Transfer portal

[Essexfenwick]

BC picks up their 3rd AA transfer. Clarke from UVA.

WOW, AWW hitting the portal hard. Good for her.

Getting crushed so horribly in the finals by a team of much lower ranked recruits means you have to clear house of the highly ranked recruits you couldn’t develop. Watch out for chemistry issues.

[tothedraw]

Wow - Rachel Clark. Quite a coup for Boston College. I guess this assures that the Hasselbeck sisters will never break into the starting lineup for the Eagles. Not intended to be snarky, but I guess I need to recognize the reality that there is next to no loyalty to rostered and committed incoming players. The reality is that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

I was thinking the same thing. AH got a lot of runs with 2nd midfield, MH was buried. What about Besson? I would not be feeling great about those offensive transfers if I was an already rostered player on BC. I have no skin in the game on any team, but man the transfer portal is like the high school recruiting stress all over again.

[tothedraw]

Has anybody except UMD transferred in a 1st team all American? Haven’t been keeping up.

Your post makes it seem like ball will be the most impactful transfer because she was “first team AA”. Who cares. Maryland got two defenders as good as ball last season and they were not difference makers.
On the other hand, aurora cordingly was “just” a third team iwcla as her last year at hop….and then proceeded to be the best player on the Maryland team she joined by far…

Maryland need a lot of things. Ball is a nice addition, but that’s it…. Said differently, if you could have either lopinto or ball at Maryland, would you really choose ball????!

Ball is one of the most dominant defenders I have ever seen. She has elite size, speed, and skills. I take her all day.

Don't want to speak for Womenslaxxfan, but think the point was that MD is losing 3 starters on defense. 2 of which, Bosco and Donovan, are all-americans. Yes, Ball is great, but she's basically just partially replacing what they lost on defense. Defense wasn't the issue with MD last year. and LoPinto would have given them something they didn't have. Not to mention the fact that Essex is just an annoying poster, and that's coming from a fan of MD lacrosse.

Or they could just develop their HIGHLY RANKED recruits into the players they need them to be, or don’t, and just rely on transfers…

As a MD fan, I've been very disappointed in development and retention of recruits over the last several years.

[tothedraw]

Has anybody except UMD transferred in a 1st team all American? Haven’t been keeping up.

Your post makes it seem like ball will be the most impactful transfer because she was “first team AA”. Who cares. Maryland got two defenders as good as ball last season and they were not difference makers.
On the other hand, aurora cordingly was “just” a third team iwcla as her last year at hop….and then proceeded to be the best player on the Maryland team she joined by far…

Maryland need a lot of things. Ball is a nice addition, but that’s it…. Said differently, if you could have either lopinto or ball at Maryland, would you really choose ball????!

Ball is one of the most dominant defenders I have ever seen. She has elite size, speed, and skills. I take her all day.

Don't want to speak for Womenslaxxfan, but think the point was that MD is losing 3 starters on defense. 2 of which, Bosco and Donovan, are all-americans. Yes, Ball is great, but she's basically just partially replacing what they lost on defense. Defense wasn't the issue with MD last year. and LoPinto would have given them something they didn't have. Not to mention the fact that Essex is just an annoying poster, and that's coming from a fan of MD lacrosse.

Or they could just develop their HIGHLY RANKED recruits into the players they need them to be, or don’t, and just rely on transfers…

Ah yes, MD's ~*~highly ranked~*~ recruits... which came first, the chicken or the egg?

HS recruiting rankings really only end up hurting the athletes.

It makes them look like they "underachieved"which isn't fair.

[laxagainsthumanity]

Are there no rules anymore that if you transfer in conference that you have to sit out a season?

The NCAA has no rules about that but conferences can. The ACC used to have an intraconference transfer rule requiring kids to sit out but they nixed it in 2021. For example, Ella Little transferred from UNC to Clemson last summer. Even before that, there were ways to get around it - Charlotte North competed at Duke in 2019 and BC in 2020. (Heard some rumors about how they got that done that were not great.)

[tothedraw]

Are there no rules anymore that if you transfer in conference that you have to sit out a season?

The NCAA has no rules about that but conferences can. The ACC used to have an intraconference transfer rule requiring kids to sit out but they nixed it in 2021. For example, Ella Little transferred from UNC to Clemson last summer. Even before that, there were ways to get around it - Charlotte North competed at Duke in 2019 and BC in 2020. (Heard some rumors about how they got that done that were not great.)

Do tell lol.

