Peak Perspective: Recruiting Pipelines in the 2023 Class

In December of 2020, we established state and area recruiting pipelines for each team. Here is that original post for reference. Then, the past few years, we have analyzed how teams recruited in relation to their pipelines, as you can tell by the 2022 version. For this year’s post, recruiting pipelines from 2022 have been added to the list of existing states and cities, and 2023 additions are stated added in after.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of a college program. Successful recruiting can be due to many factors, including winning tradition, top facilities, and player development. Perhaps the most crucial factor of all, however, is relationships.

Coaches build relationships with players and sell them on turning them into better players and winning seasons. College coaches also build relationships with high school coaches, which can serve a few different purposes. High school coaches can serve as a middle ground between a recruit and a college coach; the recruit already has trust established with his high school coach, and if that coach trusts the college coach, the chance of the recruit trusting the college coach increases. There is also a long-term benefit, as high school coaches can tell their current players which college programs may develop them based on past experiences and steer them to programs where they will succeed. Similarly, high school coaches can be honest with college coaches about how good a player is or how hard they will work. Bottom line: it pays to foster those relationships.

When college programs find sustained success in a particular state, it’s described using the term “recruiting pipeline.” Likewise, college teams can also have pipelines in specific cities or areas of a state or even specific high school programs. This article will examine each of the twelve Mountain West Conference teams’ rosters, looking at the pipelines they may or may not have in states. For this post, city pipelines are used instead of specific high schools because the number of players from a city may point to more accurate success than how often they recruit from a high school.

A pipeline is defined here as any state where three or more players are from or any city where two or more players are from. To create a new pipeline in the current class, a team has to sign two or more players from the same state or city.

It’s important to note that the number of pipelines or even a school having recruiting pipelines isn’t necessarily an indicator of recruiting success, although it does help. Some schools go back to the same states and cities year after year, while other schools recruit more nationally or simply wherever they can find the best talent. None of these approaches are necessarily better than the other. See below for how each team steered into or away from their established pipelines.

Keep in mind that some of the players from the city where the team is located are walk-ons, but that doesn’t mean the program doesn’t have a pipeline in the area. In fact, one could argue it’s more likely they have a pipeline there if players want to walk on.

Note: I did not look at the rosters in order to update the pipelines as I intended this year. So I removed the numbers for each pipeline, but kept them listed. I will update everything for next year to properly illustrate how big of a pipeline each city and state is.

Air Force

Note: All of the Air Force pipelines listed are per 247. Thus, they do not reflect every Falcon signee in the 2023 class.

State Pipelines:

Texas

California

Ohio

Colorado

Arizona

Washington

Maryland

Florida

Utah

City pipelines:

Gilbert, AZ

New Palestine, IN

San Antonio, TX

Littleton, CO

The Falcons don’t need traditional pipelines as they arguably recruit nationally compared to every other team in the Mountain West. The academy can attract players from all over due to what they offer as a school. If someone is interested in entering the academy, it doesn’t matter where they are from.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 10 Georgia, 5 Oklahoma, 5 Texas, 5 Washington, 4 California, 4 Colorado, 3 Arizona, 3 Ohio, 3 Florida

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: look at CO, TX, AZ, Georgia, Oklahoma

Bottom Line: As with any big class, the commits are spread through a number of states. Like other Mountain teams, Texas and California appear, as do Washington and Florida. The Falcons also added to their traditional pipeline states of Arizona and Ohio, with the latter representing a unique state compared to other MWC teams. This year, Air Force added two new state pipelines after doing great work in Georgia and Oklahoma.

Boise State

States pipelines:

California

Texas

Idaho

Hawaii

Arizona

Florida

Nevada

Colorado

Utah

Washington

City pipelines:

Boise, ID

Kahuku, HI

Lancaster HS, Texas

Meridian, ID

Mission Viejo, CA

Murrieta, CA

Pasadena, CA

Peoria, AZ

San Bernardino, CA

San Clemente, CA

San Diego, CA

Tacoma, WA

Yorba Linda, CA

The Broncos hit pretty much every one of the traditional MWC recruiting states. They have always done the majority of their work in California, and these numbers demonstrate it. Being in Idaho, they obviously hit Idaho more than any other team and almost always secure the top players in their state each cycle. Over the past few years, BSU has made more of a concentrated effort to recruit Texas, and it is paying off. They have consistently done well in Hawaii and Arizona, tried (and often failed) to recruit Florida but have seen more recent success there. Sprinkling in Nevada Washington and they hit pretty much all the major states in the West. You may have noticed Utah missing, but they have never been able to get a foothold in that state.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 9 California, 6 Texas, 2 Washington, 1 Arizona, 1 Florida, 1 Idaho

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 1 Meridian, ID, 1 Murrieta, CA, 1 San Diego, CA, 2 Pittsburg, CA

Bottom Line: The Broncos continue to expand their recruiting to more states, continuing six of their state pipelines during this cycle. California will likely always be their main state, but the emphasis they are putting on Texas is really paying off, both in quantity and quality players. Boise State has also solidified their ability to recruit in the Pacific Northwest with two more players from Washgington. This year, they added a new city pipeline by signing two players from Pittsburg, California.

