Where college athletes actually come from

We read 249,510 players off 2025-26 college roster pages across 22 sports and counted the home town listed next to each name. Pick your sport to see which states those players came from — and how many came from outside the U.S.

Out of 249,510 players counted. From official athletics roster pages, read August 4, 2026.

10,330 of those players (4.1%) had no home state we could read. We show them on every chart rather than quietly dropping them.

Sports where the numbers say something

These sports have a finding that survives the count: either a home state that is clearly ahead of the next one, or a large share of players from outside the U.S.

• FootballTexas sends more players to college football than any other state: 9.7% of 2025-26 players, clear of Pennsylvania at 5.8%.42,663 players · 410 schools
• BaseballCalifornia sends more players to college baseball than any other state: 8.6% of 2025-26 players, clear of New York at 7.3%.23,567 players · 596 schools
• Women's SoccerCalifornia sends more players to college women's soccer than any other state: 9.5% of 2025-26 players, clear of New York at 7%.18,269 players · 671 schools
• SoftballCalifornia sends more players to college softball than any other state: 11.7% of 2025-26 players, clear of Texas at 7.2%.15,835 players · 756 schools
• Women's VolleyballTexas sends more players to college women's volleyball than any other state: 9.6% of 2025-26 players, clear of California at 7%.14,093 players · 823 schools
• Men's Soccer19.5% of 2025-26 college men's soccer players came from outside the U.S. — United Kingdom, Spain and Germany lead the way.13,577 players · 445 schools
• Women's Lacrosse38.5% of 2025-26 college women's lacrosse players came from just three states: New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.11,068 players · 416 schools
• Men's BasketballNew York sends more players to college men's basketball than any other state: 7.4% of 2025-26 players, clear of Pennsylvania at 5.9%.11,050 players · 702 schools
• Men's Lacrosse36.7% of 2025-26 college men's lacrosse players came from just three states: New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.7,729 players · 183 schools
• Women's Tennis26.2% of 2025-26 college women's tennis players came from outside the U.S. — Spain, Germany and France lead the way.5,122 players · 556 schools
• Men's Tennis34.5% of 2025-26 college men's tennis players came from outside the U.S. — Spain, France and Germany lead the way.4,813 players · 473 schools
• Men's Golf15.3% of 2025-26 college men's golf players came from outside the U.S. — United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden lead the way.4,522 players · 447 schools
• Field Hockey41.4% of 2025-26 college field hockey players came from just three states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.4,201 players · 191 schools
• Women's Golf15.2% of 2025-26 college women's golf players came from outside the U.S. — Canada, Spain and United Kingdom lead the way.3,178 players · 407 schools
• Men's Wrestling30.7% of 2025-26 college men's wrestling players came from just three states: Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio.1,091 players · 36 schools

Sports where no state leads

In these sports the top states sit within about a percentage point of each other, so naming a #1 would be inventing one. The pages show the counts without a ranking.

• Men's Track & FieldNo state leads college men's track & field: Pennsylvania, New York and California are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.635 schools · 25,393 players
• Women's Track & FieldNo state leads college women's track & field: Pennsylvania, New York and California are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.674 schools · 24,298 players
• Women's BasketballNo state leads college women's basketball: Pennsylvania and New York are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.828 schools · 11,604 players
• Women's Swimming & DivingNo state leads college women's swimming & diving: California, Pennsylvania and New York are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.109 schools · 2,867 players
• Men's VolleyballNo state leads college men's volleyball: California, Illinois and New York are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.146 schools · 2,504 players
• Men's Swimming & DivingNo state leads college men's swimming & diving: California and Pennsylvania are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.62 schools · 1,594 players
• Women's WrestlingNo state leads college women's wrestling: Illinois and New Jersey are effectively level at the top, and we won't rank them.23 schools · 472 players

How to read the coverage line: we say how many schools we have rosters from. We don't turn that into a percentage, because there is no authoritative public count of how many college programs exist in each sport. Season 2025-26. Read August 4, 2026.