(Photo Courtesy of McCallie Athletics)

Two months ago, the contact period opened for the class of 2024. Since then, over 250 players have announced their verbal commitments to play college lacrosse at the DI level. That includes plenty of talent hailing from below the Mason-Dixon line.

As of writing this (Oct. 31st), 40 players from the South in the 2024 class have committed to play DI lacrosse. During the month of October alone, 18 players from the South verbaled to DIs. Florida has seen nine players commit this cycle. North Carolina has seen eight and Virginia has seen seven. Six 2024s have come off the board in Texas while four have in Georgia. Kentucky and Tennessee each have produced two DI commits this cycle whole Alabama and South Carolina each have one.

 Here is a state-by-state breakdown of the movement seen in the South amongst the 2024 class over the past month:

Florida

The Sunshine State saw six 2024s come off the board last month as attackman Owen Lenox (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) and Colin Wade (Oxbridge, Fla,) committing to Rutgers while A/M Gavin Boree (Bolles, Fla.) chose High Point, midfielder James Frankauski (Cardinal Mooney, Fla,) verbaled to Merrimack, midfielder Chris Jaskiewicz (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) committed to Providence, and Ponte Vedra goalie Jack Pelot decided on Penn.

Lenox and Wade are two of seven commitments thus far in the class for the Scarlet Knights. Lenox, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound lefty, has shown to be a natural goal-scorer who primarily operates on the right wing as a dodger and initiator. He also has a knack to get open off-ball and snipe. As a 6-foot-2, 180-pound pole, Wade shines as an on-ball defender who plays with a certain level of aggressiveness and has proven to be a pest for opposing offenses.

In Boree, High Point gets a natural goal scorer who can make attack defense from all over the offensive end, and especially so on the low and high wings as a dodger. Boree is coming off sophomore spring in which he put up 75 points off 55 goals and 20 assists.

Frankauski played his freshman year at IMG Academy (Fla.) before transferring to Cardinal Mooney ahead of his sophomore year. The 6-foot, 160-pound lefty is a solid athlete and has one heck of a shot on the run. He is an electric and strong dodger who can do serious damage from up top.

Jaskiewicz scored 28 goals and dished out 22 assist for 48 points last spring. He has shown to be able to create scoring opportunities for himself both with the ball in his stick and with his movement off-ball.

Pelot is the heir apparent in cage for Ponte Vedra with the graduation of Nolan Parlette, he saw a good deal of action last spring as a backup and put up a 61% save percentage. Pelot moves well in cage, has quick hands, and tracks the ball incredibly well.

Georgia

During the month of October, three players in the 2024 class hailing from the Peach State verbaled to DI programs. Roswell (Ga.) attackman Ezra Moore and St. Pius X (Ga.) faceoff man Kyle Sanders each committed to Bellarmine. Allatoona (Ga.) attackman Brayden Fountain committed to Navy and is the most high-profile commitment thus far in the cycle from the state.

Rated as a four-star by Inside Lacrosse, Fountain has great change of direction speed and often uses that to beat his man and get to the inside off creative dodges and redodges. He is also able to inflict pain on defenses as an off-ball finisher on the inside and as a feeder.

Moore has the ability to create for himself with his quickness and dodging ability, often getting underneath the defense for quality looks. He is also a solid feeder and moves well off-ball.

Sanders went 71% at the faceoff dot last spring for the Golden Lions. He is a well-rounded faceoff man who can win it clean to himself won both offensive and defensive exits, and also knows how to battle and use his wings.

Kentucky

The Bluegrass State has two players committed to DIs in the 2024 class and both hail from St. Xavier (Ky.) in Louisville. Trevor Havill (Ohio State) became the first Kentucky 2024 to verbal back in September. In late October, Ryder John became that second commitment as he verbaled to Towson over the weekend.

Standing 6-foot-2, 205-pounds and possessing a great deal of speed, John proved to be a tough defender every time out. He uses his body well, throws solid and timely checks, and can slide very hard. The pole is also able to take it across the midline and make a difference in transition offense as both a passer and shooter. He is coming off a spring in which he had 19 points off eight goals and 11 assists while helping the Tigers to a state championship.

North Carolina

The Tar Heel state saw four players in the 2024 class commit to DI programs over the past month. The most notable of them was Green Level (N.C.) midfielder Jackson Spells verbaling to Duke. In addition, attackman Braedon Chayes (Pine Lake Prep, N.C.) committed to Saint Joseph’s, defenseman Ben Maynor (Cannon, N.C.) verbaled to Delaware, and Athens Drive (N.C.) LSM Wes Cohn chose Queens.

Spells is rated as a four-star by Inside Lacrosse. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound middie is an all-around great athlete with his speed and size, and is a two-way threat as he can make a difference on both ends of the field. Spells is an especially strong dodger from up top and is an especially good on-the-run shooter.

At 6-foot-3, 205-pounds, Chayes is a big lefty who plays tough and with his speed is a very solid dodger. Able to attack from anywhere on the field, he put up 68 goals and 15 assists last spring.

Maynor is a versatile defender who has made an impact both in high school and club ball as both a close defenseman and SSDM. He has the ability to lock up his opposition on ball while also making a difference off-ball, and can help push in transition.

Cohn is a difference maker all over the field. Not only does he play on the back end, but he is often also used on the faceoff wings as well. The pole is a tough on ball defender who knows how to create turnovers and also runs the field very well in transition.

Tennessee

The Volunteer State has seen two players commit to DIs in the 2024 class and both of those moves were made during the month of October.

