Maryland Recruiting

[crimlawyer27]

What is going on at MD? Since the NC, their recruiting has been dismal compared to BC and NC. MD was always in the top 1-3 in class rank, but now, it seems we’re well below that. MD doesn’t have one top-ten player in the class of 2025. What needs to be done to get better recruits?

[Relax77]

What is going on at MD? Since the NC, their recruiting has been dismal compared to BC and NC. MD was always in the top 1-3 in class rank, but now, it seems we’re well below that. MD doesn’t have one top-ten player in the class of 2025. What needs to be done to get better recruits?

People need to chill out with the top 10 lists. It’s fabricated from an early age by the Ponzi scheme known as girls lacrosse. Jesus. They are ranking 2032s already.

[LiveLaxLove]

What is going on at MD? Since the NC, their recruiting has been dismal compared to BC and NC. MD was always in the top 1-3 in class rank, but now, it seems we’re well below that. MD doesn’t have one top-ten player in the class of 2025. What needs to be done to get better recruits?

Has there been a school that has owned recruiting where Maryland traditionally did well?

[uncfan1013]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

[BigRedChant]

I would think many girls would just like a new adventure.

But Big10 Md should have enough money for facilities to make them think twice

[forthelaxofit]

What is going on at MD? Since the NC, their recruiting has been dismal compared to BC and NC. MD was always in the top 1-3 in class rank, but now, it seems we’re well below that. MD doesn’t have one top-ten player in the class of 2025. What needs to be done to get better recruits?

Post Covid history has shown you need multiple major transfers to win the title. BC 2021 with North and Hall. UNC 2022 with Geiersbach and Aldave. Northwestern 2023 Laliberty and Rhatigan. BC 2024 with Clark, LoPinto & Browndorf. Recruiting is still vital, but no team since Covid has won the title without key portal additions. I believe the portal impact is here to stay and you will still see the trend of developed players leaving their schools to go to the top 3-5 teams. Ball was a good pickup for Maryland for 2024, but if you want a championship, you will need those additional 2-3 top impact players to supplement your recruited players. Even as good as you say the BC and NC recruiting has been, they didn't win on recruits alone and needed the transfers to win the championship.

[jff97]

Maryland has relied on in-state talent to build their teams but that might be harder going forward with more of the best players going to private schools. While MD is a good school it doesn't have the same academic reputation as some of the schools in the ACC, Ivy and Big 10. For some schools it doesn't look great to end up at Maryland.
That might be why they don't have as many in-state commits lined up in their next two classes. Just five of the 20 commits from their next two classes are in-state classes. Will be interesting to see if this trend continues for 2026. Cathy Reese's daughter is in the class, so she should have a good idea who the best players are. Getting them to commit is a different story.

[Max Roguespierre]

Some of the posts in this thread appear to be wide of the mark.

To begin with, while Maryland is positioned behind Northwestern and North Carolina in national academic rankings, it is ahead of Boston College and Syracuse. The thesis that Maryland cannot compete in recruiting due to academic shortcomings doesn't really pass even a cursory look at the facts.

As concerns the transfer portal, Maryland has gotten a number of elite players in recent years: Aurora Cordingley, Abby Bosco, Meghan Ball, and Sophie Halus are the standouts since the 2022 season. The standout issue here is that other than Cordingley the rest of those players are all defenders.

Which brings us to the real problem, Maryland's offense has been underwhelming subsequent to the 2019 championship season. Since then, other than the 2022 season, Maryland has averaged less than 13 goals per game. Not surprisingly, the 2022 season (in which Maryland made the final four and was defeated in a semifinal by the narrowest of margins) was when the Terps had the services of Cordingley.

Yes, recruiting has become far more competitive in recent years and Maryland can no longer count on dominating the scene as in the past. But as imprecise as recruit rankings may be, Maryland is still able to pull in top 3 recruiting classes year after year. It appears to me that College Park is still very much a desirable landing spot.

