According to the NCAA, there are over 550,000 college athletes competing across Division I, II, and III sports today. With so many student-athletes balancing academics, practices, travel, and competition, dorm life looks a little different for them than it does for a general student.
As a mom of a college baseball player, I can confidently say this: food is the top priority. Dining halls close long before students finish their day, schedules are unpredictable, and workouts often don’t align with meal times.
Beyond meals and snacks, there are also key items that make everyday dorm life easier, cleaner and more comfortable for student athletes. The recommendations below are based on personal experience and years of crowd-sourced advice from parents inside our Dorm Recommendations Facebook group.
To make the list easier to navigate, the recommendations are organized into these categories:
Honestly, a mini-fridge is essential for most college students, not just athletes. Some schools provide mini-fridges in each room and some only permit you to rent one through their approved vendor. For the schools that allow you to bring your own mini-fridge, look into the following potential requirements:
If you can bring your own mini-fridge, you’ll want a 2-door mini-fridge with a separate freezer. These are some of our favorites with great reviews from The Dorm Guide community year after year.
Note that most mini-fridges have about the same footprint, so if you are allowed to have a larger fridge, it won’t take up more floor space in the room – it will simply be a bit taller than smaller cubic foot models.
Maximizing vertical storage is key, especially for the extra food and supplies student athletes need. A rack for over the dorm mini fridge to store snacks, drinks, plates and water bottles is a great way to use otherwise unusable space.
Dorms tend to be damp and prone to pests. Keep snacks, even individually wrapped granola/protein bars, chips, crackers, cereal, oatmeal in airtight food storage like these with the lids interchangeable to any size. This is a larger set than you probably need, but it consistently offers a great price, and you can keep some at home or split them between multiple kids in college.
I like microwave cookers from Sistema for BPA-Free, microwave-safe cooking. Made in New Zealand.
For items not going inside a container, these microwave splatter guards are a must-have for keeping the microwave somewhat clean. The medium is a good size.
Oatmeal, protein or cereal bars, yogurt, frozen egg bites, frozen egg sandwiches – if you haven’t perfected some easy ideas at home, be sure to do that before leaving for college.
Along with water bottles or filtered water pitchers, electrolyte packets are helpful on particularly sweaty days.
If they’re into protein shakes, the Ninja Fit personal blender is our top choice. Always compare blenders by the power wattage, and don’t be lured by lower-priced portable models because of price. They are typically not powerful enough to blend well.
Alternatively, use a blender shaker cup like this one that doesn’t have the hard-to-clean whisk ball. This Helimix has been a favorite for years and was recently acquired by Yeti.
If the student is a coffee-drinker with no time for a trip to the dining hall before morning practice, workouts or class, a coffee maker can make a BIG difference. Be sure coffee makers are allowed in the dorm, and if going with a Keurig, opt for this small-footprint model with a water chamber so it doesn’t have to be refilled for every brew.
Ice does double-duty for student athletes in terms of keeping those many drinks cold as well as icing injuries and soreness.
The athlete might have access to free ice somewhere on campus, but please note that many dining halls treat an entry for a cup of ice as a ‘swipe’, so if you are limited on swipes or far from a dining hall, a countertop ice maker is a popular solution. Be sure to work with your student to learn to clean it before they head to school.
Another recommendation I’d make for any college student, but especially for student athletes. The waste adds up quickly – food packaging, food containers, protein shakes, pre-workout foods and beverages, late night snacks, water bottles, school supplies. I promise you that students will not take the trash out regularly, and it will build up quickly.
I recommend a kitchen-sized trash can with a lid. The best option is a slim container that opens on the short end versus the long side. This allows the trash can to slide into a small space more easily.
Pay special attention to the size listed when viewing trash cans online – they are inconsistently listed in either liters or gallons. Look for at least 45L or 11 gallons – some 12L bathroom-sized trash cans look huge in photos, but they are small, bathroom-sized trash cans. Send lots of kitchen-sized trash bags, too.
Student athletes should always consult the athletic trainer or team physician before taking any medication, including everyday over-the-counter medications.
Athletes may want to have their own Ibuprofen, muscle cream, wraps, band-aids, athlete’s foot spray – the things they typically use or occasionally need at home. See our guide to creating first-aid kits for college students, with ideas for what to put inside and the containers to use (not specific to athletes).
Love these reusable hot/cold packs – keep one in the freezer and the other ready for the microwave. The included straps help keep the pack in place.
Your program may have recovery sleeves available for use, but it can also be helpful to have one stashed in the freezer in your room when needed.
Theragun massage devices have been coming down in price in recent years, and I also like this brand if you don’t want to splurge on Theragun.
Hopefully, the school’s trainers are well-stocked in KT Tape if needed, but if the student is away from the team or between seasons, it is a good idea to keep their own KT Tape on hand.
Important for everyone heading to a dorm, but especially for those who may shower multiple times per day. Towels have a really hard time drying in dorms with little space to hang dry, a damp environment, and little airflow. We love the Total Fresh Antimicrobial towels with the hanging loops, or these Kohl’s quick dry towels. Our quick-dry towel test for dorm life guide explains more!
