Recruiting

[Relax77]

So surprised that four of the top six were just contributors. Figured at least half of the top six would at least start.
Just shows you what happens when you go to top teams. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that as well. Interesting to see the 2022 class.

#1 made no sense at the time. She wasn't number one early in HS(not sure she was even in the top 10), then her junior year was canceled because of Covid and then she tore her ACL and missed her senior year. Somehow during that time she became the #1 recruit. She played in a league without a ton of competition in HS and played for Mass Elite which only played in one major tournament a year(G8) back then. So not sure what this was based on other than her last name.

#2 and #6 have both dealt with some injuries but played a much bigger role this year. I am 99.9% sure they both have a redshirt year available and expect them to be starters the next 2 years.

#5 was the #1 before MH. She committed to MD in 8th grade before the rules changed. A lot of players caught up to and surpassed her by the end of HS, but they aren't going to drop someone they had #1 for years very far.

Happens a lot I guess. Many of these kids peak before sophomore year.

[njbill]

jjf97, great work as always. Very interesting read.

Small nit. Maybe Chase Boyle deserves to be in a special category since she was a Tewaaraton finalist. I don’t think making the overall watchlist is worth mentioning though I suppose T25 is. But T5 is a real achievement.

[LaxDadMax]

So surprised that four of the top six were just contributors. Figured at least half of the top six would at least start.
Just shows you what happens when you go to top teams. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that as well. Interesting to see the 2022 class.

#1 made no sense at the time. She wasn't number one early in HS(not sure she was even in the top 10), then her junior year was canceled because of Covid and then she tore her ACL and missed her senior year. Somehow during that time she became the #1 recruit. She played in a league without a ton of competition in HS and played for Mass Elite which only played in one major tournament a year(G8) back then. So not sure what this was based on other than her last name.

#2 and #6 have both dealt with some injuries but played a much bigger role this year. I am 99.9% sure they both have a redshirt year available and expect them to be starters the next 2 years.

#5 was the #1 before MH. She committed to MD in 8th grade before the rules changed. A lot of players caught up to and surpassed her by the end of HS, but they aren't going to drop someone they had #1 for years very far.

Happens a lot I guess. Many of these kids peak before sophomore year.

Would love to see this list with heights listed. Just looking at list, it feels like shorter girls (5-3-5-6) hit at higher rates than taller ones (5-9+)

I think lots has to do with the recruiting process itself where many coaches think they can mold a taller player into a dominant force and it doesn’t happen

[Relax77]

So surprised that four of the top six were just contributors. Figured at least half of the top six would at least start.
Just shows you what happens when you go to top teams. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that as well. Interesting to see the 2022 class.

#1 made no sense at the time. She wasn't number one early in HS(not sure she was even in the top 10), then her junior year was canceled because of Covid and then she tore her ACL and missed her senior year. Somehow during that time she became the #1 recruit. She played in a league without a ton of competition in HS and played for Mass Elite which only played in one major tournament a year(G8) back then. So not sure what this was based on other than her last name.

#2 and #6 have both dealt with some injuries but played a much bigger role this year. I am 99.9% sure they both have a redshirt year available and expect them to be starters the next 2 years.

#5 was the #1 before MH. She committed to MD in 8th grade before the rules changed. A lot of players caught up to and surpassed her by the end of HS, but they aren't going to drop someone they had #1 for years very far.

Happens a lot I guess. Many of these kids peak before sophomore year.

Would love to see this list with heights listed. Just looking at list, it feels like shorter girls (5-3-5-6) hit at higher rates than taller ones (5-9+)

I think lots has to do with the recruiting process itself where many coaches think they can mold a taller player into a dominant force and it doesn’t happen

That is an interesting perspective.

[LaxDadMax]

So surprised that four of the top six were just contributors. Figured at least half of the top six would at least start.
Just shows you what happens when you go to top teams. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that as well. Interesting to see the 2022 class.

#1 made no sense at the time. She wasn't number one early in HS(not sure she was even in the top 10), then her junior year was canceled because of Covid and then she tore her ACL and missed her senior year. Somehow during that time she became the #1 recruit. She played in a league without a ton of competition in HS and played for Mass Elite which only played in one major tournament a year(G8) back then. So not sure what this was based on other than her last name.

