Recruiting

[Kleizaster]

A little over a month after September 1st, most of the top girls have committed. Coaches will now be trying to fill out their rosters meaning recruiting is just beginning for about 90% of girls will play lacrosse at some level in college. Plenty of hidden gems still out there and some keen eyed coaches will get lucky.

But for the top programs, let's look at the winners and losers of the 2025 recruiting cycle

Winners

UNC: Not much more needs to be said

BC- Started off slow but finished quite strong. This class might actually end up being stronger than their 2023 and 2024 classes. They landed Caroline Chisholm recently, who is an impressive athlete. Looks like she may play both lacrosse and field hockey at BC (she's top 10 in lax and top 50 in field hockey). Most lacrosse players are multi sport athletes but not many are highly ranked in more than one sport.

Notre Dame: I think this might be the class the pushes Notre Dame into contender status in a few years. They show flashes but are never consistent. I'll wait until they prove it but i like the vibes coming from Notre Dame. Recruits are buying it as well. A midfield of Rassas, Kowalski, and Cavanaugh will be very formidable.

Syracuse: KT is already one of the best recruiters in the game 2 years into her reign at Syracuse. Another impressive class. When AS gets to campus, they'll have the talent to challenge for a championship. Will they? remains to be seen

Clemson: The Tigers are already better than most teams in the bottom half of the ACC. They keep stacking classes like this they'll be top 5 in 2 years.

Dartmouth: Look out..They'll have the most talented team on paper in the ivy league by a good margin in a few years. This 2025 class would have been borderline top 5 in the ACC.

Honorable Mention: Harvard


Losers

Duke: Duke couldn't win with alot of talent. What's going to happen with little talent? Alot of okay players, no one elite

Maryland: Actually, On paper and on it's own, this is actually a good class. not great, but good. The problem is, compared to what rival schools in the winners section have done, it's simply not enough.

Loyola: For the momentum the program has built, they have very little to show for it this class

[Relax77]

Already around 680 kids committed this class. (Facebook wlax recruiting numbers is kinda back) They are about two weeks ahead of last year when they had 700 by 10/26. Interested to see if it slows down tremendously like in past years or they still keep flying through it.

[LaxDadMax]

Already around 680 kids committed this class. (Facebook wlax recruiting numbers is kinda back) They are about two weeks ahead of last year when they had 700 by 10/26. Interested to see if it slows down tremendously like in past years or they still keep flying through it.

Don't believe those numbers. Very understated in my opinion. Just for the club of my 25 daughter, we have 6 kids who have been committed for over a week who don't show up, including one who committed to a top 25 school 3rd week of September. Have to believe real number is closer to 800.

[Relax77]

Very well could be. Doesn’t seem all in like he did in the beginning. All but 3 of my daughter’s team is committed. I would expect similar numbers from top clubs. So maybe the numbers are a bit higher.

[LaxDadMax]

A little over a month after September 1st, most of the top girls have committed. Coaches will now be trying to fill out their rosters meaning recruiting is just beginning for about 90% of girls will play lacrosse at some level in college. Plenty of hidden gems still out there and some keen eyed coaches will get lucky.

But for the top programs, let's look at the winners and losers of the 2025 recruiting cycle

Winners

UNC: Not much more needs to be said

BC- Started off slow but finished quite strong. This class might actually end up being stronger than their 2023 and 2024 classes. They landed Caroline Chisholm recently, who is an impressive athlete. Looks like she may play both lacrosse and field hockey at BC (she's top 10 in lax and top 50 in field hockey). Most lacrosse players are multi sport athletes but not many are highly ranked in more than one sport.

Notre Dame: I think this might be the class the pushes Notre Dame into contender status in a few years. They show flashes but are never consistent. I'll wait until they prove it but i like the vibes coming from Notre Dame. Recruits are buying it as well. A midfield of Rassas, Kowalski, and Cavanaugh will be very formidable.

Syracuse: KT is already one of the best recruiters in the game 2 years into her reign at Syracuse. Another impressive class. When AS gets to campus, they'll have the talent to challenge for a championship. Will they? remains to be seen

Clemson: The Tigers are already better than most teams in the bottom half of the ACC. They keep stacking classes like this they'll be top 5 in 2 years.

Dartmouth: Look out..They'll have the most talented team on paper in the ivy league by a good margin in a few years. This 2025 class would have been borderline top 5 in the ACC.

Honorable Mention: Harvard


Losers

Duke: Duke couldn't win with alot of talent. What's going to happen with little talent? Alot of okay players, no one elite

Maryland: Actually, On paper and on it's own, this is actually a good class. not great, but good. The problem is, compared to what rival schools in the winners section have done, it's simply not enough.

Loyola: For the momentum the program has built, they have very little to show for it this class

I'd add a few more to the list

Winners:

Denver: Doesn't compare to the big 5, but much better in talent than they have ever had. I guess going to the final four helps recruiting. Who knew?

