Relationship Between Overhead Squat Depth And Vertical Jump Height in NCAA Division I Athletes

INTRODUCTION: Movement screening and performance testing are commonly used in collegiate athletics to monitor readiness, guide training decisions, and reduce injury risk. The overhead squat (OHS) is frequently employed as a global assessment of lower-extremity mobility and movement capability, while vertical jump (VJ) height is a well-established indicator of explosive lower-body power. Although improved mobility is often assumed to support power development, the relationship between these measures across repeated testing sessions remains unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between overhead squat depth and vertical jump height across multiple testing timepoints in NCAA Division I athletes. METHODS: A total of 303 NCAA Division I male and female athletes (ages 18–24) from multiple sports at East Texas A&M University completed repeated performance assessments using DARI® markerless motion capture. Testing consisted of an OHS to quantify squat depth and a bilateral countermovement VJ to assess jump height. A linear mixed-effects model was used to determine the association between overhead squat depth and vertical jump height across repeated testing sessions, with athlete ID included as a random effect to account for within-athlete dependence. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Overhead squat depth was not significantly associated with vertical jump height across repeated testing sessions (β = 0.029, 95% CI [−0.036, 0.094], p = 0.385). CONCLUSION: Although overhead squat depth was not significantly associated with vertical jump height, a directional trend was observed whereby vertical jump performance tended to increase as overhead squat depth decreased across repeated testing sessions. These findings suggest that changes in explosive performance may occur independently of deep squat capacity and highlight the importance of contextual interpretation of movement screening data.