[LarryGamLax]

RING CHASING...call it what it is.! Why not transfer to Bucknell or Colgate or Queens and help bring them up? Do that and become legendary. Transferring to a Powerhouse? Anyone can do that...and don't gas yourselves up with the academics reason.

[Relax77]

RING CHASING...call it what it is.! Why not transfer to Bucknell or Colgate or Queens and help bring them up? Do that and become legendary. Transferring to a Powerhouse? Anyone can do that...and don't gas yourselves up with the academics reason.

There are certainly ring chasers despite what people say. There are also kids transferring because they don’t like their playing time. And unfortunately there’s kids that transfer because they don’t like their experience. Not a fan of the portal but it’s not go long anywhere so it is what it is

[Relax77]

Would rather have it the old way where you sit out but in today’s society that’s never gonna happen. Half of this board would post “it’s not fair to the girl who has a horrible experience at the college and wants to go elsewhere.” The other half would be that’s the way it was for thirty years. Suck it up or transfer and sit out.

[wlaxphan20]

Would rather have it the old way where you sit out but in today’s society that’s never gonna happen. Half of this board would post “it’s not fair to the girl who has a horrible experience at the college and wants to go elsewhere.” The other half would be that’s the way it was for thirty years. Suck it up or transfer and sit out.

I actually think that even in the “old days” it was still possible for an athlete to transfer in conference and play the same year as long as there was a waiver filled out or appeal applied for and the coach of the player’s formal school was ok with it. I think we saw the sit out rule applied much more in revenue sports than non-revenue, but I could be wrong.

[jff97]

Would rather have it the old way where you sit out but in today’s society that’s never gonna happen. Half of this board would post “it’s not fair to the girl who has a horrible experience at the college and wants to go elsewhere.” The other half would be that’s the way it was for thirty years. Suck it up or transfer and sit out.

I actually think that even in the “old days” it was still possible for an athlete to transfer in conference and play the same year as long as there was a waiver filled out or appeal applied for and the coach of the player’s formal school was ok with it. I think we saw the sit out rule applied much more in revenue sports than non-revenue, but I could be wrong.

The only sports where you were required to sit out a year were football, men's and women's basketball, men's ice hockey and baseball. Other sports you didn't have to sit out but things were different at times if you transferred within the same conference. The way I've looked at the issue is it's dumb that a regular student can switch schools if they hate it but an athlete can't do the same thing. Where the NCAA made it's own bed with this was putting off letting athletes profit off their name, image and likeness for so long. With NIL starting around the same time as automatic eligibility for transfers across all sports, that's made for a double whammy that a lot of people weren't prepared for, especially in the revenue sports.

[Kleizaster]

Look, i think KAH is filling the pressure a little bit. How many championship games has she lost now? She's taking a risk here. Staking the future for immediate success. Could get her a championship or BC could become the next Maryland.

This makes BC better right now by alot but at what cost? Almost guarantees atleast one of the Hasselbeck's hitting the portal. Despite their legacy status (which should never be considered as some guarantee of eternal loyalty as some would like to believe especially if the school shows you none) . Plus a couple more players. They havn't been able to produce because they havn't really had a chance.

Levy went the same route in 2022 and it worked out for her. The landscape has changed and these recruits need to start taking this into consideration. At a top program, no one is safe no matter how good you were in HS

[womenlaxfan]

I think this is awesome. You send your daughter to college to not just get an education but learn life lessons. Loyalty, hard work, teamwork and others. All the while the coaches who hit the portal hard, the same coaches your daughter looks up to, send message to them loud clear that your year-round effort, dedication and hard work mean nothing. Instead, let’s bring in 3 (more?) AA’s and win at all cost. Just me – but not the lesson I want my daughter to learn.

Just like non-athletes, I agree there are valid reasons why some athletes want to transfer. But it doesn’t mean the NCAA can’t do something. They could put roster limits in place – meaning BC just filled 3 spots, they do that at the expense of recruiting 3 less players in this year class. Or they could do a “salary cap luxury tax” type approach like MLB. For every portal player you bring in, you forfeit some additional athletic scholarship money beyond what the transfer got. While fans of the same 4 or 5 teams probably love the super team building, does anyone actually think it is good for the overall game or the players who get stepped over in the process?

[NULax2]

Look, i think KAH is filling the pressure a little bit.

I’m sure you meant AWW. KAH isn’t feeling any pressure after winning the Natty.

