How many Tennessee high school football players are currently on NAIA rosters?

Right now, 223 Tennessee kids play NAIA football, spread across 20 programs and sourced from 162 Tennessee high schools. Counts come from current 2025 rosters.

Which NAIA programs recruit the most from Tennessee?

Cumberland (TN) leads with 90 Tennessee players on the current roster, followed by Lindsey Wilson (50) and University of the Cumberlands (27). The top three are listed above with the head coach for each program when verified. A free account opens the rest of the top ten.

Which Tennessee high schools send the most players to NAIA football?

Dekalb County HS sits at the top with 5 current NAIA football players, followed by Germantown HS (4), Greenbrier HS (4), Sevier County HS (4), Beech High School (3). The full top 25 is on the page above.

Is NAIA football a realistic path for a Tennessee high school player?

Yes. With 223 Tennessee kids currently on NAIA rosters across 20 programs, the path is busy and well worn. Scholarships at NAIA are partial in football, so families plan around stacking academic aid on top of athletic aid.

How does RawRecruit count Tennessee to NAIA pipeline numbers?

We pull current 2025 NAIA football rosters from public school athletics sites and count any player whose listed home state is Tennessee. Coach names show up only when verified inside our 35-day freshness window.

What does my kid actually do with this list of high schools and programs?

The list is the input. The seven-step playbook is the action. Profile your kid's real numbers, build a target list off the programs above, send the email coaches actually read, and run the visit on full information. The full playbook lives at /guides/football/diy-recruiting and was written by Kevin from the same road he walked his brother Kyle through.

We are not in Tennessee. Does the same playbook still apply for our state?

Yes. The seven-step playbook is sport-specific, not state-specific. The cohort and program list above are the Tennessee cut; the work a kid and parent do to reach NAIA coaches is the same in every state. State pipeline pages for the rest of the country roll out next.

What happens when a coach leaves a NAIA program mid-cycle?

Coach names on this page only show up when our pipeline has verified them inside the last 35 days. When a head coach leaves, the slot reads as a transition note instead of a stale name; the program count and player numbers stay intact because those come from the roster, not the staff page. The list refreshes monthly.

Why is RawRecruit giving away the rosters and coach contacts for free?

Because the data is the easy part. The hard part is keeping a school list current, filtering programs by your kid's real fit, and tracking coach records as staffs turn over every cycle. The free profile saves the work; the paid tiers exist for families who want deeper fit analytics. The free profile is enough for most.

The Pipeline · Tennessee

Tennessee Football Players at NAIA Programs

223 Tennessee kids are on NAIA football rosters right now. The high schools feeding them, the programs recruiting them, and the seven-step playbook to put your kid on next year's list.

Save your Tennessee-to-NAIA shortlist as you read→

223

Tennessee Athletes On NAIA Rosters

NAIA Programs Recruiting Tennessee

162

Tennessee High Schools Feeding NAIA

How many Tennessee high school football players actually land on NAIA college rosters? Real numbers, not guesses. Right now, 223 Tennessee kids play NAIA football across 20 programs, coming out of 162 Tennessee high schools. Kyle Monangai went from Don Bosco Prep, overlooked by Power-4 programs, to Rutgers Big Ten captain to the 2025 Chicago Bears. His older brother Kevin walked the same kind of road first, Villanova to the Eagles and Vikings as a player, then the Giants as a coach. Kevin coached his own brother through that road; that is why we built RawRecruit. These counts come from current 2025 NAIA football rosters. Below: the Tennessee high schools sending the most kids, the NAIA programs recruiting hardest here, the methodology, and the questions parents ask us most.

“The families who aren't getting Power-4 offers. The kids and parents nobody is calling first, who still want their kid on a roster like the ones above.

Kevin Monangai, Founder, RawRecruit

Former NFL running back (Eagles, Vikings)

Former NFL coach (Giants)

The Feeders

Top Tennessee High Schools Feeding NAIA Football

01Dekalb County HS
5Players
02Germantown HS
4Players
03Greenbrier HS
4Players
04Sevier County HS
4Players
05Beech High School
3Players

06Blackman HS
3Players
07Brighton HS
3Players
08Columbia Central HS
3Players
09Davidson Academy
3Players
10East Hamilton HS
3Players
11Green Hill HS
3Players
12Lebanon HS
3Players
13Riverdale HS
3Players
14Trousdale County HS
3Players
15Walker Valley HS
3Players
16Anderson County HS
2Players
17Beech HS
2Players
18Bradley Central HS
2Players
19Carson-Newman
2Players
20Cordova Hs
2Players
21East Tennessee State University
2Players
22Farragut HS
2Players
23Greeneville HS
2Players
24Grundy County HS
2Players
25Halls HS
2Players

Free Account · Ranks 6 To 25

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The Destinations

Top NAIA Programs Recruiting Tennessee Football

Cumberland (TN)

Tennessee Players

Tim Mathis

Head Coach

Verified Oct 15, 2026

Lindsey Wilson

Tennessee Players

Daniel Cotter

Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator

Verified Oct 15, 2026

University of the Cumberlands

Tennessee Players

Shan Housekeeper

Head Coach

Verified Oct 3, 2026

Free Account · Ranks 4 To 10

See programs 4 through 10

A free account opens the full top ten plus the verified head coach for each one.