#2 and #6 have both dealt with some injuries but played a much bigger role this year. I am 99.9% sure they both have a redshirt year available and expect them to be starters the next 2 years.

#5 was the #1 before MH. She committed to MD in 8th grade before the rules changed. A lot of players caught up to and surpassed her by the end of HS, but they aren't going to drop someone they had #1 for years very far.

Happens a lot I guess. Many of these kids peak before sophomore year.

Would love to see this list with heights listed. Just looking at list, it feels like shorter girls (5-3-5-6) hit at higher rates than taller ones (5-9+)

I think lots has to do with the recruiting process itself where many coaches think they can mold a taller player into a dominant force and it doesn’t happen

That is an interesting perspective.

I clearly haven’t done a deep dive. When you look at the top freshman last year, a majority of them (Polanski, Shurtleff, Benoit, Bleckley)


Alamo and Byrne are the only impact freshman I can think of who is taller and they are just 5-7.

I’m sure you can fact check me and point out folks I’m missing but i do think shorter players hit more.

[RJP]

What percent of taller players on IWLCA AA list would be interesting as that cuts across years.

[hmmm]

So surprised that four of the top six were just contributors. Figured at least half of the top six would at least start.
Just shows you what happens when you go to top teams. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that as well. Interesting to see the 2022 class.

#1 made no sense at the time. She wasn't number one early in HS(not sure she was even in the top 10), then her junior year was canceled because of Covid and then she tore her ACL and missed her senior year. Somehow during that time she became the #1 recruit. She played in a league without a ton of competition in HS and played for Mass Elite which only played in one major tournament a year(G8) back then. So not sure what this was based on other than her last name.

#2 and #6 have both dealt with some injuries but played a much bigger role this year. I am 99.9% sure they both have a redshirt year available and expect them to be starters the next 2 years.

#5 was the #1 before MH. She committed to MD in 8th grade before the rules changed. A lot of players caught up to and surpassed her by the end of HS, but they aren't going to drop someone they had #1 for years very far.

Happens a lot I guess. Many of these kids peak before sophomore year.

Would love to see this list with heights listed. Just looking at list, it feels like shorter girls (5-3-5-6) hit at higher rates than taller ones (5-9+)

I think lots has to do with the recruiting process itself where many coaches think they can mold a taller player into a dominant force and it doesn’t happen

List with heights. Doesn't seem to be a ton of correlation.