For students who shower multiple times per day, consider microfiber bath towels.
Boot trays are simple $5 saviors that are perfect for wet, muddy shoes, cleats, swim bags or other gear. They’re also a great place to put wet shower caddies, umbrellas and backpacks.
Use a shoe refresher spray, hanging odor absorbers, or shoe inserts. Or all three if need be!
Parents of student athletes have consistently recommended shoe dryers. A shoe dryer can be used for sneakers or cleats, and it is the best invention to dry the inside of wet, sweaty shoes.
This is our recommended shoe dryer for college as it is UL-Listed which is frequently a dorm requirement for anything plugged in.
For wet, sweaty clothes that you don’t want to drop right into your laundry hamper, use a coat rack to make use of vertical space and air-dry them. This one has about a 20” diameter and can hopefully tuck into a dorm room.
A bungee drying cord with clips can also help if there is room to hang a cord in the room.
For either of these solutions, if the clothes will be dripping wet, be sure to place a microfiber towel below to catch the drips.
A spray bottle of Oxi Clean, Tide Pens, or both can help keep practice clothes clean and remove sweat or other stains. For additional odor control, sprinkle a little baking soda in the washing machine with the clothes.
While some schools may provide luggage for team travel, many do not. A sturdy but inexpensive bag is the best bet. Don’t overspend on designer luggage that will be tossed around and handled by many over the years. A simple 4-wheel spinner Samsonite or TravelPro carry-on will do the trick and hold up under duress.
My son LOVES this suitcase backpack instead of carrying a duffel bag. It opens like a suitcase but can be carried as a backpack, and you can’t beat the price. It has a trolley sleeve so it can slide over suitcase handles for longer trips, too.
For the ladies, the backpack bag above comes in lots of colors, or I also love this versatile duffle bag that holds a ton. It currently comes in about 20 patterns, from stripes to leopard to adorable bows!
Give your athlete a travel bag with smaller sizes of all their toiletries and primary first aid items. That small bag will be used only on the road, so there’s no need to remember to pack items from their everyday supplies. For those traveling by plane, these sturdy, clear TSA bags are a better option than using a quart-sized baggie.
Don’t forget supplies for contact lenses and a small container for pain relievers, antacids, and Band-Aids.
For long bus rides or airplane trips, a travel neck pillow can be the difference between a few hours of decent sleep or a nap interrupted by head-bobbing every 5 minutes!
Portable chargers are measured in mAh. 5000mAh will charge a typical phone once, leaving a little bit leftover. 10,000mAh will charge a phone 2-3 times, and 20,000mAh will charge a tablet or even a laptop, along with a phone. The more mAh, the larger/heavier the charger will be, but they are small.
I love the chargers with a digital battery life indicator so the student will know when it needs to be recharged. Long days of travel, bus rides, and tournaments with multiple games, and they’ll need to be sure their devices are charged when they need them. Stick with trusted brand names.
For flights, double check that these battery are permitted.
The famous fan for college students is something every student athlete should have as well. There are multiple WOOZOO models, but you only want the WOOZOO® PCF-SC15T. Your best to finding it new, is to buy it at Costco between February and August. It should go on sale for about 4 weeks in April/early May, and it sometimes sells out by July.
You may need shower shoes for your residence hall if you have a community bath at the end of the hall. In addition to these shower shoes, consider a second pair for the locker room shower. You may also consider bringing your own towel and soap for the locker room, depending on what is provided.
If you’re looking for men’s sizes 14+, adidas and Under Armour usually have good options.
Trying to clean blender containers or water bottles in a small sink is a big challenge. A portable dishpan and dish soap go a long way toward keeping things clean. For blenders, you can put a drop of dish soap into warm water and blend to get the container clean. You’ll just need a good way to rinse it out after cleaning with soap.
Use a stainless steel bottle-cleaning set for better cleaning of water bottles and the straws.
If turf is involved in their sport, a broom with a dust pan or a vacuum cleaner is a must! Turf pebbles love to go home with students.
For dirt or grass fields and sand courts, a decent vacuum cleaner is essential.
There will be banquets, dinners, media events, and other occasions that require nice attire, not a uniform! Don’t forget the appropriate shoes and accessories.
If they have pre-6 am workouts, they’ll likely find it hard to get out of bed day ofter day! My son roomed with another baseball player, so they helped each other be on time. You probably have an alarm clock around the house that can go to college!
Sam’s Club or Costco Membership – Great for larger containers of protein bars, nuts, yogurt, sports drinks, and other athlete favorites. Of course, be sure you have room to store larger packages and that there is a local Sam’s or Costco.
Both Target Circle 360 and Walmart+ are invaluable for a busy college student. For about $50/year, get free same-day delivery from the local store (with purchases of $35+) or free overnight or 2-day delivery on any item. I have both and use them to ship to my students, so they don’t necessarily need their own accounts. Walmart+ also offers per-gallon gas discounts at its gas stations. Target Circle 360 includes a Shipt membership, which lets you schedule same-day delivery from many local stores. I use it for our local Publix all the time!
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