It didn’t take Chris Mahoney long to make a name for himself.
After joining the Shoreham-Wading River varsity team in 2009, he was named Suffolk County defensive rookie of the year.
Last season, he was an all-county selection.
Now, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Mahoney is one of the top juniors from the nation’s top lacrosse hotbed, the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region.
Now that Signing Week has come and gone, our recruiting focus has turned to the Class of 2012.
If you scroll down, you can check out the most updated rundown of juniors from the region who have verbally committed.
Among them, Chris Mahoney, who has accepted a scholarship offer from Ohio State.
Here’s a Q&A with Chris on his commitment.
What were the main factors in your decision to attend OSU?
The Ohio State University gives me the opportunity to succeed in academics and athletics.
Coach (Nick) Myers and his entire staff stress family, education, and lacrosse; I want to be part of that.
What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I visited Yale, Loyola and Georgetown, I also considered Notre Dame and Lehigh.
What adjustments do you think you will need to make to play at the next level?
Watching D-I lacrosse, it’s all about quickness, so I’ll be doing a lot of speed training.
What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
I am a relentless defender. I like to make my attackman go where I want him to. I guess my style is team-first, being able to play in a system.
What players have you looked up to as you have moved up through the varsity ranks?
I was lucky enough to play defense next to my older brother Sean for two years, and I also admired my oldest brother, Will, another defenseman. They paved the way for me.
When did you first realize you had the potential to play at the college level?
Coach (Tom) Rotanz (of Shoreham-Wading River) does a great job teaching and preparing players for college lacrosse, so I would say when I was a starter as a freshman, the potential was there.
Class of 2012 commits
Kanatiio Adams, Salisbury
College, position: Cornell, long-stick midfield
Trevor Brosco, Shoreham-Wading River
College, position: Notre Dame, midfield
Kieran Burke, St. Anthony’s
College, position: North Carolina, goaltender
AJ Carfora, Salisbury
College, position: Penn State, defense
Frank DeLuca, Farmingdale
College, position: Ohio State, goaltender
Johnny Edmonds, Ward Melville
College, position: Cornell, attack/midfield
Tommy Forsberg, John Glenn
College, position: Maryland, attack
Jake Froccaro, Port Washington
College, position: Princeton, attack/midfielder
Jack Gannon, Sachem North
College, position: UMBC, midfield
Ryan Hunter, Syosset
College, position: Ohio State, attack
Chris Mahoney, Shoreham Wading River
College, position: Ohio State, defense
Dan Marino, Garden City
College, position: Virginia, goaltender
Case Matheis, Darien
College, position: Duke, attackman
Ryan Matthews, Manhasset
College, position: Hopkins, midfield
Daniel Muller, Massapequa
College, position: UMass, midfield
Ryan Palasek, Rocky Point
College, position: Syracuse, defense
James Pannell, Smithtown West
College, position: Virginia, attackman
Cody Petillo, Sachem North
College, position: Rutgers, midfield
Kevin Porzelt, Cold Spring Harbor
College, position: UMass, midfield
Mark Rizzo, Hewlett
College, position: North Carolina, defense
Tanner Scales, Salisbury
College, position: Virginia, defense
Brian Sherlock, St. Anthony’s
College, position: North Carolina, midfield
Danny Simonetti, Cold Spring Harbor
College, position: Navy, midfield
Henry West, Darien
College, position: Cornell, midfield
* Be sure to report any recruiting commitments to us at info@laxlessons.com.
Recruiting coverage
* November 2010 Signing Week coverage
* Updated recruiting review and commitment rundown (for classes of 2011 and 2012)
* Class of 2010 commitment rundown
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* For a list of committed players with their profiles up, click here.
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Posted In: Recruiting Rundown
Nice! The third Long Island junior to Ohio State, Hunter (A), DeLuca (G) now a defenseman.
Bobby Duvnjak to Harvard, not official yet?
Nice “get” for Ohio State. He has great size and great upside. Congrats Chris.
Good interview. Congrats Chris. Good luck as a Buckeye…
watched him against Hunter @ Shorham 2 weeks ago, they had some big kids on D. good luck together as Buckeyes
I saw all of the ohio state bound juniors play, Ohio State should be contenders within the next few years, any thoughts on any of those 3?
Coach Myers has been building that program since he took over, with a young enthused coaching staff and a big time athletics program behind them. With the sport moving west, and the cache and stage that only OSU can offer, he is able to attract top east coast talent, particularly the last few recruiting classes. Top kids from Westchester and Long Island and In NY are seeing that program as big-time potential, ability to play sooner than later, and the big East Coast now have recruit competition from schools like OSU, Notre Dame, and Denver. And they are recruiting some biiiig kids – I don’t know the average size of this current class overall but they have several 6 foot plus, 210 plus kids coming in – and Mahoney adds that stock. I know he can’t wait to play in The Shoe with the rest, and he still has two years of HS Lax to play. Come in big – big game, big stage, big 10!!