US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums Like Post

How I expect the 2028 landscape to play out over the next few years. Coppermine has too much momentum for it to change over the next few years. They could probably lose players and still be a top 3 team. I wish it was different but that ship has probably sailed. Heros will maintain their spot as the second best Maryland team. Their club has multiple number 1 teams and their 28 team is currently better than anyone else in Maryland. M&D has the club name and are good enough now to draw future talent. They will round out the top 3 teams in Maryland over the next few years. All three will be top 10 teams nationally in 3 years. The next tier is a different story. There are a bunch of NY, VA, PA, CT, MA, GA, CO and other regional all-star teams that will insert themselves between the top 3 Maryland teams and the next tier. Just look at the rankings for older teams where Maryland can only maintain 2 top ten teams. It will appear that MD United, Crush, and Skywalkers are moonwalking but really it is just other regions consolidating and improving while they stay stagnant. In a couple of years MDU/Crush/SW will be ranked between 15 and 30. MD United will bleed talent. Crush has stayed together but unable to get stronger. Skywalkers for all the talk is barely in the top 10 (barely improved from last year) and the club has weak 26-30 teams. None of these teams will draw impactful players and will keep getting weaker while other regions consolidate and pass them by over the next few years. Unless you are the top player or the club or coach owe you something you won't be seen the same way by colleges on these teams. Everything will be harder on the field for your daughter playing against better teams from all regions. Ground balls, extra touches, turnovers, connecting passes, getting open, extra possessions, saves turned to transition, draw percentage, goes on and on but what it means is for recruiting is it will be harder to stand out. NEMS, FCA, Next Level, CC Lax, and B teams are all good for players that want to improve for high school or play division 3 but obviously won't even be in this conversation.

There is a big difference in how a college views a #3 ranked team vs a #17 ranked team. The #3 ranked team may have 8-12 players that are great options whereas the #17 team may have 1-2 players. why this all matters and where I think it is heading for the big 5 in Maryland sooner than most realize.