Here's the look at how things shaped up for 2021. This class mostly committed before COVID, and was the first to do so under the new rules. They then had their final two years of HS disrupted due to the pandemic.
Multi-time AA:Emma LoPinto, #4, Florida/Boston College 5'4"
Samantha White, #8, Northwestern 5'6"
Rachel Clark, #10, Virginia/Boston College 5'9"
McKenna Davis, #18, Boston College 5'6"
AA: Chase Boyle, #13, Loyola 5'10"
Samantha Smith, #23, Northwestern 5'6"
Fallon Vaughn, #31, Yale 5'6"
Olivia Adamson, #46, Syracuse 5'7"
Annabel Frist, #48, Stanford 5'10"
Elyse Finnelle, OTR, Florida 5'8"
Ellie Hollin, OTR, Penn State 5'4"
Georgia Latch, OTR, Loyola 5'8"
Lauren Spence, OTR, Loyola 5'6"
Brooklyn Walker-Welch, OTR, North Carolina 5'7"
All-Conference: McKenzie Blake, #7, Princeton 5'9"
Kennedy Major, #9, Maryland 5'2"
Jordyn Case, #19, Stanford 5'6"
Emily Lamparter, #21, Maryland/Clemson* 5'7"
Emily Messinese, #22, Navy 5'4"
Leah Warehime, #25, Georgetown 5'3"
Alexis Niblock, #28, USC 5'7"
Jade Catlin, #39, UMass Lowell (VT Commit) 5'5"
Ella Brislin, OTR, UC Davis 5'8"
Grace Muldoon, OTR, Richmond 5'10"
Lily Osborne, OTR, Loyola 5'4"
Maley Starr, OTR, Georgetown 5'9"
Alexa Waters, OTR, Florida/Tampa* 5'7"
Multi-year starter:Paris Colgain, #14 Johns Hopkins 5'8"
Natasha Gorriaran, #20, Penn 5'7"
Reilly Traynor, #43, Duke 5'7"
Kendall Belanger, OTR, USC/Colgate* 5'6"
Ashley Bowan, OTR, Penn State 5'4"
Madison Karpe, OTR, Rutgers 5'4"
Taylor McClain, OTR, Bucknell 5'9"
Alecia Nicholas, OTR, North Carolina 5'6"
Starter: Grace Weigand, #15 Notre Dame 5'7"
Kerry Nease, #16, Duke 5'8"
Sam Forrest, #24, North Carolina 5'5"
Kylie Gelabert, #29, Cornell 5'9"
Kate Miller, #33, Virginia 5'6"
Kennedy Everson, #36, Duke 5'6"
Brooke Hoss, #40, Penn State 5'8"
McKenna Harden, #50, North Carolina 5'5"
Brynn Ammerman, OTR, Ohio State 5'6"
Sophia Brindisi, OTR, Stanford 5'4"
Julia Carr, OTR, Notre Dame 5'10"
Blair Guy, OTR, Virginia Tech 5'9"
Contributor: Mallory Hasselbeck, #1, Boston College 5'9"
Madison Sterling, #2, Maryland 5'7"
Summer Agostino, #3, Boston College/Clemson* 5'6"
Demma Hall, #5, Maryland/Clemson* 5'7"
Maddigan Miller, #6, Stanford 5'8"
Nina Montes, #11, Princeton 5'2"
Christina Gagnon, #12, USC 5'8"
Jordyn Lipkin, #17, Maryland 5'5"
Celeste Forte, #30, Florida 5'3"
Maddie Dora, #35, USC 5'8"
Hailey Russo, #37, Maryland 6'0"
Olivia Pikiell, #38, North Carolina 5'9"
Abby Jansen, #41, Virginia 5'5"
Caitlin McElwee, #42, James Madison/Clemson 5'9"
Mattie Shearer, #44, Duke 5'4"
Carly Bernstein, OTR, Duke 5'7"
Emerson Bohlig, OTR, Northwestern 5'6"
Alayna Costa, OTR, Johns Hopkins 5'7"
Serafina DeMunno, OTR, Northwestern 5'10"
Alex Hopkins, OTR, Yale 5'7"
Abbie Izzo, OTR, Harvard 5'3"
Mikaila Kitchen, OTR, Georgetown 5'3"
Ally Lipkin, OTR, Penn State 5'4"
Paige Lipman, OTR, Penn 5'6"
Adair Martin, OTR, North Carolina 5'8"
Quinlan O’Brien, OTR, Johns Hopkins 5'10"
Mackenzie Rich, OTR, North Carolina*/Syracuse 5'5"
Julia Schwabe, OTR, Michigan 5'11"
Amanda Sudnik, OTR, Harvard 5'4"

[Quill]

What's OTR?

[hmmm]

What's OTR?

IL only ranks the top 50. The players 51-100 are listed as "On The Rise"

[cdb]

I sam new, so please feel free to correct me.

I have noticed that size does matter in draw control.

In most sports the better athletes are blessed with tremendous fast-twitch muscle coordination (we all use these muscles when we decide to run as fast as we can -- many times resulting in a hamstring injury -- don't ask me how I know) -- we sometimes see this in the ability to cut -- to fake -- to use a burst of speed to get by a defender or to cause a ground ball -- and the ability to switch hands very quickly. It could be that the smaller athletes use develop their fast twitch muscles as they progress because they cannot rely on size and brute force. I have noticed that many of the better defenders have also played basketball and have the ability to move their feet very quickly while in a 3/4 bend -- the core muscles that must take. Does this make any sense as to why the shorter women may be more successful than the taller .

Of course a taller woman who has been blessed with outstanding fast-twitch coordination is going to dominate.

TIA

[forthelaxofit]

I watch more games on TV than in person but went to both of the Florida vs Maryland games and thought the teams looked tall. Ran some numbers..

