Recruiting

[watcherinthewoods]

There are indeed schools that offer academic and post college job experiences that rival the ivies.
But not a lot.
And ivies have fantastic financial aid resources. I think your supposition that an ivy student will graduate with lots of student loans is mistaken.

What really separates the ivies from most other division one schools (Stanford, Duke are similar) are 1) the academic talent level of the student body as a whole, from top to bottom, and 2) the alumni network in business, the arts and the sciences.

So for the right student athlete, they offer a fairly differentiated experience.

Not better for everyone—but for an academically inclined student athlete, the ivies and Duke and Stanford are tough to match in division 1.

I would add Northwestern and Vandy to that list of DI schools ... and on the next tier BC and Notre Dame.

I had NO idea about the power of the Ivy League network until my daughter was enrolled. It is real. And the education she had access to was extraordinary. Not for everyone, but a good fit for some.

[LiveLaxLove]

Agreed on the financial aid piece. The rep that they are a lot more expensive is just inaccurate in our experience.

You're definitely right. Northwestern is the most expensive college in the nation, with Boston College not far behind. I can't imagine have even 50% of that debt per year waiting on me after graduation.

https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/m ... -colleges/

[McLax9777]

Look, no one is saying these rankings are perfect. They are not. Players get overlooked and underrated, players get overrated. Happens. People are ranked in life and compared to their peers. Successful companies hire the best people. The best teams have the best players. UNC and BC are consistantly good and better than Lindenwood because they have better players. The better players you have, the higher the chance of success.

No one just closes their eyes and decides to randomely rank players. There's merit to it.

How can you argue rankings don't matter yet every year the best teams are the teams who have more players who were highly touted coming out of high school. what am i missing here. is this not common sense?

I’m with you on this one. Rankings do matter. No one likes to hear that if those rankings do not include their kid, or when a school their kid was recruited to doesn’t pick up 5 or 4 star players. That’s when rankings “don’t matter” and everything is unfair. The schools that did best grabbing those kids were BC, Florida, MD, UNC, UVA.

[Finnyboy]

Going to need 1400 or above for Ivy.

I know that all Ivies are not created equal when it comes to the academic admission bar. The bar is definitely different for each Ivy. I'm not sure if the bar is varied by athlete within one ivy, where more desirable athletes are allowed a lower test score.

Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown (plus Cornell next year) require test scores from all applicants.
Penn and Princeton are optional (for this application cycle at least) and Columbia is permanently test-optional.

Does anyone know if Ivy coaches at the test-optional schools require athletes to submit scores even if the school itself doesn't require it?

At the Ivy's if they dont require test scores you send them if you did really well, if you did not you do not send, Ivy's use an Academic Index number that the recruited class has to meet. The Ivy's can get their top recruit in with less than 1400 scores, they will offer a kid with 1600 to balance it out. They all use the AI number (Academic Index). What is tough besides grades is no Athletic money, If you do not qualify for Financial aid you get nothing.

[cdb]

The Ivy and many other colleges will use the academic index, but do require that all the athletes meet the same index numbers as the rest of the student population. Allowing students with less than the mean number is not just for athletes, ti is for students with circumstances that may have affected their study time or other circumstances such as health, etc. They do not want to use all of those scholarships for athletes.

So, it is possible to get an athlete in with a lower score, but not all athletes will get in.

I had knowledge of this practice until several years ago, but admit I am no longer connected -- sorry if others know this policy has changed.

[Womenslaxxfan]

The Ivy and many other colleges will use the academic index, but do require that all the athletes meet the same index numbers as the rest of the student population.

This isn’t quite accurate. At most if not all ivies, the AI of the athleticic department as a whole is typically at least one standard deviation lower than the non-athlete population….

The athletic department can chose to prioritize certain teams (mens soccer) to have a lower average, but they have to balance that out with higher teams (womens field hockey) to make sure that the entire athletic cohort average is at a certain level-/which is below the rest of the class….

[WashedUpLaxDad]

Going to need 1400 or above for Ivy.

I know that all Ivies are not created equal when it comes to the academic admission bar. The bar is definitely different for each Ivy. I'm not sure if the bar is varied by athlete within one ivy, where more desirable athletes are allowed a lower test score.

Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown (plus Cornell next year) require test scores from all applicants.
Penn and Princeton are optional (for this application cycle at least) and Columbia is permanently test-optional.

Does anyone know if Ivy coaches at the test-optional schools require athletes to submit scores even if the school itself doesn't require it?

