Data: The Future of College Recruiting is being Built Now with GETHIGHLIGHTED

By Scott Garvis C.M.A.A. NHSACA Executive Director -Finance & Partnerships

Welcome to the new frontier, where speed, strength, agility, and science speak louder than speculation. The world of college athletics recruiting is undergoing a seismic shift—not one powered by highlight reels, hype videos, or handshake deals, but by cold, hard data.

In part three of the NHSACA series, host Scott Garvis sits down with two visionaries, Eric McCulley, founder and CEO of Get Highlighted, and Dr. Chase Pfeifer, founder and CEO of Dasher Systems. Together, they unpack how technology is transforming the recruiting ecosystem from a luck-of-the-draw grind into a level playing field where objective performance is the universal language.

“Why Is This So Complicated?”

That’s the question that sparked a movement.

After years of coaching elite club soccer and navigating countless conversations with frustrated parents, McCulley had seen the same thing again and again: talent lost in the shuffle. If a student-athlete didn’t have the right zip code, the right club team, or the money to travel to showcases, their recruiting journey often stalled before it even started.

So McCulley launched Get Highlighted, a digital platform designed to bridge that gap using data—not opinions—to match athletes with colleges.

“Your kid shouldn’t need a plane ticket to get seen,” McCulley says. “If they’ve got the potential, we want to make sure opportunity finds them.”

Building a Level Playing Field, Smarter System

To do that, Get Highlighted partnered with Dasher Systems, a company that develops affordable, cutting-edge timing technology for measuring athletic performance. Through their Athletic Performance Index (API)—a scientifically validated composite of speed, agility, power, and body composition—college coaches now get a snapshot of an athlete’s true capability, not just curated highlights.

“Performance testing brings honesty to the table,” says Pfeifer. “It gives athletes something to work toward, coaches something to evaluate, and parents a realistic picture of where their child fits.”

The API is the brainchild of Boyd Epley, a legendary strength coach from the University of Nebraska. Built on decades of athletic data, the system distills performance into a composite score—and it's revolutionizing how coaches across the country identify, train, and recruit talent.

The Turning Point: Data Over Dazzle

McCulley recounts a key conversation during Get Highlighted’s early development that underscored just how vital data had become.

“When we interviewed Coach Anson Dorrance—who’s won over 20 NCAA titles at UNC—he told us something incredible,” McCulley recalls. “He said, ‘Ten years ago, I’d go to a showcase and find one or two players who could play for me. Now I see 40 or 50.’ The difference? Training and specialization have closed the talent gap. Data is now what separates recruits.”

And that’s exactly what Get Highlighted delivers—a digital portfolio, verified by performance metrics, accessible to college coaches, and built for strategic matchmaking.

Why High School Coaches Matter More Than Ever

As the recruiting landscape grows more complex, another voice must step into a louder role: the high school coach.

“Too often, coaches assume the club system is handling recruiting,” says McCulley. “But the data shows 75% of high school athletes want to play at the next level. And most aren’t club-affiliated.”

With Get Highlighted, high school coaches can become active advocates—endorsing athlete profiles, validating performance metrics, and becoming trusted liaisons with college recruiters.

And that trust matters.

“College coaches have told me directly,” McCulley says, “‘If I hear from a club coach, I know they’re selling. If I hear from a high school coach or a mentor, I know I’m getting the truth.’ That’s powerful.”

The Power of Transparency

Perhaps the most radical feature of Get Highlighted is also its most simple: transparency.

Parents can see their child’s benchmarks. Coaches can compare metrics to national averages. Athletes can set tangible goals.

Garvis, a longtime coach and athletic director himself, knows the value of this firsthand.

“I started showing parents real data—like, here’s what a D1 linebacker looks like, here’s what a D1 soccer player’s times are,” Garvis says. “When they saw it, they got it. It wasn’t emotional anymore. It was educational.”

A Partnership Built for the Future

Dasher’s mission has always been to democratize performance data. Pfeifer built the company out of his garage, inspired by watching athletes with raw talent miss out because they lacked the right tools or coaching.

“When I was at Nebraska, we tested everyone,” Pfeifer recalls. “But I kept seeing athletes who moved well but hadn’t been taught technique. They were overlooked because they didn’t perform in a drill they’d never seen before.”

With over 15,000 timing systems in 167 countries, Dasher’s footprint is global—and growing. But through its partnership with Get Highlighted, the company is bringing those capabilities to every corner of American high school athletics, from rural towns to inner-city gyms.

What's Next? Predicting Potential

As data continues to accumulate, Get Highlighted and Dasher are aiming even higher.

“The future,” McCulley says, “is predictive analytics—helping college coaches not only assess where an athlete is today, but where they’re going.”

Already, college recruiters can search for athletes based on specific traits—speed, power, agility—and even by position. Soon, they’ll be able to predict growth trajectories, identify developmental gaps, and tailor training accordingly.

“That means more informed decisions, better team fit, and greater athlete success,” says Pfeifer. “It’s not just about getting to the next level—it’s about thriving there.”

A Call to Coaches: Test, Track, Transform

Both McCulley and Pfeifer have a message for high school coaches: start testing.

“If you’re not collecting performance data, you’re coaching blind,” Pfeifer says. “You can’t individualize programs. You can’t track progress. And you can’t have the conversations that matter.”

And McCulley agrees.

“This isn’t about labeling kids. It’s about empowering them. It’s about showing them where they are—and where they can go.”

Final Whistle: The Recruiting Game Is Changing—Fast

In an era of highlight reels, hype, and NIL deals, Get Highlighted and Dasher Systems offer something far more powerful: clarity.

By grounding recruiting in data—not just dreams—these platforms are giving athletes of every background a fighting chance, leveling the field, and restoring trust to a process that’s too often opaque.

So whether you’re a coach, a parent, or a student-athlete with a fire in your chest and a future in your legs—know this: The numbers don’t lie.

And with the right tools, they can tell a story of greatness.