(Photo Courtesy of Express Lacrosse)

Hey Y’all, welcome to the South Scorecard. This is a monthly column on college lacrosse recruiting in the South. Each month, I will breakdown some of the top commitments on a state-by-state basis and provide some other analysis as well.

While the month of October was much slower on the recruiting trail, as far as the number of commitments was concerned, we still saw plenty of action. And there were numerous 2022’s flying off the board in the South.

Here is a state-by-state breakdown of some of the top/most intriguing commitment from that state in the month of October.

Florida

The Sunshine State is currently tied with Virginia for the most commitments of any state in the region with 12. Only two of those commitments came during the month of October.

In early October, the Army Black Knights landed a commitment from Taft, Conn., defenseman Trey Taylor. A native of Tampa, Fla., Taylor is following in the steps of his older brother, Bennett, who was a defenseman for the Black Knights and graduated this past spring. Taylor was the first defenseman to commit to the Black Knights in the class.

Ponte Vedra, Fla., two-way midfielder Jack Reed verbaled to Vermont late in the month. The 6-foot-1, 175 pound midfielder runs both ways and has shown the ability to be a playmaker on both ends. He helped lead Ponte Vedra to an 8-2 record before the 2020 season was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Georgia

Through the first two months of the contact period, the Peach State has produced four commitments in the 2022 class. Two of those came in the month of October, and they were both on the defensive side of the ball.

Lovett, Ga., defenseman Russel Overly announced that he would be taking his talents to Salt Lake City to play for the Utah Utes. His brother, William, is an attackman for Lovett and announced his commitment to Denver back in September.

In late October, Cambridge, Ga., defenseman/LSM Ethan Landry announced that he would be taking his talents to North Andover to play for Mike Morgan and the Merrimack Warriors. The first commitment for Merrimack, he moves very well for his size, has shown to be excellent off the ground, and has been a force on the back end for Cambridge as a starter the past two seasons. He helped lead the Bears to a 4-3 record during the shortened 2020 season. 

North Carolina

The Tar Heel State has totaled seven commitments in the 2022 class. Two of them came over the past month.

Cuthbertson, N.C., midfielder Casey Hurley verbaled to St. John’s and Cardinal Gibbons, N.C., midfielder Bryce Wojnovich announced that he would be taking his talents to the Sunshine State to play for John Galloway and the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Texas

The Lone Star State now sits in second place, behind Florida and Virginia, for most commitments in the class of 2022. The state produced three commitments in the month of October, which brings the overall total to 11.

Lovejoy, Texas, midfielder Dillon Magee was the biggest name to come off the board in the state and region in the month of October. Rated as four-star prospect by Inside Lacrosse, the midfielder announced his commitment to Ohio State on the first of the month.

Magee, who stands 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, is a strong downhill dodger, shoots very well on the run and can make things happen on the inside with both hands. He has also shown an immense amount of versatility, possessing the ability to also play on the defensive end and take faceoffs. He helped the Leopards to an 11-5 record during the 2019 season and 1-1 during the shortened 2020 season. He also a dual sport athlete, playing linebacker in football.

The state also saw Vandergriff, Texas, defenseman Ryan Shepard announce his commitment to Utah and Austin, Texas, midfielder Miller Marks verbal to Colgate over the pst month.

Virginia

As previously mentioned, the Old Dominion state is tied with Florida for most 2022 commitments through the first two months of the contact period. The state saw four players in the class make their commitments this past month.

One of the biggest commitments out of the state over the past month was Patriot, Va., LSM Aidan Fairchild announce that he would be staying in-state to play for Dan Chemotti and the Richmond Spiders. The junior has shown to be an aggressive defender, smart off-ball, and has fantastic stick handling skills and can run the field well. He is rated as a four-star by Inside Lacrosse.

Additionally, Collegiate School, Va., midfielder Bobby Marlatt verbaled to Loyola, joining a very strong class that Charlie Toomey and his staff are putting together in Baltimore.

The state also saw a pair of attackman in the class make their decisions, Carson Boyle from Paul VI, Va., verbaled to Vermont and Zane Ratliff from North Cross, Va., became the first commitment in the class for VMI.

2021s

While the majority of movement and attention right now seems to be focused on the 2022s, there were some commitments in the 2021 class in October that I do want to highlight. The signing period for 2021s opens up on National Signing Day, which is on November 11th.

In Kentucky, the in-state Bellarmine Knights grabbed Trinity, Ky., attackman Gavin Noland earlier in the month. Noland is one of two huge in-state commitments for Andy Whitley and the Knights, following St. Xavier, Ky., attackman Ben Hubbs who committed to Bellarmine in September.

The Sooner State saw a fourth player from the state verbal to a DI program in the class over the past month. Bishop Kelley, Okla., midfielder Owen Heinecke announced that he would be taking his talents to Columbus in early October.