(Photo: Elijah Stobaugh/Instagram)
Two months ago, the contact period opened up for the class of 2023 and ever since players have been flying off the board, and that includes talent hailing from below the Mason-Dixon line.
In the first two months of the contact period, a total of 43 juniors from the South have verbaled to DI programs, according to the Lacrosse Bucket Recruiting Database. Georgia has the highest number of commitments in the class with 10 while Florida, and Virginia have each seen nine players come off the board. North Carolina has seen eight, Texas has seen two, and Alabama has seen one player at home at a DI in the class.
During the month of October alone, Southern states saw 18 players commit to DI programs. Here is a state-by-state breakdown of the movement seen in the South amongst the 2023 class over the past month.
Florida
Tied for second-most commitments in the class (9) along with Virginia, the Sunshine State saw three juniors find homes at DI programs in the month of October.
IMG Academy midfielder Elijah Stobaugh is the most notable player from the state to come off the board in October as he verbaled to Maryland on the 14th of the month. Rated as a four-star and ranked as the No. 28 player in the class by Inside Lacrosse, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound midfielder is one of the highlighting players of the Terrapins ’23 class thus far. A strong outside shooter, Stobaugh proves to be a matchup nightmare for many high school defenses.
Plant (Fla.) A/M Turner Ashby verbaled to Air Force on the first of October, joining fellow Floridan Jack Schulte (St. Andrew’s, Fla.) in the Falcons’ class. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound offensive weapon put up 146 points (86G/60A) as a sophomore last spring while helping to lead his team to the FHSAA 2A semifinals.
Bronson Dowdell out of Winter Park (Fla.) was the third player in the class to verbal to a DI over the past month, committing to the Mercer Bears.
Georgia
The Peach State has produced the most DI commitments of any southern state thus far with 10. Four of those commitments came during the month of October.
The most notable move came on the first of the Month when Roswell (Ga.) attackman Alex Lobel announced his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines. A scoring machine, the lefty etched his name in the 100 club this past spring as a sophomore. In addition to his scoring ability, the attackman has progressed greatly as a passer and feeder.
Another Roswell product verbaled to a DI last month with faceoff man Myles Quandt choosing Towson. An exciting playmaker, the junior has very strong exits and knows how to make plays on the offensive end, especially as a scorer.
Milton (Ga.) defenseman Garrett Krsul and King’s Ridge (Ga.) attackman Robbie Walker are the other two juniors from the Peach State to make verbal commitments last month, each deciding to play in the SoCon with Krsul deciding on VMI and Walker on Jacksonville.
North Carolina
Four players from the Tar Heels State in the 2023 class found homes at DIs, brining the total number of commits out of the start in the class to eight.
East Chapel Hill (N.C.) attackman Alec Levy was the most notable commitment out of the state over the past month as he decided to stay home and play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. The son of UNC Women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy, he will take a postgrad year before joining the Tar Heels as a ‘23. He is coming off an 83-point (50G/33A) campaign this last spring. His older brother, Ryan, took a PG year at Taft (Conn.) in 2021 and is currently a freshman for the Tar Heels.
Additionally, Greensboro Day (N.C.) attackman Hunter Bisbee verbaled to Air Force while Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.) midfielder Carter Malone chose Monmouth, and Southwest Guilford (N.C.) goalie Nicholas Hampton picked St. John’s in the month of October.
Texas
Of the four juniors who verbaled to DIs from the Lone Star State last month, the most notable move was Highland Park (Texas) goalie Ben Abel committing to the Loyola Greyhounds. The Texas native is coming off a huge sophomore campaign where he helped lead the Scots to a 14-3 record and a THSLL AA state title game. The quick-handed keeper especially showcased his ability to stop low shots and be effective in the outlet passing game this past spring. Abel was named an All-State Honorable Mention.
Elsewhere across the state during the month of October, St. Mark’s (Texas) attackman Jake Park verbaled to Air Force while Dallas Jesuit (Texas) goalie Cooper Coleman chose Jacksonville, and Houston Memorial (Texas) defenseman picked High Point.
Virginia
After seeing seven players in the 2023 class from the Commonwealth find homes at DIs during the first month of the contact period, the state of Virginia saw just two players commit to DIs in the class in October.
Both commitments were to programs in the SoCon with St. Christopher’s (Va.) midfielder Miles Harvey verbaling to High Point and Paul VI (Va.) defenseman Nate Murphy choosing Richmond.
Harvey is more of a traditional downhill dodging midfielder and can sling it on-the-run. He is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he helped lead the Saints to a 11-2 record and semifinals appearance. An aggressive defender, Murphy helped lead a strong defense for a Panthers team that made a state championship appearance.
