Men’s ice hockey is the easiest major sport to go pro in, based on NCAA data: about 7.5% of draft-eligible college players get drafted into the NHL, the highest rate of any sport NCAA tracks. But “easiest” does not mean easy. Even at the top of this list, more than 9 in 10 draft-eligible college players are never drafted, and being drafted is not the same as making a pro roster. In this guide, “go pro” means being drafted by a major US pro league, and we compare sports by competition, pathway, age rules, and what new pros actually earn.
Going pro is also different from learning a sport. If you just want a sport you can pick up quickly, see our list of the easiest sports to learn.
Key Takeaways
- Men’s ice hockey has the highest draft rate of any sport NCAA tracks, at 7.5%. Even so, most college players never get drafted.
- Our ranking uses NCAA’s “Major Pro” figure, which measures who gets drafted, not who makes it to the league.
- Basketball looks very different if you count the G League and overseas leagues: 21.8% of men’s college players go pro somewhere, compared with 1.0% drafted into the NBA.
- Draft age rules vary widely. Baseball and hockey can draft teenagers, while football makes players wait three years after high school.
- Most new pros in baseball and hockey start in the minor leagues, where pay is a small fraction of major league salaries.
How We Ranked “Easiest”
Our ranking is based on one number: the share of NCAA athletes in each sport who get drafted by a major US pro league, from NCAA’s 2025 draft data. NCAA calls this “Major Pro.” It is the only figure NCAA publishes for every sport in its table, so it is the only fair way to rank them against each other.
We then looked at three other factors that shape how open a pathway really is:
- Competition: how many players chase how many draft spots
- Pathway: whether players can go pro without college, through juniors, minor leagues, or overseas
- Age rules: how early or late a player can enter the draft
Where we could not find a reliable figure, we say so instead of guessing.
The Easiest Sports to Go Pro In
| Rank | Sport | Drafted from NCAA (2025 drafts) | Pro league | Draft age rule | 2026 league minimum salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men’s ice hockey | 7.5% | NHL | Ages 18-20 (North America) | $850,000 (2026-27) |
| 2 | Women’s ice hockey | 6.3% | PWHL | Players declare for the PWHL Draft | Varies |
| 3 | Baseball | 4.9% | MLB | Can be drafted out of high school | $780,000 (MLB); minor league pay far lower |
| 4 | Football | 1.4% | NFL | 3 years after high school | $885,000 (rookie) |
| 5 | Men’s basketball | 1.0% | NBA | Age 19 in draft year | $1.35 million (rookie, 2026-27) |
| 6 | Women’s basketball | 0.8% | WNBA | Age 22 in draft year for US players (20 for international players) | Varies |
| 7 | Men’s lacrosse | 0.8% | PLL | College draft | $25,000 |
Draft percentages: NCAA, Probability of Competing Beyond High School (2025 drafts; 2024 for basketball). Percentages are based on draft-eligible NCAA players. Salaries are league minimums, not typical pay.
1. Men’s Ice Hockey (7.5%)
Hockey tops the list, but with a catch. The NHL usually drafts players at 18, often from junior leagues before they ever reach college. NCAA’s 7.5% only counts the college route, so the full hockey pathway is wider than this number shows.
Being drafted is also just the first step. According to NCAA’s March 2026 update, only five of the 224 players picked in the 2025 NHL draft had played an NHL game during the 2025-26 season at that point.
2. Women’s Ice Hockey (6.3%)
Women’s hockey has a small player pool and a growing pro league, the PWHL. In 2025, 43 of the league’s 48 draft picks came from NCAA programs. It is also the easiest sport to reach college in: NCAA estimates that 32.1% of high school girls’ hockey players go on to play at an NCAA school, the highest rate of any sport.
3. Baseball (4.9%)
Baseball drafts more players than any other league, with 615 picks in 2025. But most draftees start in the minor leagues, and NCAA warns that many never reach the majors. Baseball also lets teams draft players straight out of high school, so college is only one of several routes.
4. Football (1.4%)
Football has a huge player pool, with more than 83,000 NCAA players and only 257 draft picks in 2025. The odds depend heavily on where you play: NCAA estimates that 5.7% of draft-eligible FBS players were drafted, compared with just 0.2% from FCS schools.
5. Men’s Basketball (1.0%)
Only 43 of 58 NBA draft picks in 2024 went to NCAA players. But basketball has far more pro jobs outside the NBA than any other sport on this list, which is why its “total pro” number is so different (see below).
6. Women’s Basketball (0.8%)
The WNBA drafted 30 NCAA players in 2024, all from Division I. Like the men’s game, many more players go on to play overseas.
7. Men’s Lacrosse (0.8%)
The Premier Lacrosse League drafted 31 NCAA players in 2025. Pro lacrosse is a much smaller business than the other sports here, with a league minimum of $25,000, so even players who make it often keep other jobs.
Major Pro vs Total Pro: Why Basketball’s Number Jumps
Basketball is the only sport where NCAA also tracks pro jobs outside the main league, including the G League and overseas leagues. Counting those jobs changes the picture completely:
| Drafted into NBA/WNBA | Played pro anywhere (Total Pro) | |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s basketball | 1.0% | 21.8% |
| Women’s basketball | 0.8% | 9.1% |
Source: NCAA (2024 draft cohort).
So if your goal is to get paid to play basketball anywhere in the world, the odds are much better than the NBA number suggests. We did not use these figures in the main ranking, because NCAA does not publish a total pro figure for any other sport, and comparing one sport’s total pro number to another’s draft number would not be fair.
