ISL 2021

[Laxxal22]

"]St. Mark’s: - Graduated some strong players and lost their best junior to Govs. Their 2020 team was my dark horse to win the league, and now it looks like the roster could be quite thin. Things change quickly."

Ironic last words about how things can change quickly. Can someone confirm that St. Marks released their head coach and the assistant coach?

It appears that St. Mark's has a new coach - Craig Ferraro. I don't know much about him but he looks to be heavily involved in the Coyotes club program and was previously the head coach at Fay. The ISL has become incredibly competitive and this will be a big step up from coaching 9th graders, but having direct connections to a regional club and a pre-prep school is a pretty solid combination to start bringing in talent to rebuild and reestablish a former ISL power.

From the St. Mark's website: "Craig Ferraro has spent the last 15 years as a coach and teacher. A veteran of Independent Schools, numerous players Craig has coached have gone on to play in the NCAA at the Division 1, 2, and 3 levels. He is active in the club lacrosse landscape, having led several successful teams with the Coyotes Lacrosse club. Competitive by nature, Coach Ferraro is excited about the challenge of coaching in the ISL. He seeks to cultivate cohesive teams, outstanding athletes, and to mentor young men to be the best versions of themselves. As a player, Craig played midfield at Phillips Academy Andover and club lacrosse at Fairfield University. Craig lives in Southborough with his wife Krista, and three young children: Nina, Mary, and Ignatius. Outside of lacrosse, Craig is passionate about spirituality, music, and fishing."

[Laxxal22]

WIth September 1 recruiting about to begin for the juniors here’s where the seniors have committed so far and a quick look at how each team looks for 2022. Please let me know if I’m missing anyone.

D1
Charlie Cave (mid) - Belmont Hill/3D New England - Brown
Tom Goguen (def) - Belmont Hill/Fighting Clams - Dartmouth
Jack Pappendick (mid) - BB&N/3D New England - Duke
Thomas Porrell (mid) - BB&N/3D New England - Notre Dame
Ian Olenik (def) - Govs/Twisters - Providence
Ben Baroni (def) - Govs/NH Tomahawks - Villanova
Patrick Eldridge (mid) - Groton/NH Tomahawks - Colgate
Gavin Begonia (att) - Lawrence Academy/NH Tomahawks - Ohio State
Jack Taylor (mid) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Jacksonville
Zach Auble (mid) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - UMass
Oran Gelinas (goal) - Middlesex/Laxachusetts - Ohio State
Chad Palumbo (att) - Nobles/Fighting Clams - Princeton
Will Potter (def) - Rivers/Laxachusetts - Utah
Tim Evnin (att) - St. George's/Express North - Hobart
Jack Rideout (faceoff) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Michigan
PJ McKeigue (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Penn
Aidan Maguire (mid) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Duke
Aidan O'Neil (att) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Richmond (Originally committed to Utah)
Tim McNamara (goal) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Denver

D2
Dom Pasquale (goal) - Rivers/Fighting Clams - Colorado Mesa
Tyler Vigeant (def) - St. George's/RI Bulldogs - Saint Anselm