Colorado State

State pipelines:

Colorado

California

Florida

Georgia

Texas

Louisiana

City pipelines:

Arvada, CO

Aurora, CO

Castle Rock, CO

Colorado Springs, CO

Denver, CO

Fort Morgan, CO

Highlands Ranch, CO

Jacksonville, FL

Inglewood, CA

Los Angeles, CA

Loveland, CO

New Orleans, LA

Phoenix, AZ

Pueblo, CO

The Rams have one of the more unique state lists for pipelines. They commit to their in-state talent and, like everyone else, spend time in California. However, while the rest of the conference mainly stays West, CSU looks southeast. This may, in part, be from the current coaching staff, which is used to recruiting in that area of the country. However it came about, it’s working for them, and they don’t always have to compete with their conference-mates.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 7 California, 5 Texas, 4 Colorado, 1 Louisiana

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 1 Denver, CO, 1 Inglewood, CA

Bottom Line: The Rams continue to branch out to the states in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, signing players from new states this year. However, they did the majority of their work in traditional states, California, Texas, and home-state Colorado. Coach Norvell and his staff has done great work in California and they have made progress in being a destination for local talent this year. On an interesting note, they continue to recruit Louisiana.

Fresno State

State pipelines:

California

Texas

Arizona

Hawaii

City pipelines:

Bakersfield, CA

Clovis, CA

Compton, CA

Corona, CA

Fontana, CA

Fresno, CA

Lawndale, CA

Long Beach, CA

Los Angeles, CA

Modesto, CA

Murrieta, CA

Stockton, CA

Riverside, CA

Portland, OR

Sacramento, CA

San Diego, CA

Tracy, CA

Tulare, CA

Being in talent-rich California, Fresno State only recruits outside of their state when they want to. They find more than enough players in different Cali areas but have shown the ability to dip into neighboring states from time to time. Though they are tied for the most players from one state in the conference, they have made inroads in other states which produce talent annually.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 17 California

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 2 Ventura, CA, 2 San Francisco, CA, 2 Fresno, CA, 2 San Diego, CA, 1 Clovis, CA

Bottom Line: To the surprise of no one, the Bulldogs stayed within California for the bulk of their class and did so successfully. They continued to go back to established city pipelines, adding players from Ventura, Fresno, San Diego, and Clovis. It is noteworthy that they went back to Fresno after signing no players from the city last year. In addition to this, Fresno State adding a new city pipeline in San Francisco after they added two players from there in this class.

Hawaii

State pipelines:

Hawaii

California

American Samoa

Texas

Florida

City pipelines:

Antioch, CA

Aua, American Samoa

Dallas, TX

‘Ewa Beach, O’ahu, HI

Honolulu, O’ahu, HI

Houston, TX

Kailua, O’ahu, HI

Kane’ohe, O’ahu, HI

Kapolei, O’ahu, HI

Laie, O’ahu, HI

Lancaster, CA

Leone, American Samoa

Riverside, CA

Wahiawa, O’ahu, HI

Wai’anae, O’ahu, HI

To the surprise of no one, the Hawaii football program gets the majority of their recruits from Hawaii. They can’t always keep the top talent on the islands, but they get enough of the talent. Like everyone else, they also dip into California and get quite a bit from that state. Texas is a mild surprise, while Florida is a significant surprise. The Rainbow Warriors have also taken advantage of proximity and mine for talent in American Samoa, which is often full of athletic projects. They are more diverse than previously thought.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 6 Hawaii, 3 California, 3 Nevada, 2 Florida, 1 Texas, 1 American Samoa

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 3 Las Vegas, NV, 2 Honolulu, O’ahu, HI , 1 Riverside, CA, 1 ‘Ewa Beach, O’ahu, HI

Bottom Line: Hawaii went back to the tried and true recruiting areas in this class, while also developing a new one. They stuck to identifying players from the islands (including American Samoa) and California, while also dipping back into the recent states of Texas and Florida. This year, the Rainbow Warriors went to the ninth island, specifically their new city pipeline of Las Vegas for players. It worked well for them this year.

