankings, will receive more in-depth evaluations that may boost their score(s) and help level up their national attention and overall brand as an athlete when assessed, it is more than helpful in the process to weigh up the athlete’s performance and track their improvement overtime should their evaluation submission illustrate their development; yet, no video evaluation will guarantee a higher score or rating in the end. The channels and processes that are invested into the athlete’s analysis are dissimilar to one another with each tool holding their own weight in their respective category, even though they may carry over to one another in the process, which is an imperative assumption to comprehending FSP’s recruiting media content at whole.
An important factor to note regarding our processes and findings for athletes is that any and all evaluations no matter the location or reference point are VITAL to provide a valid assessment of the respective athlete to prompt FSN Staff to locate and identify rowers that may fall short of the Top-100 and/or targeted to those athletes that have yet to receive a star rating to guarantee a title as a certified prospect, as evaluations help boost the context of the rower’s background and projected athletic ability to compete at the next level, with a one-to-one approach.
From the start, the FSN Team decided to create an “open-book mentality” to lay out the base criteria and projections that our nation’s rowing recruits will be analyzed under and compared to athletes in their class in years past. Our Internal Evaluation Scale is unique to the sport of rowing and fairly standard to the world of youth athletics and high school standards where prospects and their competition will be assorted with the very same metrics as their peers. We understand that not every rower has the same set up or ability to compete in and around a competitive environment daily, but in order to keep the evaluations fair throughout the sport, we have decided to use the same exact criteria for each athlete in our system.
95+: Projects as a Freshman FSN Division 1 Top-100
92-95: Projects as a Freshman Varsity Eight/JV Contender at a Top-10/15 Division 1 Program
88-91: Projects as a Freshman Varsity Eight/JV Athlete at a Division 1 Program
84-88: Projects as a Sophomore/Junior Varsity Eight/JV Eight Athlete at a Division 1 Program
80-83: Projects as a Division 1 Roster Player, Division III Starter
76-79: Will Contribute To A College Rowing Team At Some Point
70-76: College Rowing Roster Rower
60-69: Could Row Crew in College
0-59: Will Find It Challenging To Row Collegiate Crew
How are the FSP Rankings even established?
FSP Rankings will in fact continue to progress and allow for a plethora of factors and metrics needed that are in order to ultimately track throughout the rower’s junior career. With rowing being such a team sport, analysis of the high school team or club’s success and performance at sanctioned regattas and championships may in fact be utilized into the prospect’s ranking; however, each rower’s individualistic athletic ability, physical growth, and future potential in the sport will be most certainly primary in the grand scheme of the analyst’s findings.
Athlete’s information must be accurate and updated on a frequent basis to ensure that the FSP Staff are equipped with proper details and data to verify each athlete. We are cognizant to athletes jumping around programs and competing for their scholastic program during the school year and clubs throughout the summer months in the post-season, so film (tape) and rowing highlights are easily accessible for both FSP staff and respective College Coaches across the sport to browse and scout their recruits. FSP Rower & Coxswain Profiles have the necessary tools and sections to enhance the brand of the athlete, with our most favorite being the College Interest Section for athletes to promote their achievements and opportunities at the next level, so an updated profile will in fact come in handy!
Are Youth Rowers required to compete and attend in For Stars Network events, camps, and clinics to ensure the opportunity to be featured in our Watchlists & Rankings, with a certified Star Rating to obtain an evaluation?
No! While FSN Events can be a valid benefit to our Rankings, Star Ratings, and overall processes to scope talent in the sport, rowers are not required to attend our events to guarantee a feature on any of our lists and/or receive a certified Star Rating. Comparing the markets and trends in mainstream sports, and sports projected to improve popularity overtime, we expect to contribute to over 2,000+ evaluations year-to-year, with our sanctioned events acting as the best possible location to receive an evaluation. Each attendee at any of the FSN Camps or Clinics, will automatically receive access to a FSN Profile, which is the best possible way to certify that your information remain accessible to our staff, more importantly during the formative years of your rowing career (freshman and sophomore years of high school). Athletes are not required to be in the sport for a set amount of years in the sport; however, athletes on our list(s) must compete under the “Varsity” category for their home club or high school team. Rowers competing in age-specific events are subject to FSN evaluations on a case-by-case basis.
Are rowers limited to receiving a proper evaluation if they do not purchase a video evaluation to be ranked amongst their peers?