Full List of 2023 Commits From The South
| State | Player | Position | High School | Commitment | Commitment Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Hill Plunkett | Attack | Roswell | Army West Point | 7/1/2021 |
| Virginia | Matt Han | Midfield | Paul VI | Michigan | 9/3/2021 |
| Virginia | Eli Petty | Defense/LSM | Collegiate | Virginia | 9/5/2021 |
| Florida | Luke Lowery | Defense | Ponte Vedra | Dartmouth | 9/12/2021 |
| Georgia | Niko Karetsos | Attack | Pace Academy | North Carolina | 9/13/2021 |
| North Carolina | Cayden Hollar | Midfield | Hoggard (N.C.) | Hofstra | 9/15/2021 |
| North Carolina | Brayson Wilson | Goalie | Cannon School | North Carolina | 9/16/2021 |
| Texas | Colin Vickrey* | Goalie | Culver (Ind.) | Princeton | 9/16/2021 |
| Virginia | Quintan Kilrain | Defense | Lawrenceville (N.J.) | Syracuse | 9/16/2021 |
| Florida | Andrew Klis | Defense | American Heritage | Dartmouth | 9/16/2021 |
| Georgia | Donny Scott | Defense | The Hill Academy (Ont.) | Syracuse | 9/17/2021 |
| Florida | Andrew Klis | Defense | American Heritage | Dartmouth | 9/17/2021 |
| Virginia | Nolan Gilmartin | Attack | Benedictine Prep | UAlbany | 9/17/2021 |
| Georgia | Jack Marlow | Midfield | Cambridge | Michigan | 9/19/2021 |
| Alabama | Anderson Moore | Goalie | Briarwood Christian | Georgetown | 9/21/2021 |
| Florida | Jordan Faison | Midfield | Pine Crest | Notre Dame | 9/21/2021 |
| Georgia | Ezekiel Lomax | Midfield | IMG Academy | Jacksonville | 9/23/2021 |
| Virginia | Nate Kabiri | Attack | Georgetown Prep (Md.) | Georgetown | 9/24/2021 |
| Florida | Zach Mesa | Defense/LSM | Culver (Ind.) | Lehigh | 9/25/2021 |
| North Carolina | Kenan Everhart | Attack | Ashley (N.C.) | Loyola | 9/25/2021 |
| Georgia | Carson Hall | Faceoff | Harrison (Ga.) | Loyola | 9/28/2021 |
| Florida | Colin Kruger | Attack | Tampa Jesuit | Boston U. | 9/28/2021 |
| Florida | Jack Schulte | Attack | St. Andrew’s | Air Force | 9/28/2021 |
| Georgia | Carson Hall | Faceoff | Harrison | Loyola | 9/28/2021 |
| Florida | Maddox Johnson | A/M | Ponte Vedra | Denver | 9/29/2021 |
| Virginia | Sam McAvoy | Midfield | Lake Braddock (Va.) | Penn State | 9/29/2021 |
| North Carolina | Karter Willams | Defense | Hough | Notre Dame | 9/30/2021 |
| Virginia | Jack Schubert | Attack | Lake Braddock (Va.) | Georgetown | 9/30/2021 |
| Florida | Turner Ashby | A/M | Plant | Air Force | 10/1/2021 |
| Georgia | Alex Lobel | Attack | Roswell | Michigan | 10/1/2021 |
| Virginia | Miles Harvey | Midfield | St. Christopher’s | High Point | 10/1/2021 |
| Texas | Jake Park | Attack | St. Mark’s | Air Force | 10/3/2021 |
| North Carolina | Hunter Bisbee | Attack | Greensboro Day | Air Force | 10/6/2021 |
| Georgia | Myles Quandt | Faceoff | Roswell | Towson | 10/7/2021 |
| Texas | Cooper Coleman | Goalie | Dallas Jesuit | Jacksonville | 10/11/2021 |
| Georgia | Garrett Krsul | D/LSM | Milton | VMI | 10/13/2021 |
| Florida | Elijah Stobaugh | Midfield | IMG Academy | Maryland | 10/14/2021 |
| Florida | Bronson Dowdell | A/M | Winter Park | Mercer | 10/14/2021 |
| Texas | Ben Abel | Goalie | Highland Park | Loyola | 10/15/2021 |
| North Carolina | Carter Malone | Midfield | Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.) | Monmouth | 10/19/2021 |
| North Carolina | Nicholas Hampton | Goalie | Southwest Guilford (N.C.) | St. John’s | 10/20/2021 |
| Georgia | Robbie Walker | Attack | King’s Ridge | Jacksonville | 10/20/2021 |
| North Carolina | Alec Levy* | Attack | East Chapel Hill | North Carolina | 10/21/2021 |
| Virginia | Nate Murphy | Defense | Paul VI | Richmond | 10/26/2021 |
| Texas | Brody Rhee | Defense | Houston Memorial | High Point | 10/28/2021 |
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