Florida: Probably somewhere between 5th and 8th in quality of class. definitely some instant impact girls

Hopkins: Great, super deep class for Tim M in his first full recruiting cycle. This team will be able to RUN


Losers

BC: Not a bad class per se, but they definitely fell behind Cuse, UNC, NW in terms of talent. Have to believe that bringing in transfers may have hurt them here

Michigan: Only 5 committed so far. I know they had a lot of big misses here.

[LaxDadMax]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

YJ NY 35
Steps NJ 18
SkyWalkers  17
MA Elite  17
LI TopGuns  17
Capital  14
EagleStix  14
Monster  13
NXT  13
PrimeTime  12
Heros  12
M&D  12
AA Aim  10
Big 4 HHH  9
Salt City Snipers  9
Team One  9
Team 91  9
CT Grizzlies  9
Philly Blast  8
Phantastix  8
DEWLax  8
YJ South  8
BBL  8
Laxachusetts  8

[spidey44]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

[Relax77]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

YJ NY 35
Steps NJ 18
SkyWalkers  17
MA Elite  17
LI TopGuns  17
Capital  14
EagleStix  14
Monster  13
NXT  13
PrimeTime  12
Heros  12
M&D  12
AA Aim  10
Big 4 HHH  9
Salt City Snipers  9
Team One  9
Team 91  9
CT Grizzlies  9
Philly Blast  8
Phantastix  8
DEWLax  8
YJ South  8
BBL  8
Laxachusetts  8

That’s not as many as I thought there would be. You can add Steps with 2 highly ranked teams as maybe being low at this point. Looks like it may be closer to 700 than 800. Although this list is definitely off. Even if you added a few more to most of those teams for being behind, would still think there would be more. Especially on some of the top ones.

[LaxDadMax]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

[lax410]

The clubs I’m familiar with are both missing 3-6 as well.

[Relax77]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

[BCLax24]

A little over a month after September 1st, most of the top girls have committed. Coaches will now be trying to fill out their rosters meaning recruiting is just beginning for about 90% of girls will play lacrosse at some level in college. Plenty of hidden gems still out there and some keen eyed coaches will get lucky.

But for the top programs, let's look at the winners and losers of the 2025 recruiting cycle

Winners

UNC: Not much more needs to be said

BC- Started off slow but finished quite strong. This class might actually end up being stronger than their 2023 and 2024 classes. They landed Caroline Chisholm recently, who is an impressive athlete. Looks like she may play both lacrosse and field hockey at BC (she's top 10 in lax and top 50 in field hockey). Most lacrosse players are multi sport athletes but not many are highly ranked in more than one sport.

Notre Dame: I think this might be the class the pushes Notre Dame into contender status in a few years. They show flashes but are never consistent. I'll wait until they prove it but i like the vibes coming from Notre Dame. Recruits are buying it as well. A midfield of Rassas, Kowalski, and Cavanaugh will be very formidable.

Syracuse: KT is already one of the best recruiters in the game 2 years into her reign at Syracuse. Another impressive class. When AS gets to campus, they'll have the talent to challenge for a championship. Will they? remains to be seen

Clemson: The Tigers are already better than most teams in the bottom half of the ACC. They keep stacking classes like this they'll be top 5 in 2 years.

Dartmouth: Look out..They'll have the most talented team on paper in the ivy league by a good margin in a few years. This 2025 class would have been borderline top 5 in the ACC.

Honorable Mention: Harvard


Losers

Duke: Duke couldn't win with alot of talent. What's going to happen with little talent? Alot of okay players, no one elite

Maryland: Actually, On paper and on it's own, this is actually a good class. not great, but good. The problem is, compared to what rival schools in the winners section have done, it's simply not enough.

Loyola: For the momentum the program has built, they have very little to show for it this class

I'd add a few more to the list

Winners:

Denver: Doesn't compare to the big 5, but much better in talent than they have ever had. I guess going to the final four helps recruiting. Who knew?

Florida: Probably somewhere between 5th and 8th in quality of class. definitely some instant impact girls

Hopkins: Great, super deep class for Tim M in his first full recruiting cycle. This team will be able to RUN


Losers

BC: Not a bad class per se, but they definitely fell behind Cuse, UNC, NW in terms of talent. Have to believe that bringing in transfers may have hurt them here

Michigan: Only 5 committed so far. I know they had a lot of big misses here.

This is a laughable take. Their class was overwhelmingly better than Northwestern’s. UNC automatically gets the top class every year because they somehow have unlimited scholarship money and their recruits don’t care at all about potential playing time. Syracuse had the top recruit fall into their lap. Despite all this,BC landed 2 top 10 recruits, plus one of the best defenders and best goalkeepers in the class.

[LaxDadMax]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

[VAMomGlax2019]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

We don’t need to over-analyze the situation. The 2025 class is simply the first to be clear of Covid from a recruiting cycle.

[Relax77]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

Maybe 2. Definitely 4. Not sure about 1 and 3. While it may be true, I’m not sure that’s what is driving this insane pace they have going.