At the Ivy's if they dont require test scores you send them if you did really well, if you did not you do not send, Ivy's use an Academic Index number that the recruited class has to meet. The Ivy's can get their top recruit in with less than 1400 scores, they will offer a kid with 1600 to balance it out. They all use the AI number (Academic Index). What is tough besides grades is no Athletic money, If you do not qualify for Financial aid you get nothing.

I believe most if not all ivies will require tests for 26s and after. I heard Dartmouth and brown both had 25 commits who didn’t hit their test numbers.

[25and32LaxDad]

FSU already with 10 '25s and 9 '26s. 1 goalie per class and almost all offensive players. Rumor has it they are only taking 12 per class and filling the rest with transfers next April. Seems highly risky if that is true assuming they are fielding a team next fall filled with only '25s and transfers.

[Kleizaster]

FSU already with 10 '25s and 9 '26s. 1 goalie per class and almost all offensive players. Rumor has it they are only taking 12 per class and filling the rest with transfers next April. Seems highly risky if that is true assuming they are fielding a team next fall filled with only '25s and transfers.

I don't think they'll have trouble attracting decent talent in the portal

[cdb]

It is too early to determine the status of Florida State given the outcry from alums to fire the football coach and the ongoing case with the ACC -- football pays the bills for the non-revenue sports -- Florida State beat a good CAL team after losing to GA Tech, BC, and Memphis. Hopefully, they will turn the football program around and retain a really good coach -- it is difficult to base your program entirely on transfers -- it worked last year -- it hasn't worked yet this year.

In the court case, Fl State is hoping that a having the jurisdiction of the case in Florida will result in a better result -- however, the ACC made an offer recently that will pay the winner of the ACC more money than they could make in either the SEC or Big 10. That will not mollify either Florida State or Clemson but it probably will show a judge that the ACC is trying to meet both half way. Such a result would not favor both schools.

I suggest we wait until all the concerns surrounding the football program settle down --

I also heard an unconfirmed rumor -- I say this because I really have no evidence -- I usually ignore comments that are not backed up with concrete evidence -- but the rumor was intriguing as it indicated that it would be a real positive for a school wantiing to enter the Big 10 to have a good Division 1 WLAX team -- even better if it had both men and women. The reason I mention it is that it gives credence that Florida State has motivation to properly build its WLAX program given its desire to leave the ACC.

[LaxUpstate]

It is too early to determine the status of Florida State given the outcry from alums to fire the football coach and the ongoing case with the ACC -- football pays the bills for the non-revenue sports -- Florida State beat a good CAL team after losing to GA Tech, BC, and Memphis. Hopefully, they will turn the football program around and retain a really good coach -- it is difficult to base your program entirely on transfers -- it worked last year -- it hasn't worked yet this year.

In the court case, Fl State is hoping that a having the jurisdiction of the case in Florida will result in a better result -- however, the ACC made an offer recently that will pay the winner of the ACC more money than they could make in either the SEC or Big 10. That will not mollify either Florida State or Clemson but it probably will show a judge that the ACC is trying to meet both half way. Such a result would not favor both schools.

I suggest we wait until all the concerns surrounding the football program settle down --

I also heard an unconfirmed rumor -- I say this because I really have no evidence -- I usually ignore comments that are not backed up with concrete evidence -- but the rumor was intriguing as it indicated that it would be a real positive for a school wantiing to enter the Big 10 to have a good Division 1 WLAX team -- even better if it had both men and women. The reason I mention it is that it gives credence that Florida State has motivation to properly build its WLAX program given its desire to leave the ACC.

From the football side I feel like FSU is in a bad spot and their best hope is the ACC giving them a bigger share of the pie. SEC already has Florida and the Big10 would probably prefer Miami over FSU. Will be interesting to watch play out over the next few years though.

[Relax77]

Amazing how Penn State can’t attract big names recruits. Was looking good for a change last year but they went on a run and I think Missy bought herself another year. Looking over her recruit class this year. At the expense of starting this debate again, 1 4. Very popular, good football school, huge network, but once again seems Missy is forced to go shopping at Walmart and Shoprite, getting Great Value and Bowl and Basket items for the dish. Bowl and basket items are good and your dish may be very tasty. But sometimes you need to get Delmonte, or Kraft and other named brands. They do taste better .

[laxdadpat]

Penn State is a sleeping giant but falling behind more every year. The Big10 is loaded with great coaches with great resources. Imagine if half the top Pa talent went to State College. Rule 1 of recruiting: Don't let the top talent leave your state.