One noticeable issue this past season is that against top teams Maryland frequently looked small and unathletic. Even as the sport has been moving toward bigger, faster, and more athletic players, Maryland appears to have ignored the trend. Whether it was complacency, bad luck, or a confluence of factors Maryland's coaches appear to be in catch-up mode. And, it's not like the state of Maryland does not produce tall and athletic players. The irony is that in the NCAA Tournament Maryland faced two dominant 6 foot homegrown attackers (Isabella Peterson and Maggie Hall) in back-to-back games. You may not be able to get them all, but as a top program surely you can feature more than one elite scorer (Leubecker) and one elite passer (Clevenger), right? In 2024, Maryland scored an anemic total of 247 goals. The Terps' offensive inefficiency put a heavy burden on the defense against elite competition to keep games close.

With Cordingley, Maryland's offense averaged over 17 goals per game in 2022 and the defense hasn't slipped at all since the 2014 to 2019 run. As such, I think the position coaches haven't lost their edge; when given elite talent they coach them into elite units. Sadly, the fact that the offensive malaise has torpedoed 4 out of the last 5 seasons has to be laid at the head coach's door. At the very least, Reese should be on the hot seat going into 2025. Her immediate predecessors left Maryland 4 and 5 seasons after winning their respective last championships.

There is some hope, Maryland's top incoming recruit, Kayla Gilmore is 5'11" and excelled in three sports (lacrosse, basketball, and soccer). So, maybe Reese gets it and can turn the boat around relatively quickly. To be honest, I would have preferred Maryland to cut Reese loose and bring in Jen Adams (and maybe Adams could have brought Georgia Latch and Chase Boyle with her). But ces't la vie.

[McLax9777]

What is going on at MD? Since the NC, their recruiting has been dismal compared to BC and NC. MD was always in the top 1-3 in class rank, but now, it seems we’re well below that. MD doesn’t have one top-ten player in the class of 2025. What needs to be done to get better recruits?

MD recruiting in the 24 & 25 class looks really pretty strong. I don’t know why you reference NC, even with the “best recruiting” they barely remained in the top 20. I don’t go by any lists, many things are political like that top 10, but many of MD recruits are 5 star. I think things are just going to get better in CP.

[McLax9777]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

[uncfan1013]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

Well, UNC also lost a First Team All-American defender, the #1 recruit, two great freshman, an All-ACC Freshman Team, UNC’s previous season leading scorer and USA U-20 training team member + another great midfielder. Add that to a struggling defense and you would think they would be top ten? no..

UNC won a national championship, beating a strong BC team 3 times.. Graudated one of the best senior classes they’ve seen (Ortega, Moreno, Growney, Mastroianni, Trenchard) and next season was a restart and they ended in the elite eight aganist a tough defense. I think UNC will be the biggest contender next year with no injuries, and could’ve won this year without injuries (you never know though).

In all honesty, UNC has been successful but not winning championships year in and year out. UNC has also been successful aganist the top teams year in and year out
• 13-13 aganist Northwestern all time (8-2 in last 10 matchups)
• 12-8 aganist Syracuse all time (8-2 in last 10 matchups)
• 15-26 aganist Maryland all time (5-5 in last 10 matchups)
• 22-8 aganist Boston College all time (6-4 in last 10 matchups)
So I do think UNC has been good, 3 national championships and 7 ACC championships is not bad when you realize BC is 2-6 in national championships and Maryland hasn’t won one in the Post- Covid era..

[Madlax59]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

We speak about recruiting...but without excellent coaching you can have the top recruits and fail.

[McLax9777]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

Well, UNC also lost a First Team All-American defender, the #1 recruit, two great freshman, an All-ACC Freshman Team, UNC’s previous season leading scorer and USA U-20 training team member + another great midfielder. Add that to a struggling defense and you would think they would be top ten? no..

UNC won a national championship, beating a strong BC team 3 times.. Graudated one of the best senior classes they’ve seen (Ortega, Moreno, Growney, Mastroianni, Trenchard) and next season was a restart and they ended in the elite eight aganist a tough defense. I think UNC will be the biggest contender next year with no injuries, and could’ve won this year without injuries (you never know though).

