September 1st, as it has since the fall of 2017, marked the opening of the contact period between college coaches and junior recruits with the exception of three schools: Air Force, Army, and Navy. The service academies recruit on a timeline that is a little different than the rest, as they can start contacting rising junior recruits on July 1st.
Since that July 1st contact date, the three service academies and their staffs’ have been hard at work on the recruiting trail putting together their 2022 classes.
Here is a look at where each service academy sits as we draw closer to that sixth month mark in the cycle for these three programs.
Navy
The freshman class that Joe Amplo and the Midshipmen brought in was nothing short of impressive. Headlined by defenseman Jackson Bonitz and potential two-sport star Xavier Arline, who is the current starting quarterback for Navy, the Midshipmen brought in the No. 1 class in the nation during the 2020 cycle, according to Inside Lacrosse. The Midshipmen currently have the No. 13 ranked 2021 class.
Navy looks to continue this trend of putting together high-ranking recruiting classes, as Amplo and his staff continue to find success on the recruiting trail. Currently, Navy has the highest-rated recruiting class of the three service academies and second-highest in the Patriot League, sitting two sports behind Loyola at No. 9 in IL’s class rankings.
Currently, it has landed three four-star rated players and five three-stars in the 10-man class, which is headlined by St. John’s, D.C., midfielder Paul Garza. The righty midfielder just has that “It” factor as far as athleticism and skill are concerned. But he is far from all that the Mids have to hang their hat on in this class.
McDonogh, Md., LSM Aidan Hurdle is the highlight of this class on the defensive side of the field where they only have three players committed, thus far. St. Andrew’s, Fla., goalie Gunnar Schwarz and Archbishop Spalding, Md., defenseman Jackson Roberts are the other two commits on the defensive end for Navy.
Army West Point
Joe Alberici and the Black Knights currently have 11 players in the boat in the 2022 class and hold the 24th ranked class, according to Inside Lacrosse.
The Black Knights’ 2022 class is highlighted by a pair of highly-rated offensive weapons from the South in Culver, Ind., attackman Haydn Sommer and The Benjamin School, Fla., midfielder Luke Pisani. Both are rated as four-star prospects by IL.
Sommer, a Texas native, is an elite shooter from multiple spots on the field and knows how to play off-ball and make those heads-up plays on the offensive end. Pisani, who was the first player to commit in the 2022 class, stands out immediately with his size and athleticism and can wreak havoc as a dodger and shooter up top.
The identity of West Point lacrosse has, and likely always will be, defense. In this 2022 class, they have landed three solid players on the back end with Taft, Conn., defenseman Trey Taylor, St. Anthony’s, N.Y., defenseman Colin Langton, and St. Paul’s, Md., LSM Keegan Tracy.
Air Force
As usual, Bill Wilson and the Air Force Falcons have one of the largest recruiting classes in the nation thus far. The Falcons currently have 18 players committed in the class. They have nine commits on the offensive end, six on the defensive end, and three at the faceoff dot.
The most recent commitment for the Falcons came off Long Island and is a name that many will recognize. St. Anthony’s, N.Y., faceoff man Jordan Naso verbaled to Air Force in early December. The younger brother of former blue-chip recruit and current Duke freshman faceoff man Jake Naso, the junior has shown much promise early in his career and is expected to be the Friars’ top option at the dot this spring
Additionally, Ponte Vedra, Fla., goalie Nolan Parlette and Creekside, Fla., attackman Mana Wilhelm are two names to know in this class. Noble & Greenough School, Mass., defenseman Tate Seeman is another intriguing prospect that the SoCon program has picked up thus far.
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