US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) 2020-2021 Women's Division I, II & III College Lacrosse Season

Not until you put your mask on, get in your Prius, drive to the vaccination station, get vaccinated and post it on Facebook….

September 1…. Which programs will land the best 23’s? Will College coaches commit fewer than normal players because they want to see who enters the Transfer Portal at the end of the 2022 season?

My daughter definitely heard from fewer programs than we were expecting, but we knew she would not be one of the first players to go. Makes it much easier to dismiss the dozens of prospect day invites! What a complete racket! So glad we didn’t book a bunch of travel around those. I did sign her up for one, but it’s local so no real loss, she will end up getting some reps in.

Colleges are picking girls for a few spots immediately.
The rest of the spots they will take the entire year or more to fill.
There is still time!
Princeton just added a 22 the other day.

Army just went from a good coaching staff to one , if not the best staff in the country. I thought Dowd was done coaching when she left UNC????

What women’s program will be most helped by their ‘21 class? I think Stanford and then possibly Hopkins 2nd. My daughter does not go to either school.

UNC, MD and NW for sure! Definitely not Stanford or Hopkins

BC
NW
MD
UNC
Princeton
Penn

All these programs will commit 6-8 of the top '23 girls. After that:

Stanford
Duke
Virginia
Syracuse
Hopkins
PSU
Yale
Florida
USC

Stanford and Hopkins are both excellent programs with plenty of talent... I don't see any freshmen making that big of a difference in the overall standing of the team.

Reminds me of that game/song…. “Which one of these things doesn’t belong here “.

Yale not really at the same level as the programs listed.

Also, I think you have to somewhat define “Top 23 Girls”, IMHO most would consider UA / Top 50 or so players as Top Tier and few if any programs get 6-8 of them.

I do agree however that the majority of top 23’s will end up at the schools listed (just not sure Yale will get many )

Stanford and Hopkins are top 15-20 programs neither of whom will ever make a final 4

What is your point?

It is rare that any freshmen will help any Top Tier program enough to dramatically change the program much from where that program would be without the freshmen class. The best programs, Top 10 - 15 always have talent and in most cases at the top programs we will only see a 2 or 3 freshmen getting meaningful playing time in the competitive games. I guess if one of the less competitive programs were able to bring in a strong freshmen class that class would have a major impact on the teams performance. The problem is that programs outside the traditional top programs have a hard time bringing in deeply talented freshmen classes.

Top players don’t/won’t go there.

True. Even the Stanford commit, who was touted as “best on LI” was actually out played by several ‘23s. The best 2021s went to BC, and UNC. West coast is a lax wasteland, but good for academics

Stanford 2020 class ranked 2nd in the country last year by IL and 2021s will be top 5 this year. 3 of the top 2020s redshirted so the redshirt/freshman class is loaded. Your myopic view of LI as the only source of talent is unfortunate, Stanford 2021 talent comes from there and other locations. You can ask all the teams their 21/22 commits beat at HHH and Lake Placid including BC and Northwestern. Stanford about to be perennial top 10.

Lol, wishful thinking dad. Until you get blown out be BC and get a reality check. Fact is, the best girls don’t want to go that far when they can have the same thing back East, and their families can get to their games without extensive expenses and travel time.

^ Back to back top 5 classes so clearly somebody “wants to go that far”. Also, the highest ranked school academically with D1 scholarship money. I would send a kid there in a second just for the jobs the kids get on the back end. The Ivies, Stanford, N Western, JHU, Duke and then a big gap to everyone else.

Agree, Stanford is going nowhere....but UP! Top recruiting classes and a great coach, they will be in the top 10 conversation from here forward. It's great if you want to go to college solely for lacrosse - stay on the east coast and go to some of the recognized lacrosse names like SYR, MD, BC - but a lot of families would jump at the chance for a high academic and lacrosse experience.

LOL, Fact is , most girls couldn’t get offers from Stanford! Congrats to anyone who does, Major accomplishment. Some girls do lacrosse, in hopes that doors get opened to great schools and great opportunities they may not get otherwise. Girls that are actually thinking about their futures, and not just about playing college lacrosse in driving distance to home. It’s not about the family getting to college lacrosse games.

Stanford acceptance rate 4.7%, BC acceptance rate 32.3%.

Well said and exactly correct. Stanford and JHU are Top 10 academic schools and both have very good lacrosse programs that obviously attract some top tier talent. Will either win a National Championship? Who knows, I’m sure none of the chest pounding geniuses on here thought JMU would win a National Championship. I would consider both to be two of the 20 best programs. If a player has an opportunity to attend one of these schools and doesn’t at least consider it that would be foolish.
Trying to knock or tear down either of these Universities or their Lacrosse Programs make you look ignorant.
I would add Notre Dame to your list above. Lacrosse provides so many opportunities for young women the goal should be to find the best fit. If you are looking for excellent academics as well as a Top 10-20 caliber lacrosse program I would say Stanford and Hopkins along with Princeton, Duke, Penn, Northwestern, Notre Dame would all fit the bill.

I already know of several top 2023 commits that crossed Stanford off because of distance. Great school, but too far for many when there are similar options much closer. As you see the top girls begin to commit, you will see that they pick others schools, such as the top YJ player who committed to BC today and could have gone anywhere she wanted, but didn't even visit. If it was just for school, that's very different than going to play on a D1 team where you want the support of your family.