[laxdadpat]

A follow up as far as 2026 Pa in state talent passing on Penn State.

5 - 5 stars
8 - 4 stars (wave 1, probably 10+ when rankings are complete)

There is a much bigger talent pool out there right now but come on Penn State!

There are really only 2 big in state schools in lacrosse talent rich states, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Maryland is going through some bumps but is always a top program. Florida is the next big state school that will draw the top home-grown players because it already is getting out of state talent.

[njbill]

I would add Rutgers to that list. PA and NJ are behind Maryland, of course, but the two are pretty comparable in talent, generally speaking.

[LaxdadFL]

A follow up as far as 2026 Pa in state talent passing on Penn State.

5 - 5 stars
8 - 4 stars (wave 1, probably 10+ when rankings are complete)

There is a much bigger talent pool out there right now but come on Penn State!

There are really only 2 big in state schools in lacrosse talent rich states, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Maryland is going through some bumps but is always a top program. Florida is the next big state school that will draw the top home-grown players because it already is getting out of state talent.

You would think Florida/Fl St schools would get the in state talent because in state is so cheap. But only 1 of the top players from the last few years stayed home. With the bright futures program = a 3.5 and some community service and you go free before any athletic money. That should free up money for out of state players. U F is extremely hard for in state students to get into now. Think weighted gps over 4.0 and 1300/1400 SATs but I would think there would be some exceptions since it is a state school.

[Laxer711]

Amazing how Penn State can’t attract big names recruits. Was looking good for a change last year but they went on a run and I think Missy bought herself another year. Looking over her recruit class this year. At the expense of starting this debate again, 1 4. Very popular, good football school, huge network, but once again seems Missy is forced to go shopping at Walmart and Shoprite, getting Great Value and Bowl and Basket items for the dish. Bowl and basket items are good and your dish may be very tasty. But sometimes you need to get Delmonte, or Kraft and other named brands. They do taste better .

Long time fan, first time poster…I just couldn’t help myself on this one!

Definitely know some great talent who PSU let get away. For what it’s worth, at least 2-3 solid girls we know got hosed by the late August assistant coaching change. Looking at their 26 recruits, seems like they got a lot of the girls that were probably heading to Delaware and made a sharp turn to Happy Valley .

[Bluecollar]

Father of a '27 here, so am just trying to better understand what (might) happen next year. I have two related questions:

Let's assume there will be about 1,000 D1 commits. Does it break down something like: 500 committed by October 1, 800 by November 1, 900 by December 1, etc.? Or does it string out longer? Is there is pattern across the last few years?

If you're not in the initial wave of comms (September), would you ever get reach outs? Is there a second wave of reach-outs? Or does that mean you should move on considering D3?

Thanks.

[LaxDadMax]

Father of a '27 here, so am just trying to better understand what (might) happen next year. I have two related questions:

Let's assume there will be about 1,000 D1 commits. Does it break down something like: 500 committed by October 1, 800 by November 1, 900 by December 1, etc.? Or does it string out longer?

If you're not in the initial wave of comms (September), would you ever get reach outs? Is there a second wave of reach-outs? Or does that mean you should move on considering D3?

Thanks.

I think your estimate is pretty close around timing and I think there will probably be about 1100 commits by year end. Keep in mind that there will be many December and November commits who are already talking with the school they will commit to. Some schools just want to see you more. There is also a chance to add yourself to a list, but it is usually through performance at a game or a camp. Usually not by additional email outreach.

One exception, though – – – girls coming back from major injuries like an ACL will be on a separate timeline. Most bottom 50 colleges reached out to 100+ girls in early September. They are often waiting to see who is left before they start making offers.

Sorry to say, but if no D1 coaches have reached out yet, chances of going, D1 are probably very low

[spidey44]

Father of a '27 here, so am just trying to better understand what (might) happen next year. I have two related questions:

Let's assume there will be about 1,000 D1 commits. Does it break down something like: 500 committed by October 1, 800 by November 1, 900 by December 1, etc.? Or does it string out longer? Is there is pattern across the last few years?

If you're not in the initial wave of comms (September), would you ever get reach outs? Is there a second wave of reach-outs? Or does that mean you should move on considering D3?

Thanks.

Check out WLax Recruiting Numbers on Facebook. He does a great job tracking the recruits and timing. It can at least give you a good idea about numbers.