Recruiting

[LaxDadMax]

Anyone here had your girls participate in AU Futures?

Would love your review.

No one answered and the Rangers game is boring right now so I’ll answer. We didn’t do AU but know people who did. They said it was the worst out of all of them. AA, AS and AU. Very little coaching. Very little coaches there. Basically a public relations event. Lesser skilled players there as well that either can’t make or politically left out of the other two.

After going through a non Covid recruiting year here’s the advice I give my friends. If your daughter is on a top 25 team, even 35 team, you don’t need to do any showcase. Save the money and go to college prospect days. 2 to a reach, 2 to a fit and 2 to a safety on her list. If she plays on a top team they will be at basically all your games. If your daughters is in a lower end team, you may want to pony up some money and do some showcases. Especially one like Juniors or UA150.

I will say. After Sept 1 many coaches told my daughter they saw her at her games but a few said they don’t like watching the club games because all the players have specific roles and plays they do. They rather see them just play. I think that makes some sense.

Completely agree on this and commentary on all events. Having been through this multiple times, I have a very clear plan for what my 27 will do.

For my 27, she will do Best In Class and a couple prospect days.

Honestly, if you are looking for supplement events, I'd look at Lacrosse Masters before I'd look at any of the AS/UA/AA type tourneys. Good interaction with coaches and quality event.



During her recruiting year, she will do Best In Class, prospect days, and some showcases before big tourneys (Lax For the Cure, Live Love Lax, Fall Draw). That's it. Only way she will do AS or UA is if she is injured for some reason during her sophomore club season.

[Relax77]

It’s amazing how much money parents waste, myself included on all the money grabs out there. I would say it’s the clubs responsibility to navigate you through those waters, but unfortunately the clubs are part of the money grab. Now if you’re on a team where the practice parking lot is filled with Range Rovers and Beemers, hey they and you may have money to burn and the kid will have a great time. But if you’re pulling in to the lot with a 2018 Honda, you may wanna keep the 10k you are about to waste on things you don’t need to do.

[Kleizaster]

It’s amazing how much money parents waste, myself included on all the money grabs out there. I would say it’s the clubs responsibility to navigate you through those waters, but unfortunately the clubs are part of the money grab. Now if you’re on a team where the practice parking lot is filled with Range Rovers and Beemers, hey they and you may have money to burn and the kid will have a great time. But if you’re pulling in to the lot with a 2018 Honda, you may wanna keep the 10k you are about to waste on things you don’t need to do.

Sad reality. Truth of the matter is, it comes down to maximizing exposure as efficiently as possible. yes there are alot of money grabs out there, but not all money grabs are the same..be realistic about your daughter's level as player and invest accordingly.

[jff97]

Top 50 for 2024 is out. Eliza Osburn remains at #1 while Madison Rassas is up to #2. Here's the list and then breakdown by school. UNC the clear winner right now with six of the top 20 commits, and it looks like Boston College, Syracuse and Maryland round out a pretty clear top 4. Just remember there's a year before these kids even play a college game, and the final list is double the size of this one.It's not a conspiracy theory if a certain player doesn't appear.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... iors/62356
6-North Carolina, Maryland
4-Boston College, Syracuse, Duke
3-Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan
2-Northwestern, Florida, Clemson, Princeton
1-Navy, Penn, USC, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Denver, Virginia, James Madison

[Kleizaster]

Top 50 for 2024 is out. Eliza Osburn remains at #1 while Madison Rassas is up to #2. Here's the list and then breakdown by school. UNC the clear winner right now with six of the top 20 commits, and it looks like Boston College, Syracuse and Maryland round out a pretty clear top 4. Just remember there's a year before these kids even play a college game, and the final list is double the size of this one.It's not a conspiracy theory if a certain player doesn't appear.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... iors/62356
6-North Carolina, Maryland
4-Boston College, Syracuse, Duke
3-Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan
2-Northwestern, Florida, Clemson, Princeton
1-Navy, Penn, USC, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Denver, Virginia, James Madison

To be honest, i think this is a very fair list. It reflects alot of these girl's performances during the summer. Always been really high on Rassas. Also not surprised to see Levy get a bump. She's the best player on McDonogh. I know i harp on Maryland alot but this will actually turn out to be a really good class for them. Big fan of Kayla Gilmore. But my concerns remain that they are still the 3rd or 4th option for many girl.

