Where Washington's college football players come from

More of Washington's elite college football players have hailed from California than Washington in recent years, an Axios analysis finds.

What's happening: About 39.5% of football players at the University of Washington and Washington State University came from California between 2009 and 2022, according to recruiting data.

• That's slightly higher than the 35.7% of players at UW and WSU who hailed from Washington in those years.

Why it matters: College football programs nationwide are increasingly recruiting from out of state, as the growing professionalization and commercialization of college athletics reshapes the recruiting landscape.

Zoom out: Washington's share of homegrown recruits is higher than in many places.

• Only 24% of players from Indiana's top football programs came from in-state over the period analyzed, for instance.
• Meanwhile, Massachusetts had the lowest share of football players hailing from in-state, at just 20%.