D3
Drew Dummer (def) - Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Middlebury
Ethan O'Neill (mid) - Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Tufts
Liam Horkan (mid) - Belmont Hill/NH Tomahawks - Conn College
Adam Figler (att) - Belmont Hill/3D New England - Williams
Aidan Shea (def) - Brooks/HGR - Conn College
Fenix Wheelden (att) Brooks/Twisters - Bentley
Travis Foster (faceoff) - Lawrence Academy/NH Tomahawks - Endicott
Jack Cunningham (att) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Centre College
Ian Curley (att) - Lawrence Academy/Fighting Clams - Drew College
Sam Raye-Steiner (att) - Middlesex/3D New England - Bowdoin
Rex Mabbs (mid) - Middlesex/Fighting Clams - Swarthmore
Lucca Casagrande (def) - Milton Academy/Laxachusetts - Wesleyan
Ben Clarke (def) - Nobles/Fighting Clams - Colorado College
Roman Tacelli (mid) - Nobles/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Josh Gangi (att) - Nobles/3D New England - Union
Peter Del Col (goal) Nobles/Fighting Clams - Haverford
Alex Vlacich (mid) - Rivers/Laxachusetts - Amherst (Originally committed to Colby)
Luke D'Orisi (att) - St. Mark's/Fighting Clams - Babson
Jack Almeida (mid) - St. George's/Eclipse - Trinity
Riley Zeer (att) - St. George's/Legends National - York
Andrew Hahm (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Amherst
Tim Souza (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Amherst
Ben Frisoli (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Tufts
Griffin Cusack (def) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Tim Browne (mid) - St. Seb's/Laxachusetts - Colorado College
Cormac Wright (mid) - St. Seb's/Piatelli - Colby lacrosse & football (Originally committed Conn College)
Griffin Hough (lsm) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - Gettysburg
Cooper Manzi (att) - Tabor/Laxachusetts - RPI
Jonny Seero (def) - Tabor/Penguins - Clarkson
Ted Wilson (mid) - Thayer/Laxachusetts - St. Lawrence
Colin Whitmore (att) - Thayer/Laxachusetts - Colorado College

Interesting group of seniors. Not as heavy on coveted LSM/Close D or goalie recruits as usual, but this looks like a very strong group at attack and midfield compared to recent years. 12 NESCAC commits (so far) is very high even for the ISL. Per usual, I think some players who are going D3 will be day one impact players for their programs. Still another dozen or so guys I could see making a commit, a handful of them should have some D1 options imo.

Belmont Hill: BH is like a factory at this point, churning out 7-9 very good players in every class. Lost two starters at close D, goalie, and faceoff specialist so the defense will need some retooling. But two starters are back at attack, as well as the 3rd starter for the final few games of the year, and there’s enough talent in the midfield that the 2nd line will be a top 10 line for the entire ISL - and probably closer to 5 than 10.

Brooks: I think they return a lot of guys but it’s tough to tell where they stood with the schedule they played. Some solid players but probably not enough talent or depth to make the top 8 playoffs.

BB&N: Had high hopes for 2021 but suffered some injuries and got slapped around a bit in an ISL only scheduled. They have two of the league’s very best players, and a third who is top 30ish, but I haven’t seen that they have the other pieces to be relevant in league play.

Govs: Most of the defense returns, including the goalie and pair of D1 committed longsticks who can both make plays all over the field. Junior transfers are pretty rare in the ISL but Govs got two good ones; a big two-way middie from St. Mark’s and the faceoff specialist from MA state champs St. John’s Prep.

Groton: The class of 2021 had to be Groton’s best ever, their “what if…” with regards to Covid is as interesting as any team in the ISL. There are still talented players, but not at the level and number to be a factor against the top half of the league.

Lawrence Academy: A young coach and their best group of seniors in the past 6-7 years by far. A strong fogo and a starting six on offense that’s on par with the league’s best, depth and defense are the questions but the program is headed the right way.

Middlesex: Graduated a huge class from what would've been a title contender. Still some nice pieces, and some good younger players have enrolled per the MX social media accounts, but probably not in the league’s top tier this season.

Milton Academy: The junior class looks like the best one the Mustangs have had in awhile. Program looks to be moving in the right direction and this team could have an outside shot at making the top playoff bracket.

Nobles: Nobles will again be the team most likely to execute a BTB pass to a between the legs feed to an around the world shot for a goal. We’ll find out shortly but Nobles might have the ISL’s two most sought after offensive players when recruiting begins for the juniors.

Rivers: Graduated a very small class of contributors and the team’s top attackman missed his junior year in 2021, so they’ll have a lot of experience plus a boost returning for 2022. The specialists are back as well and they have some very highly regarded juniors.

Roxbury Latin: The Foxes have some nice individual players, especially on the defensive side, but overall they haven’t kept pace with Seb’s, Nobles, Belmont Hill who were peer programs until about 3-4 years ago.

St. George’s: With Covid limiting interstate options the Dragon’s had a very limited schedule in 2021. They have a strong group of seniors and it seems like there is more talent there overall than a few years ago.

