Last October, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to athletes due to the pandemic, but that is having a negative effect on high school seniors looking to play sports at the next level.Maranacook High School senior Cash McClure is one of the best boys basketball players in the state of Maine. Typically, colleges would be knocking down his door with scholarship offers.“Some of those college players can stay an extra year now. They have an extra year of eligibility, so these colleges aren’t recruiting as much, especially central Maine kids,” McClure said.McClure has decided to play a post-graduate season to see if that opens more collegiate options.Brunswick High School soccer standout Lane Foushee said he is not ruling out any options.“It can be frustrating, definitely, seeing other people get scholarships or be recruited, and I’m still stuck in the same boat," Foushee said.The logjam of athletes has left college coaches wondering how it will shake out.“These freshmen are going to be freshmen again next year. That means we have 10 freshmen on the team? Then it spirals. The incoming kids, the 21s the 22s, 20 kids on the basketball team is a lot of kids to have,” University of Maine women’s basketball coach Amy Vachon said.Bridgton Academy, which is mostly a post-graduate program, is feeling the bottleneck on both sides.The school has players seeking athletic scholarships in college, while also drawing interest from high school students.Athletic director and baseball coach Aaron Izaryk said applications are up 200%, and enrollment is up 100%.He said he is telling his players to ignore the level of play and focus on choosing the right college.“There’s Division I players, quote-unquote, here on campus who are not getting Division One options, and so, Division II and III athletics are going to become really strong for a few years. Because baseball-wise, I’ve got a couple guys that are Division I players that didn’t get the opportunities, not because they weren’t good enough, just because they weren’t there,” Izaryk said.Bridgton Academy soccer coach Jim Hopkins plans to expand his roster next year to accommodate the demand from the class of 2021 to do a post-graduate year.He said for those hoping to play in college, patience might pay off because college coaches are not sure who will be on their roster next year.“They are waiting for their seniors to make that decision, and they have that right to have that decision and not be pushed to make that decision. So, if it comes to May and they graduate, and they say they want to stick around another year, and if they don’t, then there might be a couple spots late for these guys, and I think some of our guys are holding out for that as well,” Hopkins said.The eligibility extension for college athletes is impacting this year’s high school seniors, but it will affect high school athletes for the next few years.“Basically, my freshman, are in terms of eligibility, are high school seniors right now. So this going to have an impact all the way through eighth-graders in terms of eligibility and roster spots that are going to be available to kids. It’s huge and long-lasting,” University of Maine Men’s basketball coach Richard Baron said.The past year has been a lesson in dealing with adversity for high school seniors, and players like Foushee will count on that experience moving forward. “It definitely gets frustrating, but at the same time, I think that something will arise, some scenario, and I think I will have an opportunity to play in college, whether that be 2021 or 2022, I don’t know,” Foushee said.