See All 10 Programs

Save this list before you close the tab.

A free RawRecruit profile keeps your Tennessee-to-NAIA shortlist and tracks coach turnover across the cycle. 90 seconds. No credit card.

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Real Outcome

One Brother, The Same Road

The 223 number above is not theoretical. Kevin's younger brother Kyle ran the same road out of Tennessee, walked into Rutgers, captained a Big Ten roster, and got drafted in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

01
Don Bosco Prep
Overlooked by Power-4
02
Rutgers
Big Ten captain
03
2025 NFL Draft
Round 7, Pick #233
04
Chicago Bears
Active roster

The Methodology

How We Count

Numbers come from publicly available 2025 NAIA football rosters. We count any current player whose listed home state is Tennessee, school by school, season by season. The decision a family makes here is too big to plan around guesses, so we put the rosters in front of you.

The Conversation

Parents Ask Us

How many Tennessee high school football players are currently on NAIA rosters?: Right now, 223 Tennessee kids play NAIA football, spread across 20 programs and sourced from 162 Tennessee high schools. Counts come from current 2025 rosters.
Which NAIA programs recruit the most from Tennessee?: Cumberland (TN) leads with 90 Tennessee players on the current roster, followed by Lindsey Wilson (50) and University of the Cumberlands (27). The top three are listed above with the head coach for each program when verified. A free account opens the rest of the top ten.
Which Tennessee high schools send the most players to NAIA football?: Dekalb County HS sits at the top with 5 current NAIA football players, followed by Germantown HS (4), Greenbrier HS (4), Sevier County HS (4), Beech High School (3). The full top 25 is on the page above.
Is NAIA football a realistic path for a Tennessee high school player?: Yes. With 223 Tennessee kids currently on NAIA rosters across 20 programs, the path is busy and well worn. Scholarships at NAIA are partial in football, so families plan around stacking academic aid on top of athletic aid.
How does RawRecruit count Tennessee to NAIA pipeline numbers?: We pull current 2025 NAIA football rosters from public school athletics sites and count any player whose listed home state is Tennessee. Coach names show up only when verified inside our 35-day freshness window.
What does my kid actually do with this list of high schools and programs?: The list is the input. The seven-step playbook is the action. Profile your kid's real numbers, build a target list off the programs above, send the email coaches actually read, and run the visit on full information. The full playbook lives at /guides/football/diy-recruiting and was written by Kevin from the same road he walked his brother Kyle through.
We are not in Tennessee. Does the same playbook still apply for our state?: Yes. The seven-step playbook is sport-specific, not state-specific. The cohort and program list above are the Tennessee cut; the work a kid and parent do to reach NAIA coaches is the same in every state. State pipeline pages for the rest of the country roll out next.
What happens when a coach leaves a NAIA program mid-cycle?: Coach names on this page only show up when our pipeline has verified them inside the last 35 days. When a head coach leaves, the slot reads as a transition note instead of a stale name; the program count and player numbers stay intact because those come from the roster, not the staff page. The list refreshes monthly.
Why is RawRecruit giving away the rosters and coach contacts for free?: Because the data is the easy part. The hard part is keeping a school list current, filtering programs by your kid's real fit, and tracking coach records as staffs turn over every cycle. The free profile saves the work; the paid tiers exist for families who want deeper fit analytics. The free profile is enough for most.

For The Athlete Reading This

223 kids from your state already locked in a NAIA spot. Names. Schools. Real rosters. You think you can't be one of them?

Prove it. Build your profile. Pick the schools. Make the call.

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What The Free Profile Adds

The List On Autopilot

The data above is free to read. The free profile keeps the work organized so you do not start from scratch every Tuesday.

ManualKeep a spreadsheet of Tennessee-to-NAIA programs.
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With Free ProfileSave the list across sessions, no spreadsheet to maintain.
ManualRe-Google staff pages every month.
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With Free Profile20 NAIA head coach records, refreshed every month.
ManualGuess at which programs need your kid's position.
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With Free ProfileFilter 20 programs and 162 feeder high schools by position, division, and region.

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Page Data Refreshed Oct 27, 2026

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Tennessee Football Players at NAIA Programs

Top Tennessee High Schools Feeding NAIA Football

Top NAIA Programs Recruiting Tennessee Football

Cumberland (TN)

Lindsey Wilson

University of the Cumberlands

Campbellsville

Midway University

University of Pikeville

Bluefield

Bethel (KS)

MidAmerica Nazarene

Indiana Wesleyan

One Brother, The Same Road

How We Count

Parents Ask Us

The List On Autopilot