Florida has 40 players on roster, 18 played in their elite 8 playoff game.
- 9 of 18 who played were 5’7” or taller, 9 shorter
- 25 of 40 girls on roster 5’6 or smaller. So 9 of the 25 played (9/25=36% of 5'6 or shorter rostered girls played)
- 15 of 40 girls on roster 5’7 or taller. So 9 of the 15 played (9/15=60% of rostered played)

Maryland has 34 players on roster. They typically play more players, 20 played in 16 or more games this year.
- 9 of 20 of these players were 5’7” or taller, 11 shorter
- 19 of 34 girls on roster 5’6 or smaller. So 11 played of the 19 (11/19=58% of 5'6 or shorter rostered girls played)
- 15 of 34 girls on roster 5’7 or taller. So 9 of the 15 played (9/15=60% of rostered are playing)

While this doesn't relate to recruit rankings, at least for these 2 schools, taller girls make up less of the total roster, but overall a greater percentage of them play than the shorter players on the roster

[whyamihere]

Delaware women's lax moving to the ASUN starting in 2025

[Relax77]

Delaware women's lax moving to the ASUN starting in 2025

That’s interesting

[LaxDadMax]

Delaware women's lax moving to the ASUN starting in 2025

That’s interesting

Curious the impact this will have on recruiting for them. Their key recruiting base has traditionally been Philly, S.Jersey and downstate NY.

Wonder if they lose some recruits because they will now have no drivable conference road games from their key recruiting areas.

[whyamihere]

Delaware women's lax moving to the ASUN starting in 2025

That’s interesting

Sorry..2026 season

[Relax77]

HHH just wrapped up its Committed Games. Lots of surprises. That’s why these things don’t mean anything. Back a few years when Coastal won or last year someone saying they watched the USF commits play….it doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t mean that a program is gonna be special or bad from watching these games. It’s sloppy. Tons, and I mean tons of turnovers. Sometimes it looked like youth lax on clears. Not surprisingly offensive players looked sharp. Many kids on defense looked athletic. Some of the top teams didn’t look good at all. But I’m sure when the coaches get these kids for a full season it will make a difference. I’ll give an example. Stony Brook and Syracuse didn’t look great. (Fun fact they played each other on the losers bracket playoffs and SB won by 1. That had a little extra spice to it) But Give my guy Joe A year with these kids and they will 100% look different. He had aggressive kids and they all looked like they will fit into his defensive system. Just raw.

For those who care. The format for the playoffs was weird. It was like they forgot how to do it. For instance. Winners bracket and losers bracket had 24 teams each. I think they had 8 buys to the second round. But 9 played 10. 11 played 12. 23 played 24. It was a weird set up.

IMO here’s some teams I observed a bit.
Brown looked very good. Beat Maryland twice. Beat Loyola. Lost to NC who, to no surprise, looked awesome and seemed to be the best. Harvard did well after not playing in a hard “division” They beat USC and ND to get to the finals. BC looked good. Also had 26 #1 ranked player Ava Fossati playing with them. . (Certain 26s selected from the previous days showcase were allowed to play in the tourney.)
As mentioned Stony Brook lost to NU, Davidson and Lehigh.
Syracuse lost to SB, UConn and Fla (Florida looked really good as well.)
JMU struggled. USF looked bad but I heard hey didn’t have a lot of their commits. I saw a few more teams but you guys already stopped reading.

That being said. Here’s the takeaway for me from this event. My daughter turned to me and said dad that was the most fun I’ve had at a lax tournament ever. I wasn’t shocked. I spoke to multiple parents we knew over the years. Their kids all felt the same way. Was a fun weekend for everyone with no pressure.

[LaxDadMax]

HHH just wrapped up its Committed Games. Lots of surprises. That’s why these things don’t mean anything. Back a few years when Coastal won or last year someone saying they watched the USF commits play….it doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t mean that a program is gonna be special or bad from watching these games. It’s sloppy. Tons, and I mean tons of turnovers. Sometimes it looked like youth lax on clears. Not surprisingly offensive players looked sharp. Many kids on defense looked athletic. Some of the top teams didn’t look good at all. But I’m sure when the coaches get these kids for a full season it will make a difference. I’ll give an example. Stony Brook and Syracuse didn’t look great. (Fun fact they played each other on the losers bracket playoffs and SB won by 1. That had a little extra spice to it) But Give my guy Joe A year with these kids and they will 100% look different. He had aggressive kids and they all looked like they will fit into his defensive system. Just raw.