On October 10th, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) faceoff man Burke Wade verbaled to Vermont. Wade is coming off a spring season in which he went 67% (242-for-357) last spring for the Purple Wave.

The most high profile recruit out of the state this cycle came off the board on October 21st when McCallie (Tenn.) attackman Zach Chari committed to Georgetown. Rated as a four-star by NLF, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound knows how to use contact to his advantage and is often seen bullying defenders whether dodging from behind the cage at X or from the wings. He put up 74 points off 49 goals and 25 assists last spring.

Texas

Late October saw a pair of players from the Lone Star State come off the board as Gilman (Md.) defenseman Ronny Sires committed to Marquette and Flower Mound (Texas) defenseman Grant Krebs verbaled to Bellarmine.

Sires began his high school career at Episcopal School of Dallas before transferring to the MIAA program ahead of last year. He plays an aggressive brand of defense and is often able to stay with and limit his opponent. He also runs the field well in the clearing game and can help spark transition offense.

Krebs had a great frame at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds. He might not be the most aggressive or physical with his body all the time, but knows how to use his stick very well and has the footwork needed to stay with and keep his matchup from getting what he wants.

Full List of 2024 Commits From The South (Oct. 31st, 11:00 pm)

Player	Position	High School	Commitment	Conference	Commitment Date	State	Notes
Noah Prissert	Defense	Oxbridge	Brown	Ivy League	1/19/2022	Florida	Reclass
Koby White	Midfield	Lake Mary	Syracuse	ACC	3/10/2022	Florida	Reclass
Noah Ramirez	A/M	Culver Military	Navy	Patriot League	7/15/2022	Texas
Ryan Duenkel	Attack	St. John’s (D.C.)	Virginia	ACC	9/4/2022	Virginia
Brevin Wilson	Attack	Cannon	North Carolina	ACC	9/5/2022	North Carolina
Troy Capstraw	Goalie	Daphne	Virginia	ACC	9/7/2022	Alabama
Garrett Coombs	Defense	Lucy Beckham	St. Joe’s	A-10	9/10/2022	South Carolina
Ryan Kehoe	Defense	Paul VI	Michigan	Big Ten	9/12/2022	Virginia
Sam Lovell	Attack	Taft	Air Force	ASUN	9/13/2022	Texas
Trevor Havill	Attack	St. X	Ohio State	Big Ten	9/14/2022	Kentucky
Evan Leonardo	Attack	Buford	High Point	A-10	9/16/2022	Georgia
Peyton Booth	Attack	STAB	Cornell	Ivy League	9/18/2022	Virginia
Brady Dolan	Attack	Cardinal Gibbons	Marist	MAAC	9/19/2022	North Carolina
Bodie Kahoun	Midfield	Patrick Henry	Ohio State	Big Ten	9/19/2022	Virginia
Sean Browne	Attack	ESD	Virginia	ACC	9/19/2022	Texas
Luke Pascal	Attack	SSSA	Yale	Ivy League	9/19/2022	Virginia
Mason Vance	Midfield	Lawrenceville (N.J.)	Michigan	Big Ten	9/21/2022	Texas
Liam Wright	Faceoff	St. Christopher’s	Michigan	Big Ten	9/21/2022	Virginia
Caden Harshbarger	Midfield	Lake Mary	North Carolina	ACC	9/25/2022	Florida
Jack Ransom	Attack	Charlotte Catholic	Georgetown	Big East	9/26/2022	North Carolina
Cole Frood	Midfield	Cannon	Brown	Ivy League	9/27/2022	North Carolina
Bryce Gunn	Attack	SSSA	Boston U.	Patriot League	9/30/2022	Virginia
Ezra Moore	Attack	Roswell	Bellarmine	ASUN	10/1/2022	Georgia
Owen Lenox	Attack	Lake Highland Prep	Rutgers	Big Ten	10/2/2022	Florida
Kyle Sanders	Faceoff	St. Pius X	Bellarmine	ASUN	10/7/2022	Georgia
Braedon Chayes	Attack	Pine Lake Prep	Saint Joseph’s	A-10	10/7/2022	North Carolina
Burke Wade	Faceoff	Christian Brothers	Vermont	America East	10/10/2022	Tennessee
Brayden Fountain	Attack	Allatoona	Navy	Patriot League	10/10/2022	Georgia
Jackon Spells	Midfield	Green Level	Duke	ACC	10/10/2022	North Carolina
Gavin Boree	A/M	Bolles	High Point	A-10	10/19/2022	Florida
Zach Chari	Attack	McCallie	Georgetown	Big East	10/21/2022	Tennessee
James Frankauski	Midfield	Cardinal Mooney	Merrimack	America East	10/21/2022	Florida
Ben Maynor	Defense	Cannon	Delaware	CAA	10/24/2022	North Carolina
Wes Cohn	LSM	Athens Drive	Queens	ASUN	10/25/2022	North Carolina
Colin Wade	Defense	Oxbridge	Rutgers	Big Ten	10/26/2022	Florida
Chris Jaskiewicz	Midfield	Lake Highland Prep	Providence	Big East	10/27/2022	Florida
Jack Pelot	Goalie	Ponte Vedra	Penn	Ivy League	10/27/2022	Florida
Ronny Sires	Defense	Gilman (Md.)	Marquette	Big East	10/28/2022	Texas
Ryder John	Defense	St. Xavier	Towson	CAA	10/28/2022	Kentucky
Grant Krebs	Defense	Flower Mound	Bellarmine	ASUN	10/30/2022	Texas