No one said Stanford has its pick of the elite players. The posters said no elite players go to Stanford which is just nonsense. It appears some folks just want to tear down a particularly kid/family any chance they get. Stanford will be top 10 for the next several years and offers arguably the best education available. I’ll sign-up for that all day long. Congrats to the kids wherever they sign!!!

They may have crossed Stanford off their list, but I doubt in most cases they were even on Stanfords list ? Did they receive calls from Stanford and politely decline ?

I think part of the problem with the recruiting at schools like Stanford, Duke and Northwestern is that they take too long with the process. For Stanford and NU, that is partly because they start late. Not sure why Duke does it. Many girls have already visited schools and have visits booked throughout the month. Those schools have not set visits up, or are just starting too. There are girls who are be recruited to those schools (calls on Sept 1) but will see other schools on their list and get offers they don’t want to turn down. Just because you visit does not always mean there is an offer right away, and as other schools move down their list, spots will be gone. There is maybe one girl that they will actually wait around for from Connecticut. It’s unfortunate that girls are pressured into committing before they see all the schools who have reached out, but I also understand from the coaches perspective. So, I don’t think the girls “decline” the offer, it’s that another offer came in first that was comparable and they didn’t want to lose it.

That is bad information you are spreading. In the new Sept 1st era that started 2 years ago, Stanford had the first commit in the nation and was the first completely done with the entire 2021 recruiting class before all other schools. Last year a bit slower. Duke definitely was not ready for the new age of recruiting and dragged their feet and lost out on a lot of perspective athletes. But they have changed and are more aggressive now. It is a completely different recruiting scene with the new 11th grade sept1 start date. The top players know every single school interest in one day. Best thing that could ever happen for the players, to have any and all options all laid out on the table at the same time.

You have no idea what you're talking about! Duke, Stanford and NU have not had any girls on campus yet, and top girls are already beginning to commit elsewhere after having officially visited. NU is finally coming around to do home visits this week. A little late! Early bird getting the worm!

'Early bird getting the worm'
No. My daughter got a lot of great calls and wants to drill down and pick the right school for her. That requires a lot of work on her part, phone calls to current players, visiting the school and finding out about the important things of each school. This isn't a game show or a relay race, it's her future so we will take as much time as the colleges will give us to make the best choice - that way she only has to do it once.

Agree and would add that no program has their pick of the elite players..... The top 40-50 recruits usually get divided up between 10 - 15 schools with a handful choosing non traditional top 10-15 programs.

Are you saying that BC is a similar option to Stanford? BC is closer Maryland, Syracuse, Florida, Penn State, Rutgers etc...than it is to Stanford academically. Very few similar options to Stanford and BC is not one of them. BC very good school with an excellent lacrosse program but certainly not the end all be all. Many options out there, help your daughter find the one that is best for he. BTW, any player who receives an offer from Stanford will have many alternatives if Stanford is not for her.

Good Luck to All.

Question for those who have gone through recruiting. My daughter is scheduled to go to 3 official visits. Two of who are paying for her flight and are pretty far away. She already has a couple offers from unofficial visits, but wanted to see all the schools before she decides. My questions are: Do schools usually offer a spot at an official visit? We are also concerned that she may lose the spot offered at other schools if she waits too long. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

My opinion be honest with them about where are you going. It’s all a business and they ALL tell small lies. They have to sell their product

Sound advice, true and accurate.

Can Inask if your from the Northeast? Lots to think about when the school is a plane ride away. Florida Chicago California.

Yes, from NE. Some great options within driving distance, but do want to consider some of the schools that are far away. It will be mid October before we can get everywhere she wants to see. Just not how sure how patient these coaches are.

We had a coach give a week timeline. My daughter asked for more time and was told no bc the coach was worried about the next tier starting commit if they waited. A respectable reason but the next class there weren’t as harsh timelines.
You don’t want to lose offers but there’s enough interest your daughter should be fine with a coach rescinding. However if the school you’re worried about is one of your daughters top 3, then she needs to have a good conversation with that coach.
Early recruiting had it’s flaws but not one coach pressured my kid. She was also too young to know what she wanted in 9th grade and ended up having to wait until September 1 as a 2020
IMHO if a coach really wants your daughter—they will wait.

Why would a coach wait?

Coaches want players who want to go to the school and play for them.

Unless your daughter is a real phenom there are hundreds of similar players the coach talk to.

Don’t commit to a school that you are not comfortable with but don’t expect the coach to wait around so that you can look for a better opportunity.

I disagree. Many top rated recruits are on the radar for many of the same schools. These girls are visiting their top choices and will decide after they see 4-5 schools. The coaches know this and will wait. Why don’t you think anyone has committed to Duke, Stanford, Princeton, Penn, Syracuse, Northwestern, Maryland, etc.? We will see the majority of these girls commit late September/early October. My daughter is one of them and the schools she’s interested in have given offers but want her to see the other schools to make sure she makes the right choice.

There has been a commitment to MD…a goalie

Schools usually will make an offer on an official visit or shortly there after, assuming all goes well. Dont be to concerned with losing a spot or stringing them along, they do it all the time. If you are fair and honest and they dont want to wait then I think your getting the answer if its the right program. Best rule in recruiting is that a no is as good as a yes.