Sports With No NCAA Number: Soccer, Golf, and Tennis
You might expect soccer, golf, or tennis on this list. NCAA does not include them in its pro table, so there is no comparable percentage for them.
- Soccer: NCAA leaves out men’s soccer because players can go pro through many routes besides a draft, including MLS, the USL, and leagues overseas. Many top American players skip college entirely and come up through club academies.
- Golf and tennis: There is no draft at all. Players turn pro by entering events and earning their way onto tours through qualifying.
In individual sports, “going pro” and earning a living are two very different things. A player can turn pro and still spend more on travel, coaching, and entry fees than they win. Reliable figures for what share of these players break even are hard to find, so we have not included one.
What Makes a Sport Hard to Go Pro In?
The hardest sports to go pro in sit at the opposite end of the same factors: a huge player pool, very few pro spots, a single narrow pathway, and strict age rules. Football is a good example among traditional sports, with tens of thousands of college players competing for about 257 draft picks a year.
Esports has its own version of this problem, where millions of players chase a few hundred pro spots. If you are weighing a gaming career, see our ranking of the hardest esports games.
College vs Direct Pathways
In football and basketball, college is the main road to the pros, because league age rules keep players out of the draft for at least a year or more after high school. College can also help pay for school while you develop. To see how athletic scholarships work below Division I, read our guide to D2 and D3 athletic scholarships.
In baseball and hockey, college is just one option. Baseball teams can draft high school players straight into the minors, and hockey players often go through junior leagues instead of college.
Age Matters: When Is It Too Late?
Each league sets its own draft age rules:
- NHL: North American players are draft-eligible from 18 to 20.
- MLB: Players can be drafted right out of high school.
- NBA: Players must be at least 19 during the year of the draft.
- NFL: Players must be three years out of high school.
- WNBA: US players must be at least 22 in the draft year, while international players must be at least 20.
These rules shape when you need to be ready. Hockey has the tightest window, while football gives players more time to develop in college first.
What Do Early Pros Actually Earn?
League minimums sound huge, but they only apply to players on a major league roster. Here are the 2026 minimums:
- NBA: $1.35 million for rookies (2026-27)
- NFL: $885,000 for rookies
- NHL: $850,000 (2026-27)
- MLB: $780,000
- PLL: $25,000
The reality is very different for most new pros in baseball and hockey, who start in the minors. In baseball, minor league base pay ranges from about $20,000 a season in the lowest levels to about $36,600 at Triple-A. Players on a team’s 40-man roster earn more, with a 2026 minimum of $63,600 in the minors for a first major league contract. Baseball’s current labor deal expires on December 1, 2026, so these figures could change.
How We Compared
Our main source is NCAA’s Probability of Competing Beyond High School report, which uses 2025 draft data for most sports and 2024 data for basketball. League salary figures come from published collective bargaining agreement terms, as reported by Baseball America, PuckPedia, National Football Post, Inside Lacrosse, and other reputable outlets. Draft age rules come from league rules as reported by major news outlets. Where we could not find a reliable figure, we marked it as varying instead of estimating.
Conclusion
Men’s ice hockey is the easiest sport to go pro in by NCAA’s draft data, but even there, about 92.5% of draft-eligible college players are never drafted. If you are serious about going pro, choose a sport whose pathway fits your age and situation, learn exactly how players reach the pros in that sport, and compare real offers instead of highlight reels.
FAQ
What is the easiest sport to go pro in?
Men’s ice hockey, based on NCAA data. About 7.5% of draft-eligible college hockey players are drafted into the NHL, the highest rate of any sport NCAA tracks. Women’s ice hockey (6.3%) and baseball (4.9%) come next. Even so, most college players in these sports are never drafted.
What does “go pro” mean in this ranking?
It means being drafted by a major US pro league, such as the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA, PWHL, or PLL. It does not mean playing in that league. Many drafted players, especially in baseball and hockey, spend years in the minors and never reach the top level.
Do you need college to go pro?
It depends on the sport. Football and basketball players usually go through college because of league age rules. Baseball players can be drafted straight out of high school, and hockey players often come through junior leagues. College still helps many athletes develop while earning a degree.
What age is too late to go pro?
Each league sets its own rules. NHL teams draft North American players between 18 and 20, while MLB can draft players right out of high school. The NBA requires players to be at least 19 in the draft year, and the NFL requires three years out of high school.
How much do new pros earn?
On a major league roster, a lot: 2026 minimums range from $780,000 in MLB to $1.35 million for NBA rookies. But most new baseball and hockey pros start in the minors. Minor league baseball base pay runs from about $20,000 to $36,600 per season.
Why is soccer not in the NCAA table?
NCAA leaves out men’s soccer because players can go pro through many routes besides a draft, including MLS, the USL, and leagues overseas. Many top American players also skip college and develop in club academies, so a single draft percentage would not show the real picture.
Sources
- NCAA, Probability of Competing Beyond High School
- Baseball America, Details From the 2022-2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement
- Front Office Sports, How Much Do Minor League Baseball Players Make?
- MLB Players Association, FAQ
- PuckPedia, The NHL’s New Minimum Salary
- Bleacher Report, 2026-27 NBA Salary Cap and Minimums
- USA Today, NBA Draft Eligibility Requirements
- Sportico, The Legality of Age Restrictions in Pro Sports
- National Football Post, NFL Rookie Contracts and the Fifth-Year Option (2026)
- Inside Lacrosse, PLL Gives Coaches Say Over Player Compensation, Free Agency Coming