For those who care. The format for the playoffs was weird. It was like they forgot how to do it. For instance. Winners bracket and losers bracket had 24 teams each. I think they had 8 buys to the second round. But 9 played 10. 11 played 12. 23 played 24. It was a weird set up.

IMO here’s some teams I observed a bit.
Brown looked very good. Beat Maryland twice. Beat Loyola. Lost to NC who, to no surprise, looked awesome and seemed to be the best. Harvard did well after not playing in a hard “division” They beat USC and ND to get to the finals. BC looked good. Also had 26 #1 ranked player Ava Fossati playing with them. . (Certain 26s selected from the previous days showcase were allowed to play in the tourney.)
As mentioned Stony Brook lost to NU, Davidson and Lehigh.
Syracuse lost to SB, UConn and Fla (Florida looked really good as well.)
JMU struggled. USF looked bad but I heard hey didn’t have a lot of their commits. I saw a few more teams but you guys already stopped reading.

That being said. Here’s the takeaway for me from this event. My daughter turned to me and said dad that was the most fun I’ve had at a lax tournament ever. I wasn’t shocked. I spoke to multiple parents we knew over the years. Their kids all felt the same way. Was a fun weekend for everyone with no pressure.

Completely agree about the fun weekend. My 25 daughter said something similar. What's interesting is that going in the coaches told them to have fun and she wanted everyone playing every position. "The entire point is to try to get to know each other. And we may get a bit more serious at Placid."

Generally speaking, I thought Ivy teams looked good, especially Brown, Penn and Harvard. I also thought they were playing much more to win.

Also very interesting how a couple perenniel top programs somehow got the top 26 players from HHH while a couple of the top YJ 26s were put on teams that their club team could have probably beaten. Totally random, I'm sure.

A couple 26s very stood out -- the goalie from Top Guns (can't remember her name), Gibbs from Alliance and the defender from Heros. Thought the M&D top girls looked very average.

[Deacon022]

HHH just wrapped up its Committed Games. Lots of surprises. That’s why these things don’t mean anything. Back a few years when Coastal won or last year someone saying they watched the USF commits play….it doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t mean that a program is gonna be special or bad from watching these games. It’s sloppy. Tons, and I mean tons of turnovers. Sometimes it looked like youth lax on clears. Not surprisingly offensive players looked sharp. Many kids on defense looked athletic. Some of the top teams didn’t look good at all. But I’m sure when the coaches get these kids for a full season it will make a difference. I’ll give an example. Stony Brook and Syracuse didn’t look great. (Fun fact they played each other on the losers bracket playoffs and SB won by 1. That had a little extra spice to it) But Give my guy Joe A year with these kids and they will 100% look different. He had aggressive kids and they all looked like they will fit into his defensive system. Just raw.

For those who care. The format for the playoffs was weird. It was like they forgot how to do it. For instance. Winners bracket and losers bracket had 24 teams each. I think they had 8 buys to the second round. But 9 played 10. 11 played 12. 23 played 24. It was a weird set up.

IMO here’s some teams I observed a bit.
Brown looked very good. Beat Maryland twice. Beat Loyola. Lost to NC who, to no surprise, looked awesome and seemed to be the best. Harvard did well after not playing in a hard “division” They beat USC and ND to get to the finals. BC looked good. Also had 26 #1 ranked player Ava Fossati playing with them. . (Certain 26s selected from the previous days showcase were allowed to play in the tourney.)
As mentioned Stony Brook lost to NU, Davidson and Lehigh.
Syracuse lost to SB, UConn and Fla (Florida looked really good as well.)
JMU struggled. USF looked bad but I heard hey didn’t have a lot of their commits. I saw a few more teams but you guys already stopped reading.

That being said. Here’s the takeaway for me from this event. My daughter turned to me and said dad that was the most fun I’ve had at a lax tournament ever. I wasn’t shocked. I spoke to multiple parents we knew over the years. Their kids all felt the same way. Was a fun weekend for everyone with no pressure.

Completely agree about the fun weekend. My 25 daughter said something similar. What's interesting is that going in the coaches told them to have fun and she wanted everyone playing every position. "The entire point is to try to get to know each other. And we may get a bit more serious at Placid."