[wlaxphan20]

I think this is awesome. You send your daughter to college to not just get an education but learn life lessons. Loyalty, hard work, teamwork and others. All the while the coaches who hit the portal hard, the same coaches your daughter looks up to, send message to them loud clear that your year-round effort, dedication and hard work mean nothing. Instead, let’s bring in 3 (more?) AA’s and win at all cost. Just me – but not the lesson I want my daughter to learn.

Idk, I think it’s one I’d want mine to learn. I think it reflects the real world pretty accurately. Feel like you aren’t being treated right or being used to your full potential? Then leave. Your boss won’t even blink before moving on to the next one.

[Kleizaster]

Look, i think AWW is filling the pressure a little bit. How many championship games has she lost now? She's taking a risk here. Staking the future for immediate success. Could get her a championship or BC could become the next Maryland.

This makes BC better right now by alot but at what cost? Almost guarantees atleast one of the Hasselbeck's hitting the portal. Despite their legacy status (which should never be considered as some guarantee of eternal loyalty as some would like to believe especially if the school shows you none) . Plus a couple more players. They havn't been able to produce because they havn't really had a chance.

Levy went the same route in 2022 and it worked out for her. The landscape has changed and these recruits need to start taking this into consideration. At a top program, no one is safe no matter how good you were in HS

[Kleizaster]

Look, i think KAH is filling the pressure a little bit.

I’m sure you meant AWW. KAH isn’t feeling any pressure after winning the Natty.

corrected..NW is in a very healthy state as their recruiting/developmental model avoids the pitfalls of high stake recruiting when the top talents don't produce and the domino effects it can have ala MD/Stanford and maybe BC

[watcherinthewoods]

To be fair, Rhattigan and Laliberty were both key contributors to NW's 2023 season and national championship.

What gives me pause here is the enablement of what I think is an all too common lack of commitment to/development of players by many coaches ... the portal encourages this behavior. Why work to develop the kids you have when you can go shopping and pick up the talent you think you need to fill roster slots?

To recruits and their families: Caveat Emptor

[masshole7]

BC picks up their 3rd AA transfer. Clarke from UVA.

In my eyes BC just went from having an outside chance at Memorial Day weekend to a team with a strong chance to make the final 4 (when LoPinto was added) to a team that could very be back in the championship game (with Clarke). You never know what will actually happen, but BC is back in my top 5, if not top 2. They have arguably the 3 best attackers in the junior class. LoPinto & Davis low. Clarke & Martello up top. Smith & Weeks (did I hear Cassidy is coming back?. This team is loaded again.

Cass Weeks (coming back), Smith, Smith and Reynolds at middie Dont forget great 4 defenders - Scales, Roman, Bakes and AA Florida transfer - with Dolce in goal.

Is Schleicher coming back? Or Taglich? Sprinkle in some freshman and this team has depth

Schleicher and Taglich are both moving on from lacrosse, I believe Ryan Smith and Cassidy are the only two postgraduate returners. This BC team is going to be shaken up this fall ... but they will be good. As for the Hasselbecks, the portal is closed for teams that have not had coaching changes (I think, correct me if wrong) so I think that ship has sailed ... at least for now. I also do not think AH would leave at this point in her career. She is and will continue to get minutes ... these are all straight attack and defensive transfers.

[Womenslaxxfan]

A couple of things to tease out.
First,On northwestern, I don’t think people should declare NU “back to dominance”. They were excellent last year and finished dominant….but they had rhatigan as a transfer, Laliberty as a transfer and the most dominant offensive player in some time (including CN). When scane graduates, NU will be fine but there are other programs with equal or better rosters when you eliminate those three players…

Second, I’m not a bc fan, but i understand the allure. They have a great example of making transfers work (CN), they have been to championship weekend for 6 years in a row, and BC is an extremely popular school in one of the best college cities in the us for the lacrosse demographic.

Third, as to the “fairness” of committing and then having a program being in players above you, ncaa division one lacrosse isn’t club lacrosse. You just can’t buy your way onto a top team and parent expectations about play time are only relevant to the extent parents steer their daughters to programs that have a reputation for not seeking out all star transfers. If you don’t want to have your “spot” taken, go to a lesser program. Ncaa lacrosse is the pinnacle of women’s lacrosse at this point. The world games are still uncompetitive and only happen every four years, and the AU league is still an experiment (one that I like to be clear). If you’re in the “premier league”, you shouldn’t expect to get field time unless you’re clearly the best (in your coaches eyes) at your position….every single year and every single game…
My .02 …