Recruiting

[LaxUpstate]

I'm not surprised. I hate saying it but how can schools in less than desirable locations compete with UNC and Chapel Hill? Honestly. If the money is the same (and from what I'm hearing just about everyone will be playing there for free), who the heck would take Syracuse over UNC if they had the choice. I'm not saying they are winning championships (ah I'll say it, they win one in the next 4) , but they can recruit just about anyone and everyone they want. Just my opinion. No dog in the fight.

Completely agree. Syracuse doesn’t have the passionate fan base like some SEC or BIG10 schools, so it’s easy to go elsewhere. Similar to Maryland missing out on top recruits in their backyard over the years.

What? Cuse leads the country in attendance almost every year. Cuse may have the most passionate fanbase? This isnt football we are talking about its lax

I agree on lacrosse fan base . I was more referring to fan base of the school as a whole. Syracuse base is nothing like UNC/Michigan/Bama/FSU/Penn State etc….

[Relax77]

BC just upset Florida State. Guess it’s a good thing they probably didn’t have recruits there for that one.

[cdb]

It is the game experience the recruit is attracted to - not so much whether or not the team wins the game -- for example, I read that when BC recruited Apuzzo, they put her and her parents on the 50 yard line for a homecoming game and that sealed the deal. I don't believe BC won that game. So, Florida State can use those games to recruit Lacrosse athletes who want to play for a football school despite the poor season they are on their way to this year.

[laxguy516]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

[intheknow247]

Powell to UNC

oof. Saw it comming. Still hurts. KT recruited her hard. The vibes are def rotten in syracuse

The "not touching it with a 10 foot pole" vibes are real in the club world right now.

[AroundTheWorld]

Powell to UNC

oof. Saw it comming. Still hurts. KT recruited her hard. The vibes are def rotten in syracuse

The "not touching it with a 10 foot pole" vibes are real in the club world right now.

seems like they used their 48hour exploding offer tactic again. My guess is a few didn’t accept it

[LaxDadMax]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

[Kleizaster]

Powell to UNC

oof. Saw it comming. Still hurts. KT recruited her hard. The vibes are def rotten in syracuse

The "not touching it with a 10 foot pole" vibes are real in the club world right now.

seems like they used their 48hour exploding offer tactic again. My guess is a few didn’t accept it

That's never been proven to be an effective tactic. i don't know why schools do that. If anything turns players off. Especially if you're not a top choice for top players like CUSE. The most coveted offer out there is a UNC offer. Followed by BC, NW, and MD then Clemson. I'd even put Florida before CUSE. Makes no sense to act like you're top choice for players and giving them a timeline when you're not

[Kleizaster]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

It's been impressive how loaded Aces has become recently. A reBirth of Central New York talent after taking a back seat to Connecticut, Long Island and Maryland

[lacrossemwj]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

It's been impressive how loaded Aces has become recently. A reBirth of New York talent after taking a back seat to Connecticut and Maryland

Yes, I'm not even sure Aces existed a few years ago, and they are now top 5 in the country? Granted, upstate has always been a lacrosse hotbed, but that is impressive in just a few years ago. They've overtaken Monsters, Snipers, Salt City in record time.

[LaxDadMax]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

It's been impressive how loaded Aces has become recently. A reBirth of New York talent after taking a back seat to Connecticut and Maryland

I think it's a combo of a couple of things.

1) Noone wants to deal with the Monster, its questionable ethics and the Canandaigua connect

2) They've done a great job with player development and bringing on girls who weren't the best lax players but were great athletes and teaching them lax.

3) Playing a high tempo style of player that rewards creativity instead of the pack-it-in-backer zone schemes most upstate and LI teams run.

[intheknow247]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

It's been impressive how loaded Aces has become recently. A reBirth of New York talent after taking a back seat to Connecticut and Maryland

I think it's a combo of a couple of things.

1) Noone wants to deal with the Monster, its questionable ethics and the Canandaigua connect

2) They've done a great job with player development and bringing on girls who weren't the best lax players but were great athletes and teaching them lax.

3) Playing a high tempo style of player that rewards creativity instead of the pack-it-in-backer zone schemes most upstate and LI teams run.

Quick to ascend as well with Rothfuss keeping his daughter's friends in tow. That creates instant talent and coupled with quality coaching you can rise very fast. Plus, point #1 is VERY REAL and point #3 speaks volumes about playing ZONE D at club level - NCAA COACHES WANT TO SEE YOU PLAY DEFENSE ON THE BALL!

[lax410]

Tell me more about your thoughts on zone at the club level. Why is 1 v 1 D preferable?

[LaxDadMax]

Tell me more about your thoughts on zone at the club level. Why is 1 v 1 D preferable?

It's hard to evaluate talent in most zone defenses, especially the passive backer Ds that many of these teams run. Coaches want to see you be able to defend in space, know when to slide, close out doubles, etc.

A few teams, most notably the 25 YJ Spallina played very dynamic high pressure zone defenses which is great for recruiting, but most of these zones where everyone is inside 8, its hard to see who can actually play D.

[LaxDadMax]

Tell me more about your thoughts on zone at the club level. Why is 1 v 1 D preferable?

One more point. Any decent man to man D will have some zone principles. (eg which direction are you forcing? Does the hot defender always hedge? Are they double zones? When do you try to deadend the ball?, etc).

[suffolk]

Most college coaches HATE teams that play zone in club play. They want to see a player's ability to guard someone one on one.

[lax410]

Thanks laxdad and Suffolk. Makes total sense.

[laxfan9999]

My daughters top 15 club team played man to man the summer before and fall after Sept 1 of junior year for that reason. They still did well but the year after junior year, they played zone and won a couple events. Coach said the colleges wanted to see the D play more 1v1 d.

[MDstateMan]

Syracuse losing recruits to Clemson and Florida State should be the concern. They already lost the 2025 decommits and if this becomes a trend Cuse will be in trouble.

Interesting trend going into next year as well, with huge local talent levels next year. For 2027, Aces has the likely #1 recruit in the country and probably 3 or 4 of the top 25. If they can't get any of the top 2026 Aces players to stay home, I don't see much changing next year.

It's been impressive how loaded Aces has become recently. A reBirth of New York talent after taking a back seat to Connecticut and Maryland

Yes, I'm not even sure Aces existed a few years ago, and they are now top 5 in the country? Granted, upstate has always been a lacrosse hotbed, but that is impressive in just a few years ago. They've overtaken Monsters, Snipers, Salt City in record time.

They are a "newer" club, basically taking some of the kids that would normally got to Monster.

right now its Aces, Monster and Salt City Snipers as top clubs in area.

[intheknow247]

My daughters top 15 club team played man to man the summer before and fall after Sept 1 of junior year for that reason. They still did well but the year after junior year, they played zone and won a couple events. Coach said the colleges wanted to see the D play more 1v1 d.

That illustrates the point exactly - club directors and coaches want WINS - sometimes more than they do to develop kids and put them in the best position to be recruited. But college coaches know best.