Recruiting

[Relax77]

BC with a huge day -- pickup 2 Philly girls including the best goalie in the class.

That's debatable. What's with the Triple H connection? There have been four or five in the last two years. It's not like they are a top club in the country; they consistently fall outside the top 10.

Rankings are worthless and can be manipulated as we saw this year. As long as they play in the top 2 brackets they will get seen and no college coach is going to pass on kids because they lose club games.

Welcome to the forum btw.

[wgdsr]

I can only imagine the new portal helps Levy and Barnes with recruiting big time. They can confidently tell girls that they will be a part of the most completive practices in the country their entire freshman year at a great school. If they don't like the playing time outlook, teams will line up for them if they enter the transfer portal for their sophomore year.

for lacrosse players that wish to transfer to a different school of their choice, the portal has changed very little other than not having to write out and send 10 emails.

[laxdadpat]

A club being in the top 20 is fine. Who cares about being ranked 8, 12 or 20. It's about getting girls recruited to where they want to go. HHH has been tops in Philly until recently, NXT may be the top dog in Philly as per their top recruits recently. Either way, both clubs are a force and made the Philly area a hot spot only behind Long Island as far as the top young players. Maryland may still have more quality players, but not the top players that aren't coaches' daughters(haha).
What about the top talent from the Aces club as mentioned 2 days ago, wow! I would imagine Florida is going to be the top recruiting region for women's lacrosse within 5 years just like it is in football.

Just a UNC comment who I am in a wait and prove it mode. I can only imagine the new portal helps Levy and Barnes with recruiting big time. They can confidently tell girls that they will be a part of the most completive practices in the country their entire freshman year at a great school. If they don't like the playing time outlook, teams will line up for them if they enter the transfer portal for their sophomore year.

What do they have to prove?

As per a previous post from me.
This is a very interesting year for UNC. The pressure is on the offense to live up to the talent on the roster. Last year was a flop even considering the injuries, just too much talent on that roster. I will blame the coaching staff if the offense is not a dominant group. I have heard a lot of people say UNC is not as good now because of one person. Katrina Dowd was the mastermind that led the UNC offense to great heights. She has done it everywhere she goes even without the top recruits she had at UNC. Probably the best young coach in the game today, Brown played a great brand of team offense last year.

[cdb]

I don't believe UNC has anything to prove in terms of being one of the best programs, but it wasn't one of the best programs last year -- so it is natural to see how well the team rebounds -- shouldn't be a problem, but the two games I watched them play last year, they could not keep up with the talent of the opponent. The biggest weakness I saw was when the opponent changed strategy to limit a UNC advantage they did not have an answer.

I expect they will be top four this year -- but I always wait until they play the games.

[Relax77]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

[MolonLaxe]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

[Relax77]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part. UNC has been in three finals in the last ten years. Should they have been in more? Ok. Should Cuse have been in more than three? Should NU have been in more than 4? Many teams underperform at the top. Not sure why we are only kicking UNC.

Getting off my point though that UNC is a recruiting beast and don't have to be right 100% of the time.

[MolonLaxe]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part.

This is where I’d disagree with you. Get players that don’t fit the culture and it can destroy of severely impact team success. And for some teams? It only takes 1 or 2 of those girls to bring it all down.

[BigRedChant]

This strikes me as a weird post because…

1) unless you are ranked, I would consider all these recruits somewhat mystery shots. Is it ever certain how a girl jumps to the college game ? How, then can almost any of these girls be a miss?

2) using that logic - I guess you can say committing girls who are ranked opens you up to a “miss” - but maybe that isn’t fair either since I think the board has already established the flaws in the ranking system.

3) I guess I really just don’t like focusing on the negative of young women trying hard. How about - “this coach is better than others at finding great talent” . It seems to me that can probably be said about all the top top coaches in the country and the better coaches in each conference.

4) that being said - and playing according to your guidelines - I totally disagree. UNC, Md, BC, NW, etc can’t miss because their expectations are national championship or “it was a poor season”. Other schools (including the ones you listed) are playing for winning games, conference champs, invitation to ncaa. Since only so many can play on the field anyway- if they hit on 50% every year- that might be good enough for a really really good year.

But as we learned with unc and its depth problems - that is NOT good enough for the teams chasing a national championship.

[Relax77]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part.

This is where I’d disagree with you. Get players that don’t fit the culture and it can destroy of severely impact team success. And for some teams? It only takes 1 or 2 of those girls to bring it all down.

And where did UNC come crashing down? That's my point, they can screw up and still be at the top of the heap. Last year was a perfect example of depth. Insanely injured but still managed to go top 20 playing an ACC schedule. That doesn’t happen if they recruit like Penn State.

[MolonLaxe]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part.

This is where I’d disagree with you. Get players that don’t fit the culture and it can destroy of severely impact team success. And for some teams? It only takes 1 or 2 of those girls to bring it all down.

And where did UNC come crashing down? That's my point, they can screw up and still be at the top of the heap. Last year was a perfect example of depth. Insanely injured but still managed to go top 20 playing an ACC schedule. That doesn’t happen if they recruit like Penn State.

This may be an unpopular opinion that I’m about to unleash here, but let’s go.

Penn State can barely coach their way out of a wet paper bag. They haven’t stayed up with the changes in the game and recruiting. It’s a miracle when they have something better than a mid season at this point.

I think that has more to do with the coaching than the recruiting.

[watcherinthewoods]

The "new" recruiting system really does seem to condense the process. Let me ask this, how many 1-30 D1 programs will have their 6-8 commits by 10/1? In the old system, folks were adding kids to fill their final spots even fall of senior year. Does that still happen?

What do you mean by new recruiting system?
Looks like the 2024 classes are all large like 10-14 and 2025 class 6-12.