Also this class shows that not every recruit is sold on Clemson just yet. Clemson might be a hot and cold program on the recruiting trail in different cycles until they start winning consistently.

right now the most attractive programs for recruits are

1. UNC
2. BC
3.NW
4. ND
5. MD
6. Clemson

[jff97]

Top 50 for 2024 is out. Eliza Osburn remains at #1 while Madison Rassas is up to #2. Here's the list and then breakdown by school. UNC the clear winner right now with six of the top 20 commits, and it looks like Boston College, Syracuse and Maryland round out a pretty clear top 4. Just remember there's a year before these kids even play a college game, and the final list is double the size of this one.It's not a conspiracy theory if a certain player doesn't appear.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... iors/62356
6-North Carolina, Maryland
4-Boston College, Syracuse, Duke
3-Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan
2-Northwestern, Florida, Clemson, Princeton
1-Navy, Penn, USC, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Denver, Virginia, James Madison

To be honest, i think this is a very fair list. It reflects alot of these girl's performances during the summer. Always been really high on Rassas. Also not surprised to see Levy get a bump. She's the best player on McDonogh. I know i harp on Maryland alot but this will actually turn out to be a really good class for them. Big fan of Kayla Gilmore. But my concerns remain that they are still the 3rd or 4th option for many girl.

Also this class shows that not every recruit is sold on Clemson just yet. Clemson might be a hot and cold program on the recruiting trail in different cycles until they start winning consistently.

right now the most attractive programs for recruits are

1. UNC
2. BC
3.NW
4. ND
5. MD
6. Clemson

For Clemson I'm curious how long they remain the hot, new kid on the block. I think some kids just want to go south, but everything I've read about the program a big part of the appeal is being there at the start of something special. Does the appeal remain if they can't break through into the upper echelon? The 2023 and 2025 classes look great for them, but they still have yet to play a college game. They've done a good job expediting things by bringing in transfers from some of the top schools who are talented but couldn't crack the rotation at their previous schools
For the record I think Clemson will become a solid program. There's a blueprint to follow with Clemson softball, which won the ACC in its second year of existence and played in super regionals the past two years. I just wonder how long it takes for the newness to wear off and the coaches will have to change the recruiting pitch a bit.

[spidey44]

For Clemson I'm curious how long they remain the hot, new kid on the block. I think some kids just want to go south, but everything I've read about the program a big part of the appeal is being there at the start of something special. Does the appeal remain if they can't break through into the upper echelon? The 2023 and 2025 classes look great for them, but they still have yet to play a college game. They've done a good job expediting things by bringing in transfers from some of the top schools who are talented but couldn't crack the rotation at their previous schools
For the record I think Clemson will become a solid program. There's a blueprint to follow with Clemson softball, which won the ACC in its second year of existence and played in super regionals the past two years. I just wonder how long it takes for the newness to wear off and the coaches will have to change the recruiting pitch a bit.

I think Clemson has a ton of positives going for them, but to say they have a blueprint to follow with the softball program, I don't quite agree with. Softball won the conference in their second year. No chance the Tigers finish higher than 4th AT BEST. I can see them finishing in 6th in conference again this year - and not knocking them, the ACC is loaded at the top. And this is where the OOC schedule could come back to bite them. If they don't get a big in conference win or two (besides Duke), can't see them getting an at large bid.

[LaxDadMax]

It’s amazing how much money parents waste, myself included on all the money grabs out there. I would say it’s the clubs responsibility to navigate you through those waters, but unfortunately the clubs are part of the money grab. Now if you’re on a team where the practice parking lot is filled with Range Rovers and Beemers, hey they and you may have money to burn and the kid will have a great time. But if you’re pulling in to the lot with a 2018 Honda, you may wanna keep the 10k you are about to waste on things you don’t need to do.

Sad reality. The truth of the matter is, it comes down to maximizing exposure as efficiently as possible. yes, there are a lot of money grabs out there, but not all money grabs are the same..be realistic about your daughter's level as a player and invest accordingly.

The other thing most folks don't keep in mind is fatigue. Your daughter shouldn't be playing lax more than 20 days from mid-June to end of July. Anything more than that is either a recipe for injury or mediocrity. This is why many coaches believe you can only hurt yourseld at AA/American select.

[Relax77]

Top 50 for 2024 is out. Eliza Osburn remains at #1 while Madison Rassas is up to #2. Here's the list and then breakdown by school. UNC the clear winner right now with six of the top 20 commits, and it looks like Boston College, Syracuse and Maryland round out a pretty clear top 4. Just remember there's a year before these kids even play a college game, and the final list is double the size of this one.It's not a conspiracy theory if a certain player doesn't appear.
https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... iors/62356
6-North Carolina, Maryland
4-Boston College, Syracuse, Duke
3-Notre Dame, Stanford, Michigan
2-Northwestern, Florida, Clemson, Princeton
1-Navy, Penn, USC, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Denver, Virginia, James Madison

To be honest, i think this is a very fair list. It reflects alot of these girl's performances during the summer. Always been really high on Rassas. Also not surprised to see Levy get a bump. She's the best player on McDonogh. I know i harp on Maryland alot but this will actually turn out to be a really good class for them. Big fan of Kayla Gilmore. But my concerns remain that they are still the 3rd or 4th option for many girl.

