(Photo Courtesy of VMI Athletics)

Late last week, the James Purpura and the VMI Keydets landed an in-state commitment in the 2022 class, as West Potomac, Va., junior midfielder Aidan Mcclanhan announced that he would be taking his talents to Lexington in a few years.

Mcclanhan is the third commitment in the class for the Keydets and second from the Old Dominion, joining North Cross, Va., attackman Zane Ratliff and Springboro, Ohio, attackman Zach Buddelmyer.

“What I wanted in a college experience was DI lacrosse, great academics, and the ability to earn a commission in the military after college,” Mcclanhan told Lacrosse Bucket. “VMI checked all of those boxes for me.”

The 6–foot-2, 175- pound midfielder also mentioned his belief in the direction of the program under first-year head coach James Purpura. “VMI has a great program with amazing coaching staff and under coach Purpura. We will be much better than previous seasons.”

VMI initially reached out to Mcclanhan on October 10th. While the NCAA currently has recruiting in a dead period, which prohibits in-person recruiting, he has been able to take a visit to VMI on his own and see campus.

On film, Mcclanhan shows the ability to be a strong off-ball finisher and cutter. He does play both ways and could project to a two-way guy at the college level.

Mcclanhan mentioned some areas of his game that he wants to improve on, as well as his biggest goal for himself and his team. “I’m looking to improve the fundamentals of my game this year to be in the best shape possible going into college, Mcclanhan said. “Some of my goals for my junior season are to, as a team, make a run at states this year. I think we have a good shot and we have a really strong team.”