Roster Spot
A roster spot is an officially-rostered place on a college swim team. NCAA D1 teams typically carry 25-30 swimmers per gender; D2 teams 18-25; D3 teams 20-30. Walk-on opportunities depend on how many spots a coach has open after returning swimmers and recruits are accounted for.
Roster spots are not infinite. Coaches plan years in advance: a team graduating 7 seniors typically has 7 incoming spots, sometimes more if there are transfer departures. Once those are filled with scholarship recruits, walk-on availability drops sharply.
Asking a coach early "how many spots are open in my class?" is one of the highest-information questions a recruit can ask. The answer reveals whether you're competing for a real opportunity or hoping for one to open up.
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