St. Mark’s: Graduated some strong players and lost their best junior to Govs. Their 2020 team was my dark horse to win the league, and now it looks like the roster could be quite thin. Things change quickly.

St. Sebastian’s: Seb’s class of 2022 looks a lot like the very strong classes of 2017 or 2019 that won titles. In the discussion for league’s best at midfield, longsticks, goalie, and faceoff. Attack will be young but the potential starters all have very high ceilings.

Tabor: Graduated a nice group but the program consistently has 5-6 strong players in each class at this point. Will have one of the top attack units and goalie in the league which will keep them competitive in any given game.

Thayer: Lost a big class, and might be a year away, but the junior class is very big and talented. Also, and who knows how relevant this really is, their JV squad rolled teams last spring. That leads me to believe they had more varsity caliber talent than jerseys last spring.

[Farfromgeneva]

Don’t know if that was just 22s but there’s a kid from Rivers, Anthony Stilwell, who committed to Hobart.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/recruiti ... commitment

Also knew about St George’s as a school, nothing about them lacrosse-wise, but really interested to see and learn more about Hobart recruit Tim Evnin from there this spring .

[Sidelinehorn!]

You're going to like both players...

Stillwell is very tough/crafty and will be called upon a ton for Rivers...He reminds me a lot of Knox

Envin reminds me of Jimmy Lampert...He will also be a top performer for StG and will be called upon to lead that attack group...

[Farfromgeneva]

You're going to like both players...

Stillwell is very tough/crafty and will be called upon a ton for Rivers...He reminds me a lot of Knox

Envin reminds me of Jimmy Lampert...He will also be a top performer for StG and will be called upon to lead that attack group...

Good to hear. That comment on Stilwell is high praise.

[Laxxal22]

I agree with Sidelinehorn! that you'll be happy to have them.

I haven't seen either in person due to the last two years, but what I've seen from a few game tapes and highlights they both fit into a A/M hybrid role. Plenty of options for the Statesmen when they get to campus.

Evnin (2022) is a definitely an ankle breaker of a dodger. Not afraid to go hard to the net and can finish in tight (and is willing to take the punishment to do both of those things) but also has a strong outside right-handed shot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpW9DoMLF9Y

Stillwell (2023) is a bit more of a sweeping dodger from the wing or up top. Strong lefty shot. Looks pretty adept at two-man game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwu9q7kzrcc

[Farfromgeneva]

Love Evnins seeming focus and clarity on what he wants to do and where he wants to go. Moves fast and with purpose 1-2 steps ahead.

[Laxxal22]

After three months of open recruiting here are the 2023 commitments that I've seen so far. Please let me know anyone I’ve missed. (player rankings per Inside Lacrosse)

Matthew Tully - Goal, Nobles/Piatelli - Cornell - Four Star/#45 player in class
Connor Foley - Goal, Thayer/Laxachusetts - Brown - Four Star/#47 player in class
Matthew Torrey - Goal, Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Air Force (decommitted) - Four Star
Charlie Hazard - Lsm, Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Johns Hopkins - Four Star
Ryan Williamson - Goal, St. Seb’s/Laxachusetts - Dartmouth - Four Star
Owen Umansky - Faceoff, Govs/Laxachusetts - Ohio State - Four Star
Grayson McClements - Att, Nobles/3D NE - Penn - Four Star
Brody Upton - Mid, Nobles/3D NE - Princeton - Four Star

Murphy McGlaughlin - Def, Milton Academy/Laxachusetts - BU
Logan Styles - Def, Tabor/3D NE - BU
Bo Bensley - Mid, Middlesex/3D NE - BU
Eli Goldstein - Mid, Belmont Hill/Laxachusetts - Dartmouth
David Sullivan - Def, Roxbury Latin/Laxachusetts - Dartmouth
Riley Stanton - Goal, Roxbury Latin/Laxachusetts - Holy Cross
Anthony Stillwell - Mid, Rivers/Fighting Clams - Hobart
Austin Boardo - Goal, St. George’s/ 3D NE & Igloo - Quinnipiac
Alex Dixon - Mid, Brooks/Fighting Clams - Utah
Matt Swirbalus - Mid, St. Seb’s/Laxachusetts - Villanova

A real strong class for goalies across the league as there are still a few more who probably play at some level in college. A lot of Ivy League commits after a few quiet classes. BU remains aggressive courting local talent. Villanova, Hobart, and Ohio State continue to mine the ISL. With fall sports and fall club lacrosse done there could be a few more visits and commitments before DI teams get going with their 2022 seasons.