Generally speaking, I thought Ivy teams looked good, especially Brown, Penn and Harvard. I also thought they were playing much more to win.

Also very interesting how a couple perenniel top programs somehow got the top 26 players from HHH while a couple of the top YJ 26s were put on teams that their club team could have probably beaten. Totally random, I'm sure.

A couple 26s very stood out -- the goalie from Top Guns (can't remember her name), Gibbs from Alliance and the defender from Heros. Thought the M&D top girls looked very average.

I agree with both of you. It wasn’t just fun for the girls, the parents seem to have enjoyed it as well. Of all the things I’ve paid for over the years, this was my favorite event I’ve ever gone to. Running into all the girls and parents who played on my daughter’s team over the years now going off to their college teams, it was awesome. They all seemed super excited. I agree with Relax, the games for the most part seemed sloppy but it didn’t seem like anyone including the coaches cared. It was more like a meet and greet. Looking forward to it again next year.

[SoCal]

HHH just wrapped up its Committed Games. Lots of surprises. That’s why these things don’t mean anything. Back a few years when Coastal won or last year someone saying they watched the USF commits play….it doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t mean that a program is gonna be special or bad from watching these games. It’s sloppy. Tons, and I mean tons of turnovers. Sometimes it looked like youth lax on clears. Not surprisingly offensive players looked sharp. Many kids on defense looked athletic. Some of the top teams didn’t look good at all. But I’m sure when the coaches get these kids for a full season it will make a difference. I’ll give an example. Stony Brook and Syracuse didn’t look great. (Fun fact they played each other on the losers bracket playoffs and SB won by 1. That had a little extra spice to it) But Give my guy Joe A year with these kids and they will 100% look different. He had aggressive kids and they all looked like they will fit into his defensive system. Just raw.

For those who care. The format for the playoffs was weird. It was like they forgot how to do it. For instance. Winners bracket and losers bracket had 24 teams each. I think they had 8 buys to the second round. But 9 played 10. 11 played 12. 23 played 24. It was a weird set up.

IMO here’s some teams I observed a bit.
Brown looked very good. Beat Maryland twice. Beat Loyola. Lost to NC who, to no surprise, looked awesome and seemed to be the best. Harvard did well after not playing in a hard “division” They beat USC and ND to get to the finals. BC looked good. Also had 26 #1 ranked player Ava Fossati playing with them. . (Certain 26s selected from the previous days showcase were allowed to play in the tourney.)
As mentioned Stony Brook lost to NU, Davidson and Lehigh.
Syracuse lost to SB, UConn and Fla (Florida looked really good as well.)
JMU struggled. USF looked bad but I heard hey didn’t have a lot of their commits. I saw a few more teams but you guys already stopped reading.

That being said. Here’s the takeaway for me from this event. My daughter turned to me and said dad that was the most fun I’ve had at a lax tournament ever. I wasn’t shocked. I spoke to multiple parents we knew over the years. Their kids all felt the same way. Was a fun weekend for everyone with no pressure.

Completely agree about the fun weekend. My 25 daughter said something similar. What's interesting is that going in the coaches told them to have fun and she wanted everyone playing every position. "The entire point is to try to get to know each other. And we may get a bit more serious at Placid."

Generally speaking, I thought Ivy teams looked good, especially Brown, Penn and Harvard. I also thought they were playing much more to win.

Also very interesting how a couple perenniel top programs somehow got the top 26 players from HHH while a couple of the top YJ 26s were put on teams that their club team could have probably beaten. Totally random, I'm sure.

A couple 26s very stood out -- the goalie from Top Guns (can't remember her name), Gibbs from Alliance and the defender from Heros. Thought the M&D top girls looked very average.

Agree that it was a great event - my daughter loved it last year and this year. Disagree that the Ivys stood out anymore than other teams. And definitely disagree that Penn stood out. One only needs to pull up the game schedule on sports tourney machine or whatever it’s called to see final scores.

[laxdadpat]

The HHH committed games are terrific. Great to see the girls having fun and going to the different tents to see their friends. Seemed as much a social event as lacrosse for the 24's and 25's. I would recommend all 25's and 26's do it next year, I think around 50 college teams were represented. Lots of impressive recruits got in a great weekend playing with new girls.