Also this class shows that not every recruit is sold on Clemson just yet. Clemson might be a hot and cold program on the recruiting trail in different cycles until they start winning consistently.

right now the most attractive programs for recruits are

1. UNC
2. BC
3.NW
4. ND
5. MD
6. Clemson

I don’t know what to think about NU being the most attractive. You would think it certainly would be, but most of best players out of the last class didn’t flock there, which i felt was weird. At least it seems like that. I know the best players on my daughter’s team didn’t even have it in their top five. None of them even took a visit there.

[Kleizaster]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

[Relax77]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

Isn’t that crazy. They don’t attract the beat players after a year they win and in epic proportion. Great coaching but you may be right. Or maybe one of these recruits that flew under the radar will be the next Skane. My daughter played with one of her commits at a showcase last year. Wasn’t great but her shot was insane for a 15/16 year old. 88mph and precise. She’s tall and only gonna get stronger. She gets her dodge game going, who knows.

[Relax77]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

Isn’t that crazy. They don’t attract the beat players after a year they win and in epic proportion. Great coaching but you may be right. Or maybe one of these recruits that flew under the radar will be the next Skane. My daughter played with one of her commits at a showcase last year. Wasn’t great but her shot was insane for a 15/16 year old. 88mph and precise. She’s tall and only gonna get stronger. She gets her dodge game going, who knows.

And speaking of showcases, my daughter when she was in 8th grade (kinda of the money waste that I referenced earlier) also played with a Clemson 2023 commit at a showcase. Interested to see how well she does this year. Back then I said that was the best player I ever saw live. Insane how dominant she was. Not sure I can give the name on these things, people get testy with that thing. Girl was unstoppable in every facet. So some of these girls that don’t have the name recognition sometimes step out and outshine the others. Maybe KAH is a recruiting guru and did better this year than what we think.

[LaxDadMax]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

Isn’t that crazy. They don’t attract the beat players after a year they win and in epic proportion. Great coaching but you may be right. Or maybe one of these recruits that flew under the radar will be the next Skane. My daughter played with one of her commits at a showcase last year. Wasn’t great but her shot was insane for a 15/16 year old. 88mph and precise. She’s tall and only gonna get stronger. She gets her dodge game going, who knows.

Do you think lots of the top 20 players didn't want to go there? I can tell you at least 5 or 6 of them were at NW's prospect camp last year.

They got the best defender in the country and a couple of phenomenal athletes. They will be just fine

[Relax77]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

Isn’t that crazy. They don’t attract the beat players after a year they win and in epic proportion. Great coaching but you may be right. Or maybe one of these recruits that flew under the radar will be the next Skane. My daughter played with one of her commits at a showcase last year. Wasn’t great but her shot was insane for a 15/16 year old. 88mph and precise. She’s tall and only gonna get stronger. She gets her dodge game going, who knows.

Do you think lots of the top 20 players didn't want to go there? I can tell you at least 5 or 6 of them were at NW's prospect camp last year.

They got the best defender in the country and a couple of phenomenal athletes. They will be just fine

I only really know about my daughter’s team. So they certainly didn’t. As for others Im guessing since they really didn’t get any of the big names coming off a phenomenal year as the reigning champs with the reigning MVP. There could be other reasons. Maybe the top kids wanted to go south. NU great school. Not the greatest location.

In regards to the phenomenal athletes that’s my point. We are always saying that IL and Lax Magazine rankings aren’t entirely accurate. And I say that thinking every athlete on that list is a really excellent lax player. But they certainly left players off that list that other coaches believe belong on there. Makes sense right. It’s not like they are committing kids based on the rankings. Although maybe some coaches do.

[ultravisitor]

The last time Northwestern had the top-ranked recruiting class was Selena Lasota's class, and it was during the years that class was playing that people were saying Northwestern was no longer relevant. It wasn't until after that top-ranked recruiting class was gone that Northwestern made the final four again (Selena Lasota had a redshirt year, so she played the year NU made it back to the final four).

That's why I don't tend to be concerned about the rankings for Northwestern's recruiting classes.

[Relax77]

The last time Northwestern had the top-ranked recruiting class was Selena Lasota's class, and it was during the years that class was playing that people were saying Northwestern was no longer relevant. It wasn't until after that top-ranked recruiting class was gone that Northwestern made the final four again (Selena Lasota had a redshirt year, so she played the year NU made it back to the final four).

That's why I don't tend to be concerned about the rankings for Northwestern's recruiting classes.

Good point. Not saying I’m concerned. Just surprised. But maybe we shouldn’t be. She gets the most out of her players and sees things maybe other coaches don’t. As I said earlier they grabbed a girl who could take the draw and has a howitzer. I would think she wouldn’t even be on the top 100 on ILs list. Wouldn’t be surprised if she turns out to be special as everyone else was salivating over other kids who peak early and are going to be fighting over 10 fantastic kids for playing time every year.

