I have also seen this to some extent. I have four daughters that swam division one and I’ve helped many people on our club team be recruited and the coaches want to recruit Swimmers (Athletes) that want to be there not a swimmer whose parents want them to be there.
They also worry about parents who are too involved in the process but on the flipside they do not want to alienate a swimmer who is close to their parents .
I also have a daughter who coaches at a division one school in the swim program and we discuss recruiting all the time .
My last note is I know several very good soccer players that did not even get a sniff from BYU and end up signing with big schools like Auburn and Virginia as BYU would not even talk to them I was not involved in the recruiting process for those girls but just have to take the parents word for that.