It’s fall, and that means two things in the world of college lacrosse.
Fallball is in full swing for the current roster, and commitment season is underway for the future roster.
With September being the first month for the current high school juniors to pick their college destinations, the past couple weeks have seen the Syracuse Orange pick up commitments from 10 players in the Class of 2028.
Let’s take a look:
- Hudson O’Hanlon — Attack — Westminster School, CT — 4 stars — No. 45 in IL class rankings
- Nash Parker — Midfielder — St. John’s DC — 4 stars — No. 59 in IL
- JT Macaluso — LSM — Salisbury School, CT — 4 stars — No. 87 in IL
- Owen Morret — Midfielder — Avon Old Farms, CT — 4 stars — No. 92 in IL
- Jaxon Crouse — Midfielder — Western Reserve Academy, OH — 4 stars — No. 98 in IL
- Mason Proctor — Face-off — St. Joseph’s Prep, PA — 4 stars
- Preston James III — LSM — Vandegrift, TX — 4 stars
- Luke Conly — Attack — Cardinal Gibbons, NC — 4 stars
- Austin Flaum — Attack — Brighton, NY — 3 stars
- Jake Colclasure — Goalie — De LaSalle, CA — 3 stars
It’s a diverse group that Gary Gait’s compiled thus far, both positionally and geographically.
The class is made up of three attackers, three midfielders, two LSM’s, one FO specialist and one goalie, so they’ve pretty much got the whole field covered. And while there’s lots of concentration from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, they also stretch out as far as Texas and California.
There’s strength in numbers, and ‘Cuse certainly has that as their 10 commits ranks among the most in the country to this point by sheer quantity.
While that’s clearly a positive, one notable thing about the class is the lack of five-star players. The eight four-stars is tremendous (tied for most in the country), but the absence of the highest-end commits is a concern, especially when compared to Virginia’s record-setting seven, Princeton’s five and Duke’s three.
Overall, Inside Lacrosse currently ranks the Orange No. 8 in the 2028 class rankings, behind (in order) Virginia, Princeton, North Carolina, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Penn and Duke.
Some of the standouts of SU’s class were highlighted by Ty Xanders of Prep Lacrosse, starting with the third-highest rated in LSM JT Macaluso. Xanders described him as a ‘playmaker with an active stick’, who has good size (6’2”) and makes an impact in a variety of ways.
Next up is their second-highest rated in midfielder Nash Parker, who hails from St John’s (DC), the same school that produced Luke Rhoa, Riley Figueiras and incoming top-ranked defender Jayden James. That program has been kind to ‘Cuse, and hopefully that lineage will be continuing with James and Parker.
Xanders describes him as a tall, athletic, lefty playmaker with the versatility to play midfield or attack. He also calls him the “top ‘28 in the DMV”, which sounds like a big-time get for the Orange.
Lastly, let’s focus in on the top-ranked commit in Hudson O’Hanlon, a lefty attacker from the Westminster School in CT.
Xanders calls him a well-rounded offensive weapon who debuted with 56 goals and 30 assists in his first season at Westminster before having a strong summer to boost his ranking.
Recruiting never stops, and Gait’s off to a solid start in the first month of commitments from the Class of 2028.