[LaxDadMax]

You're right. I struggle alot with NW. Historic program, excellent school, has had recent success. But they don't attract high level talent like other schools. and i'm not really sure why. why is that?

2 years ago they were struggling a bit. I thought they were in trouble because their recruiting was not looking impressive and neither did the roster. Then Izzy Scane comes back and carries the program to a title. I feel like i have to give them credit somewhere..

But similar to Maryland, meh recruiting has to catch up to them at some point..right? It's very possible once Izzy Scane leaves NW might regress in a big way. I'm just looking ahead at ND, and CUSE, BC, UNC, Clemson all these programs will be absolutely loaded. Will coaching alone be enough for NW to overcome the potential talent gap?

Doesn't even feel like NW got a championship bump in their recruiting this year

Isn’t that crazy. They don’t attract the beat players after a year they win and in epic proportion. Great coaching but you may be right. Or maybe one of these recruits that flew under the radar will be the next Skane. My daughter played with one of her commits at a showcase last year. Wasn’t great but her shot was insane for a 15/16 year old. 88mph and precise. She’s tall and only gonna get stronger. She gets her dodge game going, who knows.

Do you think lots of the top 20 players didn't want to go there? I can tell you at least 5 or 6 of them were at NW's prospect camp last year.

They got the best defender in the country and a couple of phenomenal athletes. They will be just fine

I only really know about my daughter’s team. So they certainly didn’t. As for others Im guessing since they really didn’t get any of the big names coming off a phenomenal year as the reigning champs with the reigning MVP. There could be other reasons. Maybe the top kids wanted to go south. NU great school. Not the greatest location.

In regards to the phenomenal athletes that’s my point. We are always saying that IL and Lax Magazine rankings aren’t entirely accurate. And I say that thinking every athlete on that list is a really excellent lax player. But they certainly left players off that list that other coaches believe belong on there. Makes sense right. It’s not like they are committing kids based on the rankings. Although maybe some coaches do.

Agreed. Also, KAH likes girls with chips on their shoulder.

At camps, she will often say something like "I don't want to recruit girls who have been playing on the top 5 club team since they were in 2nd grade. I want girls who are hungry and haven't peaked yet."

If you look at their roster, very few, if any girls are from the big 3 clubs (YJ,M&D, Heros). In fact, I think they just committed their first YJ girls in like 5 or 6 years.

The most popular clubs on the roster are Tenacity, Salt City, Top Guns -- all clubs which are #2 or #3 within their given market. And Mass Elite, where they really don't played nationally until 9th grade. She clearly has a plan and it works.

[laxfan9999]

With the 2024 class, you rarely saw KAH at tournaments. Their 2024 class is not impressive for a school of their caliber. There are probably at least 5 of them that won’t ever see the field.

[Kleizaster]

I don't think anyone is questioning KAH's ability to coach and develop players. She does have a knack for finding hidden gems. I just think we're currently evaluating the program on a bit of a curve because they have Izzy Scane. Greatness masks alot of things.

Prior to the championship in 2023, NW hadn't really done..much. Hadn't reached a title game since 2012. Often having good seasons overall before losing to more talented teams in the tournament. You can't bank on finding gems that turn out to be Izzy Scane.

it's very possible the program may resort back to that. Going on another championship drought for 10 years. I could be wrong. But the landscape is changing. Feels like KAH is very old school and it's a turnoff for some players.

Yes recruiting isn't everything but even with that said, there's no reason why NW should only have landed 1 ranked 2025 player after a CHAMPIONSHIP season. A really good player but it just doesn't make sense to me with all that the school and program has going for it. It's just not sustainable in my opinion if you want to consistantly get into championship weekend.

[Relax77]

I don't think anyone is questioning KAH's ability to coach and develop players. She does have a knack for finding hidden gems. I just think we're currently evaluating the program on a bit of a curve because they have Izzy Scane. Greatness masks alot of things.

Prior to the championship in 2023, NW hadn't really done..much. Hadn't reached a title game since 2012. Often having good seasons overall before losing to more talented teams in the tournament. You can't bank on finding gems that turn out to be Izzy Scane.

it's very possible the program may resort back to that. Going on another championship drought for 10 years. I could be wrong. But the landscape is changing. Feels like KAH is very old school and it's a turnoff for some players.

Yes recruiting isn't everything but even with that said, there's no reason why NW should only have landed 1 ranked 2025 player after a CHAMPIONSHIP season. A really good player but it just doesn't make sense to me with all that the school and program has going for it. It's just not sustainable in my opinion if you want to consistantly get into championship weekend.