[LaxDadMax]

deleted

[LaxDadMax]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

Maybe 2. Definitely 4. Not sure about 1 and 3. While it may be true, I’m not sure that’s what is driving this insane pace they have going.

The more I think about it, I think #2 is probably the biggest driver. My daughter who went through the process this year, is objectively probably the least talented of my other two who have been through the process. However, she had more offers by 9/3 than the other 2, several of them through schools ranked in the 40-80 range. Older daughters who were more talented and recruiting by same schools, didn't actually get their "offer" from them until 3rd or 4th week of process or until after a visit.

From what I've heard next year could be even worse from a timing perspective. The coach who my daughter recently committed to said something to the effect of. "2025 is a very very deep class. 2023 was a good class and 2024 was pretty poor once you got past the top 50 players. however, the 2026 class is probably the best one we've seen in past 10 years."

[Relax77]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

Maybe 2. Definitely 4. Not sure about 1 and 3. While it may be true, I’m not sure that’s what is driving this insane pace they have going.

The more I think about it, I think #2 is probably the biggest driver. My daughter who went through the process this year, is objectively probably the least talented of my other two who have been through the process. However, she had more offers by 9/3 than the other 2, several of them through schools ranked in the 40-80 range. Older daughters who were more talented and recruiting by same schools, didn't actually get their "offer" from them until 3rd or 4th week of process or until after a visit.

From what I've heard next year could be even worse from a timing perspective. The coach who my daughter recently committed to said something to the effect of. "2025 is a very very deep class. 2023 was a good class and 2024 was pretty poor once you got past the top 50 players. however, the 2026 class is probably the best one we've seen in past 10 years."

Pretty sure they say the same thing every year.

[RollTheCrease]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

Maybe 2. Definitely 4. Not sure about 1 and 3. While it may be true, I’m not sure that’s what is driving this insane pace they have going.

The more I think about it, I think #2 is probably the biggest driver. My daughter who went through the process this year, is objectively probably the least talented of my other two who have been through the process. However, she had more offers by 9/3 than the other 2, several of them through schools ranked in the 40-80 range. Older daughters who were more talented and recruiting by same schools, didn't actually get their "offer" from them until 3rd or 4th week of process or until after a visit.

From what I've heard next year could be even worse from a timing perspective. The coach who my daughter recently committed to said something to the effect of. "2025 is a very very deep class. 2023 was a good class and 2024 was pretty poor once you got past the top 50 players. however, the 2026 class is probably the best one we've seen in past 10 years."

Agree, the 2026 class from all indications will be a great class. Coaches have mentioned the 2023 class was the strongest in the past several years followed by 2025.

[LaxDadMax]

Ignoring that some commits still aren't reported, here are the stats by clubs. Only a few have more than 2/3 of their rosters committed.

Some interesting data. really surprised by lowish numbers for M&D and Grizzlies

Not sure where that M&D number is coming from as the 25 Black team is at least at 18 alone. They have one or two left to commit and as I understand, one might be looking to play field hockey and not lax in college.

That was my point. Our club is at least 5 short on this list, which I why I think the real number is close to 800.

The next question would be why so many more this year, then in years past. I know my daughters offers were given timelines that ranged from 3 days to a week to “take your time and finish your visits.” Are kids rushing their process because they feel they have to take the offer? I certainly think my daughter was rushed on one of them.

I think it is a combo of a few things

1) With 5th year eligibility ending and many programs losing 15+ players in the upcoming class, coaches are bringing in bigger classes similar to pre-Covid numbers

2) Lots of non top-40 programs are being more aggressive earlier, instead of just waiting to see who falls through the cracks. No offense to the programs but look at the number of commits by High Point, Mass-Lowell, Mercer, William & Mary already have. These schools clearly aren't waiting around like they have in the past

3) Coaches have a better sense of who they like earlier in the process. Even at some of the "last chance" prospect days we saw, some of the coaches were clearly already focused on 26s.

4) This is just a really deep class, which gives coaches more leverage to give tighter time frames since the quality of 2nd tier prospects is better

Maybe 2. Definitely 4. Not sure about 1 and 3. While it may be true, I’m not sure that’s what is driving this insane pace they have going.

The more I think about it, I think #2 is probably the biggest driver. My daughter who went through the process this year, is objectively probably the least talented of my other two who have been through the process. However, she had more offers by 9/3 than the other 2, several of them through schools ranked in the 40-80 range. Older daughters who were more talented and recruiting by same schools, didn't actually get their "offer" from them until 3rd or 4th week of process or until after a visit.

From what I've heard next year could be even worse from a timing perspective. The coach who my daughter recently committed to said something to the effect of. "2025 is a very very deep class. 2023 was a good class and 2024 was pretty poor once you got past the top 50 players. however, the 2026 class is probably the best one we've seen in past 10 years."

Pretty sure they say the same thing every year.

No. As a parent of a 23, they've knew that the 24 class would be a down well in advance.