Nevada

State pipelines:

California

Texas

Nevada

Arizona

Hawaii

City pipelines:

Bakersfield, CA

Chandler, AZ

Compton, CA

Dallas, TX

Encino, CA

Fresno, CA

Harbor City, CA

Honolulu, HI

Lancaster, CA

Las Vegas, NV

Lincoln, NE

Los Angeles, CA

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Reno, NV

Sacramento, CA

San Diego, CA

San Jose, CA

Scottsdale, AZ

Springfield, OR

Vacaville, CA

It is a bit of a surprise that Nevada does not recruit their state as much as they do other states. It’s still their second-largest recruiting state, but it’s much closer to third than first. Instead, they put almost all of their efforts into California, and it pays dividends. Other than that, they don’t have too much uniqueness about them. They hit Arizona, which makes sense, as well as Texas and Hawaii, all traditional Mountain West recruiting states. Thus, it all makes sense.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 8 California, 1 Hawaii, 1 Nevada

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 1 Reno, NV, 1 San Diego, CA

Bottom Line: Once again, the Wolf Pack continues to make California their recruiting home, finding more players from that state than anywhere else. Specificallly they seem to have made a nice inroad in San Diego. They still don’t recruit Nevada as well as they should, with only one player high school player in this class (although they did bring some in-state players back as transfers). It will be interesting to see if they stay local more when they begin to depend on transfers less.

New Mexico

State pipelines:

California

New Mexico

Texas

Arizona

Florida

City pipelines:

Albuquerque, NM

Bellflower, CA

Compton, CA

El Paso, TX

Fort Worth, TX

Gilbert, AZ

Huntsville, TX

Las Vegas, NV

Los Lunas, NM

Morgan Hill, CA

Pearland, TX

Rio Rancho, NM

San Bernardino, CA

The Lobos turn to California to find the majority of their players. However, a close second is home-state New Mexico. While not known for churning out tons of top-end talent each year, it’s important not to let the top in-state talent leave the state. They are neighbors with Texas and Arizona, so it’s good to see those states getting a lot of attention from the Lobos. Florida is a bit of a surprise, but in a good way as it shows they are committed to finding players where they can.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 10 California, 3 New Mexico, 2 Texas

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 2 Rio Rancho, NM, 1 Albuquerque, NM, 1 El Paso, TX

Bottom Line: The Lobos are slowly but surely deepening their recruiting roots under Coach Gonzales. They have dipped back into their established pipelines in New Mexico, Texas, and California, and nearly created a few more this class. While it is interesting none of their 10 signees from California were from city pipelines, they were able to keep things going in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and El Paso, which is a good sign.

San Diego State

State pipelines:

California

Nevada

Texas

Arizona

Hawaii

City pipelines:

Antioch, CA

Carlsbad, CA

Chula Vista, CA

Compton, CA

Corona, CA

Honolulu, HI

Las Vegas, NV

Los Angeles, CA

Norwalk, CA

Palm Springs, CA

Reno, NV

San Diego, CA

San Mateo, CA

Santa Ana, CA

Temecula, CA

Turlock, CA

The Aztecs understandably don’t have to leave the state much at all, instead choosing to recruit right in their own backyard for most of their recruits. Although they do seem to hit Nevada pretty well, almost as well as the two MWC schools in Nevada. San Diego State also dips into a few traditional Mountain West states (Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii) to fill out their class ranks.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 13 California, 3 Texas, 2 Hawaii.

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 1 Los Angeles, CA, 3 San Diego, CA, 1 San Mateo, CA,

Bottom Line: For another year, the Aztecs put together a great class and did so mainly by recruiting in their own backyard in southern California. They continue to fair well in LA and San Mateo, in addition to hometown San Diego. Also, SDSU continues to dip into Texas successfully, using them as their secondary state, and then going to Hawaii when needed. For the team to only need three states, it means they must be doing something right with their recruiting efforts in those states.

San Jose State

State pipelines:

California

Arizona

Texas

City pipelines:

Antioch, CA

Burbank, CA

East Palo Alto, CA

Elk Grove, CA

Fresno, CA

Gardena, CA

Hayward, CA

Los Angeles, CA

Malibu, CA

Milpitas, CA

Mission Viejo, CA

Mountain View, CA

Murrieta, CA

Oakland, CA

Sacramento, CA

Salinas, CA

San Jose, CA

Stockton, CA

Temecula, CA

The Spartans rarely leave California for their new talent, and quite frankly, they haven’t needed to. They are in a talent-rich area with the Bay and have committed to mining it for their players for years. They have been an under the radar good recruiting team in the conference, which becomes pretty easy when there is little need to leave their own backyard.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 11 California

City pipelines in the 2022 Class: 2 Bellflower, CA, 1 Fresno, CA

Bottom Line: The Spartans recruit California at a higher rate than anyone, with their roster made up almost exclusively of in-state players. That was the case again this year, with California being the only state that continued a pipeline, although they did branch out to a few different states. Looking at cities, San Jose State spread things out a bit this cycle, covering many different cities. As far as pipelines are considered, they ventured to a familiar one in Fresno and established a new one with Bellflower.