In all honesty, UNC has been successful but not winning championships year in and year out. UNC has also been successful aganist the top teams year in and year out
• 13-13 aganist Northwestern all time (8-2 in last 10 matchups)
• 12-8 aganist Syracuse all time (8-2 in last 10 matchups)
• 15-26 aganist Maryland all time (5-5 in last 10 matchups)
• 22-8 aganist Boston College all time (6-4 in last 10 matchups)
So I do think UNC has been good, 3 national championships and 7 ACC championships is not bad when you realize BC is 2-6 in national championships and Maryland hasn’t won one in the Post- Covid era..

I get that they had injuries, I was really impressed with Ingrilli while she played. I just don’t buy that there wasn’t talent waiting in the wings since they recruit “elite players”

Where were those players this year ? Are kids that stand on the sideline being developed? As a huge Ortega fan I just haven’t seen that team magic.

I think everyone is reloading. NU looks good, MD, BC, UNC, all look good. We will see.

[aubartolomei1]

For what its worth, academically, Maryland was recently named a "public ivy" in a Forbes list (https://www.fox5dc.com/news/two-dc-area ... leges-list - the actual Forbes article was behind a paywall, so I have no idea what their methodology is), so I'm not sure academics can be pointed at.

I dont follow recruiting, so I cant tell you if MDs has actually fallen off... With that said I used to work for the team years ago when I was in school, but have no real connection anymore other than as a fan. It sounds crazy to say they did more with less because of their legacy and history, but even 10+ years ago when I was in school, the facility differences between MD and some of the other schools was pretty drastic. The MD home locker room in the old team house didnt even have enough lockers for every player to have their own locker some years, depending on roster size. I think the new/current generations are really move focused on those flashy things than some of the players were a decade ago. If the recruiting has indeed fallen off, I feel pretty confident in saying the new building that opened this year, the new video board that was installed this year, the new press box, all the facility upgrades that support the players, all have the chance to be impactful changes for Cathy and co.

[lax410]

Just based on academics alone, BC is surely far above Maryland. Not saying that is the reason MD is or is not getting the lax recruits but objectively BC is a better academic school. BC has an acceptance rate in the teens while UMD is more like 30-40%. Both competitive to be sure but not the “same”.

[Max Roguespierre]

Just based on academics alone, BC is surely far above Maryland. Not saying that is the reason MD is or is not getting the lax recruits but objectively BC is a better academic school. BC has an acceptance rate in the teens while UMD is more like 30-40%. Both competitive to be sure but not the “same”.

Not according to Forbes.

Of course, academic rankings tend to vary greatly. ARWU and Forbes favor Maryland while US News and the Wall Street Journal favor Boston College. Acceptance rates are not really a fair way to compare a public university with a private (Jesuit) college given the goals and very nature of state universities. All in all, while I agree that the schools in question are not similar in characteristics (or endowments) they are on reasonably equal footing in general academic opportunities.

[ultravisitor]

Well, UNC also lost a First Team All-American defender, the #1 recruit, two great freshman, an All-ACC Freshman Team, UNC’s previous season leading scorer and USA U-20 training team member + another great midfielder. Add that to a struggling defense and you would think they would be top ten? no..

You always reference all the injuries, but you also always reference all the top recruiting classes that UNC has. If it really mattered so much that they have year after year of top recruiting classes, then why did injuries impact the team so much? Shouldn't they have still been better than many of those other teams who ended the season ranked higher than UNC and never have top recruiting classes?

[Essexfenwick]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

UMD and UNC have essentially identical incoming SAT/ACT scores … UMD being a much larger school with far more numerous smart people. Since unc got caught graduating illiterates for decades the reputation among smart people has taken a hit along with not winning many lax championships. I think the Terps will be among the most likely to start paying womans lax players more money than other schools since it’s a big ten school that prioritizes lacrosse both men’s and womens. Also the Terps pay less for football in general than all the other b10 lax teams. Being a pro football saturated area .. football is de-emphasized but the media money is flowing

[Womenslaxxfan]

Some of the posts in this thread appear to be wide of the mark.

To begin with, while Maryland is positioned behind Northwestern and North Carolina in national academic rankings, it is ahead of Boston College and Syracuse. The thesis that Maryland cannot compete in recruiting due to academic shortcomings doesn't really pass even a cursory look at the facts.