The Sept 1 contact date ... when my daughter went through the process it started in 8th grade for some players ... so the calendar was far less condensed.

[watcherinthewoods]

BC with a huge day -- pickup 2 Philly girls including the best goalie in the class.

That's debatable. What's with the Triple H connection? There have been four or five in the last two years. It's not like they are a top club in the country; they consistently fall outside the top 10.

Founder/head of Triple H (which is a relatively new club in Philly) is extraordinary at placing kids at coveted programs and in teams in high profile events and US lax programs. This helped her start the club ... and allowed her to attract top players.

[laxfan9999]

As athletes progress, at each level some drop off. You can have two very similar players and one excels at the next level and the other struggles. It is an inexact science. Look at NFL draft picks and NCAA football. It is the same with women's lacrosse. You hear people say XYZ girl peaked as a junior in high school. Schools that recruit at as a high level as UNC does in women's lacrosse, have many more talented players to possibly be right on and also be wrong on. Look at CW, she didn't have the career they wanted her to have but it was still really good. Their 2024 class of 7 will probably have 2-3 stars, 2-3 busts and 2-3 serviceable players. Will that be viewed as a successful class? It should especially with CH essentially being part of that class now.

[Kleizaster]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part.

This is where I’d disagree with you. Get players that don’t fit the culture and it can destroy of severely impact team success. And for some teams? It only takes 1 or 2 of those girls to bring it all down.

Every kid Jenny recruits fits her culture and playing style. Fast and athletic. see my previous posts. UNC has one of the lowest transfer rates. Especially among freshmen recruits. They stick around. Can't say that about other top programs. That goes against the idea that she recruits players that don't fit. Otherwise the program would be a revolving door.

The program has been utterly dominant since 2019 except for last season. No one said anything.

It's actually impressive they keep recruiting well despite all that. Could they have won more? sure. But i don't think it's because of not having the right players. The only reason is because its sports and things happen. No one is winning 3 straight championships in this era anymore, no matter how talented you are.

But you can say that about BC as well and all the time they've come short in the final four and championship games. Same with NU. So it's odd that it's just UNC that gets held to this other standard that no one else does.

[Relax77]

I don't understand the UNC hate. Have they had stellar recruiting classes? Yes. Do they also need to win the games? Yes. The thing about UNC is they are getting tons of top kids. They can afford to miss on half of them. Can a team like Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina or Drexel afford to miss on half their recruits, no, but a team like UNC is bringing in so many of these top recruits, they can afford to be wrong on some.

UNC has been wrong some of the time by targeting top recruits that didn’t quite fit the culture Jenny wanted. She’s stated as much in various interviews, although she doesn’t go into great depth on it.

It’s easy to get sucked into trying to pull as many of the “top” recruits as possible, but if they don’t fit the culture it’s a waste of time. We’ve seen UNC underperform in those situations previously.

As does every other team. No one is right 100% of the time. Schools like UNC, BC, NU, Cuse can be wrong 25% of the time because they usually have pick of the litter. Schools like JMU, PSU, UVA etc, can't, because they are picking second for the most part.

This is where I’d disagree with you. Get players that don’t fit the culture and it can destroy of severely impact team success. And for some teams? It only takes 1 or 2 of those girls to bring it all down.

And where did UNC come crashing down? That's my point, they can screw up and still be at the top of the heap. Last year was a perfect example of depth. Insanely injured but still managed to go top 20 playing an ACC schedule. That doesn’t happen if they recruit like Penn State.

This may be an unpopular opinion that I’m about to unleash here, but let’s go.

Penn State can barely coach their way out of a wet paper bag. They haven’t stayed up with the changes in the game and recruiting. It’s a miracle when they have something better than a mid season at this point.

I think that has more to do with the coaching than the recruiting.

Please pick a team 20-40 that you approve of as a coach and insert that said coach’s name into my statement. If you don’t like any 20-40 feel free to move down the line.

[spidey44]

But you can say that about BC as well and all the time they've come short in the final four and championship games. Same with NU. So it's odd that it's just UNC that gets held to this other standard that no one else does.

Maryland gets slammed all the time. All because they haven't won since 2019. Pretty sure all but three programs would have liked a championship that recently (yes I realized they haven't played as well the last few years - although they did have a 1 pt loss in the final four two years ago).

[cdb]

Sometimes folks on this board seem to read to defend their favorite programs even when there is no battle to win.

We will all see how good each school's recruiting class is in the next 2-4 years, so there is really nothing to debate.

I really agree with the posters that indicate that the athlete should want to attend the college they choose even if they did not play Lacrosse.

I really hope that each girl gets a chance to attend the school of her choice and it is the right school for her.

[watcherinthewoods]

BC with a huge day -- pickup 2 Philly girls including the best goalie in the class.

That's debatable. What's with the Triple H connection? There have been four or five in the last two years. It's not like they are a top club in the country; they consistently fall outside the top 10.

Founder/head of Triple H (which is a relatively new club in Philly) is extraordinary at placing kids at coveted programs and on teams in high profile events and US lax programs. This helped her start the club ... and allowed her to attract top players.

[LaxMomNYC]

How would Coach Levy do with Denver's recruiting class? Or Loyola's? An earlier comment about the best goalie in the class - says who? Rankings are so subjective and only focus on the players available to the ranking service. It is such an inexact science that can't possibly cover the entire landscape, nor does it have enough actual game analysis of each player to truly do a competent job. To say a certain school got the best player or the top class, based upon completely random and incomplete player landscape availability, is pointless. I've watched 5 star recruits get boat-raced for an entire game and seen unheralded no stars dominate while no one noticed. Players like Ashley Humphrey, who add immeasurable value to team goals through niche excellence, are what, in the end, make a great class.