As usual, after the fall signings there’s still another 6-7 kids who are slam dunk DI commits imo. But then, as always, the ISL (and Massachusetts in general) produces a lot of the next tier of players - excellent but not quite elite - who probably have some DI options/discussions going on and could still have a breakout spring or summer, but will also start weighing the pros and cons of a college experience as a potential impact player for a DIII or DII contender vs. a mid roster guy on a mid to lower level DI team.

Probably in part due to the Covid logjam in college, a lot of those types of players from the 21 and 22 classes have either opted for high DIII or a PG year before enrolling at a D1 program. Those aren’t unfamiliar routes for ISL lacrosse players, but the numbers are much higher than usual (e.g. 13 class of 2022 grads are headed to the NESCAC which is about double the average - three 2021 ISL grads will play for Deerfield this spring when typically there is one maybe every other year). I think that starts to settle down with the class of 2023 as the extra Covid eligibility will mostly have run its course by the time these kids hit campus.

[Flagdown]

3D Box League starts this weekend. Several ISL teams, along with other prep and MIAA schools will "Battle for the Belt". Should be some great competition!

[Laxxal22]

I won't have the time, energy, or insights to cover the ISL like I have the past few years. But Between Bostonlax.net and The New England Lacrosse Journal (who has brought on the tireless Kyle Devitte) there should be more coverage than ever.

Here is a pretty great article on top returning faceoff guys. There's a paywall, but NELJ has been cranking out content since hiring Kyle.

https://www.laxjournal.com/watch-list-t ... n-the-isl/

[Can Opener]

I won't have the time, energy, or insights to cover the ISL like I have the past few years. But Between Bostonlax.net and The New England Lacrosse Journal (who has brought on the tireless Kyle Devitte) there should be more coverage than ever.

Here is a pretty great article on top returning faceoff guys. There's a paywall, but NELJ has been cranking out content since hiring Kyle.

https://www.laxjournal.com/watch-list-t ... n-the-isl/

Noooo!!! Please don’t retire yet. I know that your ISL previews are more widely circulated among the players than the professional publications.

One of the big reasons why the ISL has become such a breeding ground for face-off specialists is that they get to train with Joe Nardella multiple times per week. He is not only the best athlete in the world at that position, but he is also a terrific instructor. The ISL athletes are very lucky to have him in their backyard.

[Laxxal22]

I won't have the time, energy, or insights to cover the ISL like I have the past few years. But Between Bostonlax.net and The New England Lacrosse Journal (who has brought on the tireless Kyle Devitte) there should be more coverage than ever.

Here is a pretty great article on top returning faceoff guys. There's a paywall, but NELJ has been cranking out content since hiring Kyle.

https://www.laxjournal.com/watch-list-t ... n-the-isl/

Noooo!!! Please don’t retire yet. I know that your ISL previews are more widely circulated among the players than the professional publications.

One of the big reasons why the ISL has become such a breeding ground for face-off specialists is that they get to train with Joe Nardella multiple times per week. He is not only the best athlete in the world at that position, but he is also a terrific instructor. The ISL athletes are very lucky to have him in their backyard.

Yes, between the goalies and faceoff guys it's become quite a strong league for specialists.

I probably have enough random notes to piece together a final preview. It's just become a bit overwhelming to feel like I'm on top of things. When I started (2015/2016ish) there was a trickle of information out there and the league was pretty top heavy. Now it's a firehose of info and at least a dozen of the teams look quite strong.

[Heyward]

As an old Laxpower follower, starting in the early aughts after the Inside Lacrosse forum faded, I just wanted to thank you Laxxal for all your contributions. You pretty singularly have supported the ISL all these years, and I have gotten a lot out of it. As my kids have have all grown up and I don’t have the contacts, or frankly the interest, to keep up in the detail I used to, your reports have been great. Be well.