As concerns the transfer portal, Maryland has gotten a number of elite players in recent years: Aurora Cordingley, Abby Bosco, Meghan Ball, and Sophie Halus are the standouts since the 2022 season. The standout issue here is that other than Cordingley the rest of those players are all defenders.

Which brings us to the real problem, Maryland's offense has been underwhelming subsequent to the 2019 championship season. Since then, other than the 2022 season, Maryland has averaged less than 13 goals per game. Not surprisingly, the 2022 season (in which Maryland made the final four and was defeated in a semifinal by the narrowest of margins) was when the Terps had the services of Cordingley.

Yes, recruiting has become far more competitive in recent years and Maryland can no longer count on dominating the scene as in the past. But as imprecise as recruit rankings may be, Maryland is still able to pull in top 3 recruiting classes year after year. It appears to me that College Park is still very much a desirable landing spot.

One noticeable issue this past season is that against top teams Maryland frequently looked small and unathletic. Even as the sport has been moving toward bigger, faster, and more athletic players, Maryland appears to have ignored the trend. Whether it was complacency, bad luck, or a confluence of factors Maryland's coaches appear to be in catch-up mode. And, it's not like the state of Maryland does not produce tall and athletic players. The irony is that in the NCAA Tournament Maryland faced two dominant 6 foot homegrown attackers (Isabella Peterson and Maggie Hall) in back-to-back games. You may not be able to get them all, but as a top program surely you can feature more than one elite scorer (Leubecker) and one elite passer (Clevenger), right? In 2024, Maryland scored an anemic total of 247 goals. The Terps' offensive inefficiency put a heavy burden on the defense against elite competition to keep games close.

With Cordingley, Maryland's offense averaged over 17 goals per game in 2022 and the defense hasn't slipped at all since the 2014 to 2019 run. As such, I think the position coaches haven't lost their edge; when given elite talent they coach them into elite units. Sadly, the fact that the offensive malaise has torpedoed 4 out of the last 5 seasons has to be laid at the head coach's door. At the very least, Reese should be on the hot seat going into 2025. Her immediate predecessors left Maryland 4 and 5 seasons after winning their respective last championships.

There is some hope, Maryland's top incoming recruit, Kayla Gilmore is 5'11" and excelled in three sports (lacrosse, basketball, and soccer). So, maybe Reese gets it and can turn the boat around relatively quickly. To be honest, I would have preferred Maryland to cut Reese loose and bring in Jen Adams (and maybe Adams could have brought Georgia Latch and Chase Boyle with her). But ces't la vie.

Great post!!!

[hmmm]

I think academics have become an issue during recruiting because of schools like UNC, BC and Northwestern. Good players would rather excel and win a national championship at one of those schools while getting a degree. Maryland is used to running the sport but now other schools have started to excel over them.

Just a point - Wasn’t UNC #20 in the rankings? How many National Championships have they won? In all the years of “elite recruiting” they won with transfers. What’s the draw here? Does it mean it’s a bad school? Not at all. Just can’t be blinded to assume NC has a shot of winning a National a Championship again. I think the 26 class will be smarter than the 25’s were unless they want to wear very comfortable shoes on the sideline.

Since unc got caught graduating illiterates for decades the reputation among smart people has taken a hit along with not winning many lax championships. I think the Terps will be among the most likely to start paying womans lax players more money than other schools since it’s a big ten school that prioritizes lacrosse both men’s and womens. Also the Terps pay less for football in general than all the other b10 lax teams. Being a pro football saturated area .. football is de-emphasized but the media money is flowing

Not sure why you think this. MD is lagging far behind other top schools in terms of providing NIL opportunities to players. MDs athletic department is a mess financially. While they're in the Big Ten, they took out a huge loan against future earnings from the conference to pay their buyout to the ACC. Not to mention the fact that MD has the lowest alumni contributions of any P5 team in the country. Where is this money coming from? They can't afford to pay football and basketball players, why would they start throwing money at lax players? I am a MD fan in all sports. But as usual your homerism is off base.