UNLV

State pipelines

California

Nevada

Texas

Arizona

Hawaii

Washington

Oregon

City pipelines:

Bakersfield, CA

Columbia, SC

Encino, CA

Grand Prairie, TX

Hawthorne, CA

Henderson, NV

Houston, TX

Inglewood, CA

Las Vegas, NV

Los Angeles, CA

Oxnard, CA

Portland, OR

San Francisco, CA

San Diego, CA

Scottsdale, AZ

Seattle, WA

Temecula, CA

Thousand Oaks, CA

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Rebels do the bulk of their recruiting in the state of California. They clean up in Nevada as well, leading the way among the schools which heavily recruit there. They feature the traditional recruiting beds of Texas, Arizona, and Hawaii and the minority of schools that can snag recruits from Pacific Northwest states like Oregon and Washington.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 6 California, 2 Texas, 1 Arizona, 1 Hawaii, 1 Nevada

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 2 Corona, CA, 1 Henderson, NV, Los Angeles, CA

Bottom Line: The Rebels mostly stuck to their usual recruiting states out west, adding to their pipelines in five states, including their homestate of Nevada. Although with only one local player signed, this class wasn’t their best effort. UNLV’s best work came in California and they added a new city pipeline in Corona this class which could be a sign of things to come. With the new coaching staff, it will be interesting to see how things change or stay the same when it comes to their recruiting efforts.

Utah State

State pipelines:

Utah

California

Texas

Florida

Oregon

Washington

Arizona

City pipelines:

Anaheim, CA

Houston, TX

Orem, UT

Portland, OR

Provo, UT

Salt Lake City, UT

Sandy, UT

Smithfield, UT

South Jordan, UT

As expected, the Aggies pick up most of their talent from in-state Utah, a fertile recruiting state. Along with every other MWC school, they find many California players, plus other standard states like Texas and Arizona. On the other hand, they are one of the few schools to glean from the Pacific Northwest (although they are closer than other schools) and, perhaps more surprising, have numerous Florida players.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 10 California, 9 Utah, 3 Texas, 1 Florida

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 2 Lehi, UT, 1 Sandy, UT, 1 Salt Lake City, UT

Bottom Line: The Aggies continue to recruit Utah better than anyone in the conference, and that was apparent in both their state and city rankings. Not only did they sign nine total players from their home state, but they also added a new city pipeline in Lehi. Overall, they kept to their traditional states of California and Texas, plus their continued work in Florida. With those existing footholds, they don’t need to branch out to other states as much as others might.

Wyoming

State pipelines:

California

Colorado

Texas

Wyoming

Nebraska

Illinois

Minnesota

Wisconsin

City pipelines:

Arvanda, CO

Aurora, CO

Buffalo, WY

Casper, WY

Colorado Springs, CO

Denver, CO

Fort Worth, TX

Houston, TX

Lancaster, TX

Laramie, WY

Loveland, CO

Oak Park, IL

Omaha, NE

Parker, CO

Sacramento, CA

Sheridan, WY

Torrington, WY

Windsor, CO

Wyoming has some of the most non-traditional pipeline states compared to the rest of the Mountain West, mainly due to Bohl’s time at North Dakota State. They are the only program to recruit the midwest with any regularity and do so pretty well. Surprisingly they still recruit the traditional MWC states, and the Cowboys recruit those pretty well too.

States pipelines in the 2023 Class: 8 Texas, 3 Colorado, 3 Illinois, 3 Wisconsin, 2 California

City pipelines in the 2023 Class: 1 Houston, TX

Bottom Line: The Cowboys often sign players in states their conference foes don’t recruit, and this year was similar. They added to their midwest pipelines, with three players each from both Illinois and Wisconsin. In somewhat of a surprise, they did not add from their home state of Wyoming this cycle. Wyoming also did lots of work in Texas, which showed up in both the state pipeline and the city pipeline, adding to Houston.

Conclusion:

Again, the number of pipelines a school has or even a specific state or city pipeline does not equal success in and of itself. Instead, this data gathering should be seen more as the foundation and approach each school takes in recruiting. Use this post as a reference when looking at a team’s recruiting class each season. Suppose a team compiles a class with fewer players from a state they typically recruit well in or signs several players from a state they usually don’t recruit in. In that case, it may point to a poor recruiting year or a newfound focus in a different area. Likewise, if a school lands a player from a city or area they have signed players in recent years, it could be due to the relationship they have built over the years.