(Photo Courtesy of STAB Athletics)

After a slow-ish June on the recruiting trail across the region, things heated up in July. The Lacrosse Bucket Recruiting Database recorded nine commits in the 2022 class from across the region during the month of July as well as one in the 2023 class.

The summer recruiting wave has rolled over into August, where the first week of the month saw six players from the South verbal to DI programs.

Here is a state-by-state breakdown of the 16commitments we’ve seen across the South since the action started to heat back up at the beginning of July.

Georgia

The biggest recruiting in the Peach State over the past month came on July 1st when Roswell attackman Hill Plunkett pulled the trigger and became the first true 2023 commit in the nation, verbaling to Army West Point just hours after the contact period opened up for Service Academies.

Plunkett, who follows his brother, Evan, to West Point, headlines a strong 2023 class in the Peach State. He is coming off a stellar sophomore spring season where he asserted himself as one of the top players in his class in the state of Georgia, racking up All-State honors while helping lead his Roswell team to a 15-5 record and a GHSA 6A-7A Sweet 16 appearance.

In the 2022 class, the Peach State has seen three players find DI homes over the past month. North Gwinnett Faceoff man Jack Rogers verbaled to VMI and Lassiter midfielder Bryce Horton to Utah in July. In early August, Blessed Trinity two-way midfielder Charlie Lohman verbaled to Colgate.

North Carolina

Three 2022s from the Tar Heel State found homes over the past month as a pair of defensemen in Myers Park’s Drew Tenzer committed to Richmond and Cannon School’s Miles Edmiston pledged to Monmouth. Middle Creek midfielder Breyden Harrison committed to Jacksonville earlier this week, finding a home with John Galloway’s program after a strong junior campaign and summer that saw his stock rise.

Harrison was a top-three scorer for a Mustangs squad that went 12-1 and fell in the playoffs to eventual state champion Cardinal Gibbons. The undefeated (17-0) state champions saw one of their offensive leaders find a home in July, as attackman Caden Zadell verbaled to Drexel. Zadell had a team-high 77 points (42G/35A) during his junior campaign.

Texas

Two players from the Lone Star State in the 2022 class verbaled to DIs during July while one Texan has committed during August thus far.

Houston Christian defenseman John Young committed to Bucknell on the Fourth of July, becoming the second player from Texas to join the Bison’s 2022 class. Boy’s Latin (Md.) faceoff man Aidan Smith, who is originally from the Houston area and started his high school career at Bridgeland, verbaled to St. Bonaventure on July 19th. Jesuit Dallas midfielder Nate Duncan announced his commitment to VMI earlier this week.

Virginia

One of the bigger national recruiting stories of the summer came out of the central Virginia, as St. Anne’s Belfield midfielder Tim Myers announced that he had flipped his commitment from Navy to his hometown Virginia Cavaliers, who are coming off a second consecutive national title run.

Myers, who started his High School career at attack, has since transitioned to midfield and thrived on both ends of the field as a two-way player. Myers and his Saint Anne’s Belfield team fell in the first round of the VISAA state tournament, 12-9, against Blue Ridge School.

The Old Dominion State also saw a pair of 2022 defensemen find homes during July, as St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes’ Baylor Hunt commit to Air Force and Yorktown’s James Aldinger verbaled to VMI. The Keydets got another in-state commitment in August with Riverside attackman Cole Jones finding a home with James Purpura’s program.

Most recently, Collegiate midfielder James Beeghly announced his commitment to Villanova. The rising senior is coming off a stellar junior season, where he led the Cougars in scoring and earned All-League honors.