[Laxxal22]

Thanks for the kind words. 

[Laxxal22]

Thayer is the first team to release their schedule. I saw it on Instagram so it's a bit hard to share here but they start the season with three games in three days down in Baltimore - Friends, John Carrol, St. Paul's. Some nice early tests that Coach Rubeor was able to set up in his hometown.

Non league games against Cushing and Pingree when they return before getting into the ISL schedule. With the adjusted 11-game league schedule this year it looks like they avoid Seb's, Nobles, Tabor, and Milton. That's pretty favorable as Seb's and Milton are consistently at the very top, Tabor is solidly in the top eight and Milton looks like they've got some strong classes coming up starting with 2023s. Hopefully this spurs the other schoools to release their schedules soon instead of sitting on them.

[Laxboy78]

Laxxall do you know what the setup for ISL playoffs looks like? Do the top 8 play each other, then the bottom 8 have a separate tourney?

[Laxxal22]

Yes, there’s meant to be a top eight bracket and a bottom eight. At least that was the plan back in 2020.

I see some potential issues figuring out seeds 7-10. I believe league schedules are meant to be based on perceived program strength. What happens if one team’s record is 5-6 but they played the best teams and another team is 6-5 but had a much softer league schedule? I’m sure there’s an array of tiebreakers but I could see some issues arising the first few years that they run this.

[Can Opener]

Tabor head coach R.J. Swift provides some insights on the playoff format in this podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t ... 0550647308

Unfortunately, he doesn't quite answer your question about seeding teams 7-10 in the standings. He says that every couple of years, the league will reexamine alignment for regular season scheduling. The ISL website, which needs modernization in general, does not offer any info on the playoff format. According to Coach Swift, Adam White of Seb's was the architect of the playoff plan.

[Laxxal22]

That was a really good pod. The part I found most interesting was Coach Swift saying that the ISL boarding schools are starting to draft a bit off the prominence of Taft, Deerfield, AOF, etc. and getting greater consideration from lacrosse players outside of the northeast. I think the Lakes Region schools are benefitting from that as well.

Also, for all of those on Instagram this looks like a good account to follow. https://instagram.com/isllacrosseoutlet ... =copy_link

[Can Opener]

That was a really good pod. The part I found most interesting was Coach Swift saying that the ISL boarding schools are starting to draft a bit off the prominence of Taft, Deerfield, AOF, etc. and getting greater consideration from lacrosse players outside of the northeast. I think the Lakes Region schools are benefitting from that as well.

Also, for all of those on Instagram this looks like a good account to follow. https://instagram.com/isllacrosseoutlet ... =copy_link

The ISL schools with a boarding option don't take full advantage of the ability to attract lacrosse players from around the country. Ironically, three of the top four teams since 2011 have been day schools -- Belmont Hill, Seb's and Nobles. They are 100% reliant on Massachusetts talent. And even then it is mostly limited to local talent -- South Shore kids don't want to commute to Bel Hill and North Shore kids don't want to drive to Seb's. Govs is the lone boarding school among the top four since Middlesex has dropped a notch or two. Teams like Tabor, Milton, Middlesex and Groton have a lot to offer lacrosse players from other regions, particularly if they are interested in repeating a year in HS. Scratching the surface of that observation, however, the ISL has not been able to recruit many players from hotbeds like Balto, LI, Philly or CT which have excellent private schools of their own. That means ISL coaches are probably looking for kids from places like Georgia, Texas, Colorado or the midwest. Because the ISL doesn't allow PGs, it is a little trickier to recruit than what Deerfield has done. Taft is probably a better model. That coach is a prolific and energetic recruiter. If an ISL coach really got on their horse, they could do some outreach to raise awareness of ISL as a boarding option. You are 100% correct that the Lakes Region schools, Holderness in particular, have recruited more aggressively. Justin Simon is new to Holderness, but he is already attracting top tier talent and putting multiple kids into D1 programs.