No! Rowers and their families are by all means not required to purchase a video evaluation to be considered for the rankings/granted a certified star-rating under FSN whatsoever. The option to purchase a video evaluation is purely to help enhance the athlete’s profile and help our Analysts evaluate the film and provide valuable feedback on their technique and skill in and out of the boat. The analysis will be an helpful tool to target the athlete’s talent in comparison to their peers.
When are FSN Rankings released out to the public?
FSN Rankings are released on a case-by-case basis and may alter depending on the season’s findings and talent pool, to help provide our Staff with enough assurance and time assessing each athlete across our platform individually and most importantly, thoroughly, as in detail evaluations are our standard.
The first time each class has the opportunity to be “ranked” has been and will remain after August 1st in the summer between sophomore and junior year, where first contact between college coaches and prospective student-athletes is allowed after June 15th proceeding Sophomore Year.
Due to the fact that the FSN Team will heavily rely on the harmony and accuracy of the opinions of college coaches across our sport, we are aware that each recruiting class is taken with a grain of salt, and are not really a priority until the rules allow them to be in contact with prospective talent which occurs during the summer of rising juniors, which at that point in time, our Athlete Rankings and Watchlists, along with Star Rating Assignments won’t happen earlier than that time in the academic calendar. We very much understand that recruiting rules and timelines have fluctuated throughout the years and are endlessly evolving, so the expectation that any of our annual projects will be posted at the same time each year is not guaranteed. Officially, the Class of 2027 will be the next class to receive their initial rankings and star ratings when those officially debut next August in a timely manner, as in the case of this year (Class of 2026) will in fact be updated and researched in further detail as the Winter prior to their last high school season begins to take shape. The very last time that the rower’s class ranking will be updated is in the beginning of their Freshman Year at the Collegiate Level.
How do Class Rankings fit in?
FSN Class Rankings and ALL Media Material revolving around them will in fact evolve each year in our current climate of College Athletics. Collegiate Programs have been ranking their own recruits in-house for decades; however, it is time for our sport to take the next step in the direction of making our athletes and programs made public.
The FSN Class Ranking formula was established under the impression that it solely relies on averaging the TOTAL star-rated players each program had in their specific recruiting class. Our system, implemented through various sports media channels and systems which has had immense success and positive outcomes taking shape from its application to the sports landscape, certainly has the ability to be improved, rather, the base model that has been carried out throughout the years, has provided the most up-to-date results, which is the standard for our company here at FSN. We estimate a REAL-LIFE tracker and valuable tracker as college commitments take place throughout the year, with objectivity reigning, evolving, and updating on a frequent basis, giving College Programs a credible system to evaluate recruiting classes each cycle, especially for those programs in the process of beginning their surge to more success and locking in elite athletes.
Most Importantly —
Anonymity has been rowing’s largest threat to reaching the highest potential to showcasing the talent and level of pure athleticism in our sport and bring more awareness to the very first collegiate sport in North America. For years rowing has been looked at as “second-fiddle” to the counterparts and markets that have ultimately taken over College Athletics mainstream networks and attention as a whole. Now is the time for our sport to begin emulating how each sport in North America has began to take the next jump at an athlete-driven model based off of pure meritocracy, earning a spot on the National Rankings, leaderboards, and so forth.
In 2024, a statement from the NCAA was released highlighting over 40 Collegiate Sports that were included in the broadcasting media rights deal with one of the leading networks, ESPN, and their various stations, for their respective National Championship at the end of the season. A total of 21 women’s & 19 men’s championships were featured, leaving out rowing, one of the only so-called “Olympic Sports” respectfully. With that being said, the attention of our sport has become if not the very bottom of priorities for most Athletic Departments and Conferences.
With revolutionizing our sport comes the opportunity to strive for greatness, create an ecosystem centered around promoting our athletes, and complete openness that will best suit rowing fans, interested student-athletes, and Athletic Departments/School Officials, Conference Channels, and Coaches at each level. FSN Rankings and Youth Rowing Media Material is solely designed to serve the rowing community and college rowing fanatics that have in better terms kept the sport alive. The juxtaposition of athletes and programs in our sport throughout its history dating back to the early 1900’s, is more often featured in private conversations and side chats which has been a common occurrence for the sport for eons, but now is the time to bring the sport and its talent the recognition that it rightfully merits.
Contact:
For any questions, thoughts or feedback, please reach out to us at contact@forstarsnetwork.com.