Really helpful; thank you for sharing and I'm happy it worked out the right way for your DD!My daughter experience was not quite the same but certainly close enough.
'21 grad. She said early on she did not want to play D1 so never pursued it. (I never though she was D1 material early in HS so I thought that was a smart move) Long story short, her Jr year she got a lot better and got unsolicited D1 interest and offers.
She ended up with D1, D2 and D3 offers. Once she figured out what she wanted to major in, which is unique, most the schools feel off her list.
The main D1 offered the most money 75% of a full ride (tuition + room and board). But D2 had the better majors. D2 also had the coach we all liked better. And D2 a better opportunity softball wise. While the D2 offer was not as much, it was good enough for us financially. And D2 is closer so we can watch more games.
Regarding the offers timetable. Her main D2 offered her in November of her junior year. The coach said take as long as you want to decide - even if that is Signing Day of her senior year. The main D1 school made the offer but never put a time on it. About 3 months after the D1 offer, D1 coach called to chat and find out how things were going. My daughter told them the truth: they were second on her list (they had never asked before). Within 2 weeks they went out and found someone else and her offer was pulled. I do not blame them one bit. ( I wanted to keep the offer open for a while in case I lost my job. If I had lost my job, she would likely have gone D1 just for the $ even though it would not have been ideal major wise)