Recruiting Notebook: Winners From The First Month of The Contact Period

(Photo Courtesy of Yale Athletics)

It has been one month since the September 1st date, which marked the opening of the contact period between 2023’s and college coaches (outside of the service academies who could start contacting 2022 recruits on July 1st). And in this first month of recruitment for juniors there has been a lot of action with over 150 players in the class making commitments to 47 different DI programs over the past month, per the Lacrosse Bucket Recruiting Database.

While it is still very early, multiple schools have been able to assert themselves ahead of the pack.

Here is a look at some of the winners from the first month of recruitment for 2023s:

Princeton

Matt Madalon and the Princeton Tigers may have not had a season this spring but it hasn’t seemed to hurt one bit in the talent acquisition department as they are killing it on the recruiting trail. The Tigers currently have the No. 1 class in the 2023 cycle according to Inside Lacrosse.

While the Tigers were one of a few programs with a commitment in the class before September 1st with Bullis (Md.) senior midfielder Tucker Wade planning to head to Australia for, essentially, a gap year and come into Princeton as a member of the 2023 class, the Tigers have added six more in the class since the contact period opened.

Along with the aforementioned Wade, Princeton has landed commitments from Carson Krammer out of Torrey Pines (Calif.) and Brody Upton out of Noble & Greenhough (Mass.) to put together one of the best midfield classes thus far. Krammer, who will join his brother Quinn ’21 at Princeton, is one of the biggest physical mismatches and overall athletes in the class at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds. The 6-foot-6 Upton is one of the craftier, playmaking midfielders this cycle and has a knack for getting to the inside.

Georgetown Prep (Md.) attackman Colin Burns, who is coming off a 53-point season as a sophomore this past spring, adds to the offensive prowess the Tigers have picked up in the class through the first month of the contact period.

Princeton has also landed two big-time players on the defensive end with both Culver (Ind.) goalie Colin Vickrey and Brunswick (Conn.) defenseman Hunter Spiess verbaling to the Tigers.

Vickrey, a Texas native, was initially a ’22 Notre Dame commit before reclassifying and flipping to the Tigers on Thursday night. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound goalkeeper, who has been compared to Syracuse and Navy legends John Galloway and Mickey Jarboe, is rated as a four-star by Inside Lacrosse and has some of the quickest hands you’ll find in high school lacrosse, and is very effective in the clearing game.

Starting for Brunswick at close defense as a sophomore this past spring, Speiss has routinely showcased how effective he is as an on-ball defender, as well as his high IQ play off ball. The 6-foot-2 pole has also shown to be impactful in transition when needed.

Syracuse

Gary Gait’s inaugural men’s lacrosse recruiting class is looking strong through the first month of the contact period with currently eight players in the boat.

Highlighting the class is Hill Academy (Ont.) defenseman Donny Scott and Salisbury (Conn.) attackman, Trey Deere. Both are ranked as top-50 players by Inside Lacrosse and rated as four-star prospects.

Scott, who is a Peach State native, knows how to put the ball on the carpet, is not afraid to use his body, and covers a ton of ground with his tall frame. In addition to the strong on-ball play he often showcases, the junior can also cause serious trouble off-ball, possessing the right instincts and a fairly high lacrosse IQ. Deere, a native of the Kahnawake Mohawk territory, is a very crafty lefty who can be a very good playmaker at the next level. Having a box background, he isn’t afraid of contact and thrives around the cage as a finisher.

The Orange have also added a number of other players to further pad this class. That includes Mt. Sinai (N.Y.) do-it-all faceoff/midfielder Jake Spallina, who’s the younger brother of 2022 Syracuse commit and No. 1 player in the nation Joey Spallina, Lawrenceville (N.J.) defenseman Quintan Kilrain and St. Dominic (N.Y.) goalie Michael Ippoliti, among others.

Duke

The Blue Devils took a bit longer than some other ACCs to get things rolling in the 2023 class, but over the past 12 days have done nothing but stack talent.

Georgetown Prep (Md.) LSM Mac Christmas, Avon Old Farms (Conn.) midfielder Benn Johnston, and Brunswick (Conn.) midfielder Thomas Delgado are all three top-10 players according to Inside Lacrosse and highlight this ’23 Duke class.

Pretty unanimously seen as the top LSM in the class, there is no doubt that Christmas is one of the more premier talents this cycle. Not only is he an elite talent on the back end as someone who can cause problems for defenses and put the ball on the carpet, but he is a serious offensive threat. A former offensive midfield, he has some of the best stick skills you’ll see from a pole at the high school level.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Johnston has both the size and athleticism to play big-time college lacrosse, but he is one of the most lethal shooters in the class. Delgado, whose brother, AJ, is currently a junior for the Blue Devils, has tremendous speed and size to go with a skill set that allows him to be an impact on both ends of the field.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame hasn’t seen as much action in the 2023 class as some others, adding just five commitments since the contact period opened. However, those five are absolute playmakers and known commodities across the landscape.

The Irish have made a good amount of headway especially on the defensive end of the field early on this cycle, landing Nate Schwitzenberg out of Loyola (Ill.), as well as Karter Willams (Hough, N.C.), and Shawn Lyght (Seton Hall, N.J.). The trio of poles is one of the best defensive hauls this cycle. All three have consistently shown to have not only the size and speed but also the physicality and skillset to make an impact at the next level.

Pine Crest (Fla.) midfielder Jordan Faison and Brunswick (Conn.) faceoff man Andrew Greenspan are also notable names the Irish have picked up in the first month of the contact period.

Yale

Andy Shay and the Bulldogs ended the first month of September with a bang, landing a commitment from Malvern Prep (Pa.) defenseman Roman Buono on the last day of the month. The elite defender gives Yale six commitments in the class. Four of those are on the defensive end.

Taft (Conn.) attackman Peter Moynihan and Lawrenceville (N.J.) attackman Hunter Chauvette are the only two offensive players in the class and are two of the other most notable names to pledge to Yale in the class thus far. Moynihan is a natural X attackman, to be sure, but he isn’t afraid to get into the dirty areas around the crease when needed, scrap for ground balls, and rides very hard. Chauvette is one of the best shooters in the class, garnering comparisons to Mac O’Keefe. He’s coming off a 77-point (55G/22A) sophomore spring.

Navy

The Midshipmen did a lot of work this summer with the service academy contact period opening up on July 1st and build an already strong 2023 class heading into the fall. Joe Amplo and his staff continued to build on that over the past month, landing one of the best and most exciting poles in the class in AJ Marsh (McDonogh, Md.), as well as Chaminade (N.Y.) midfielder Aidan Lough and Wall (N.J.) attackman John McCurry.

Georgetown

Briarwood Christian (Ala.) goalie Anderson Moore highlights what looks to be the best class in the Big East, thus far. The Alabama native is joined at this time by a quartet of elite offensive playmakers in Calvert Hall (Md.) attackman Shuey Kelly, Georgetown Prep (Md.) midfielder Larry Horning, Lake Braddock (Va.) attackman Jack Schubert, and Nate Kabiri.

Other September Winners