Former West Islip star Nicky Galasso graces the cover of the recruiting issue of Inside Lacrosse, which will be out on the stands and in mailboxes this week.
It will include national rankings of rising seniors and juniors in high school. It also ranks the top incoming college freshmen. To no one’s surprise, Galasso is No. 1.
You can check out the complete list, in which 100 incoming freshmen are ranked, by clicking here.
We’ll be posting links to the HS class rankings as they are released and have a recap with all the rankings at week’s end.
Be sure to weigh in with your thoughts as each set of rankings are released.
Recruiting coverage
Updated recruiting review and commitment rundown (for classes of 2011 and 2012)
Posted In: General
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Advance look-Inside Lacrosse September issue
Top 50 Rising Seniors: Local flavor
8. Mike Daniello “A” John Jay
9. Steven Jahelka “D” Garden City
10. Myles Jones “M” Walt Whitman
16. Brian Fischer “D” Garden City
17. Kyle Keenan “A” Smithtown West
20. Mike Pellegrino “D” (really LSM) Connetquot
Nice group I would have had Jahelka around 5, also @ # 33 Will Mazzone “A” Ward Melville I would have had in top 15. Outside Tri-State Kevin Rice (going to Hofstra) ranked 22 will be top 10 next year. A steal for Hofstra potential 3 to 4 year AA.
Top 50 Rising Juniors: Local flavor
1.Bobby Duvnjak “D” Manhasset
2.Case Matheis “A” Darien
3.James Pannell “A” Smithtown West
4.Ryan Palasek “D” Rocky Point
6.Jake Froccaro “M” Port Washinton
Wow, the future looks bright on LI.
Bottom line – if you’re a Top 25-30 player you are pretty good and can play almost anywhere. Not sure what the point is of getting so specific as to rank by actual number – in other words, why not say, here are the Top 25 in no particular order. Then here are the next 25, etc. How can anyone say with any certainty that the #1 ranked player is better than #7 for instance. I realize it creates a buzz and that’s why they do it. Heck, it worked because I’m talking about it!
Henry West of Darien was also in the top 50. Darien will be filthy in 2011, probably challenge the ’05 team for the best Blue Wave team
SirLaxalot,
Right on.
Also applies to IL rankings of top 25 teams. No way to tell exactly or even come close for that matter on what the exact numerical rankings should be. The only sure thing IMO in that list is that a few of the ranked teams should not have been included.
Lax Man’s section 1 top players (2011)
A – Daniello
A – Caffery
A – Mariano
M – Prunty
M – Wiel
M – Mabus
F/O – Lombardo
LSM – Landis
D – Schur
D – Collins
D – Lambert
G – Fraylick
H/M – O’Callaghan, Near, Ferguson (LSM), Pray, Schut, Grasso and Stephens
Top 5 teams for 2011
John Jay
Yorktown
Lakeland/Panas
Somers
Mahopac/Rye/PV
Lax Man,
Nice list. Certainly all very good players.
Developing some further thoughts but for now 2 quick observations.
1) I think Montemurno (SP) from LP could well be in the running for top FO kid. 2) I like your selection of Landis at LSM. Although from a lesser known program (Pelham), this rising Jr. is the real deal. He was really impressive this summer at the ESG–really stood out!–Good choice.
Lax Man, have your heard of Forest Walter. Not even an H/M? I would take him over an middie in the section. Agree on the top 5 teams but may take L/P over Town. They slayed that ghost last year.
For Midfielders it should be
1) Forest Walters
2) Justin Mabus
3) Jake Weil
Hey Lax Man,
How is Galasso not in your top list? The kid is a beast notching 500 career points and winning 4 New York A State titles. Hes going to be something to watch.
Even though my previous comment contradicts this my future statement Im going to say it anyway. Listings don’t matter and the seasons a long way ahead, with everything going on in college its safe to say that some of those kids will not make their team. Grades, parties and pressure go along way. But I wish them all the best none the less.
BHOP
I appreciate the comment, In respect to the list at the top of the thread it is rising seniors and juniors, Galasso is on his way to UNC and yes if I was starting a list with rising college freshman he would be at the front of the line.
The List and LAXER
Yes Walter should be in the mix, my oversight. My list was a conversation piece I mean really we are 6 months and 2 weeks from the first official workouts, but the group I listed is pretty formidable for section 1.
Laxer
Prunty not a lock for one of top 3 middies?? Come on!
Main Contending Teams
Class A
LP-Prunty, Caff, Monte give edge
Pac-Could make it close
Suff
Others: White Plains
Class B
Jay ( + Branca a solid goalie)
Town-Potent offense but not sure about D and goalie situation.
Rye-10 of top 12 starters return on O and D. Will be very solid on O and D. FO replacement kid solid (played alot last season) . Goalie is main question. Rye should play Town very competitively.
Somers-Some real good players but feel they graduated too much all over the field.
Others: Greeley, Mamo, Fox Lane
Class C
Bville
PV/Pville- Tie (PV may have graduated too many, not sure bout Pville)
Byram Hills
Others: Pelham
what about brendan morris for attack, at least H/M
Half of the Sec 1 team you listed would not start for Darien. Daniello, Schurr, perhaps a couple of middies would be in the regular rotation. The other guys would be battling rising juniors for playing time.
Sorry, but I think you need to flip your LSM’s. Ferguson has the best stick work of anybody with a long pole in the section. The ESG team was size over skill, – so how did that work out????
Slacrosse: White Plains over Mamaroneck? I don’t think so, Mamo is moving up to A this year, and they handled White Plains pretty well last year. Mamo is returning a good core, look for them to have a big year.
is it too early for me to jump on the Ossining bandwagon, or should I get a new team this year? 🙂
I’ll take Ferguson at LSM.
Cam Stephens doesn’t get an H/M? Okay, he does with me…and half the starts. lol.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and I’ll be here to cause trouble soon enough with a fave sleeper team. Although Rye moving up will make it much harder for a team like O to make a run because that playoff spot in the upper half will be taken…that being said…don’t get sleepy thinking about it. wink.
Here are Inside Lacrosse’s Top 50 rising senior national rankings. The headline for this region (the nation’s No. 1 hotbed for lax, of course): Three current residents of the Hudson Valley/Long Island/Connecticut region are in the Top 10, led by John Jay’s Mike Daniello at No. 8.
http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2010/08/19/inside-lacrosse-september-2010-issue-top-50-young-gun-rising-seniors
And here I thought that “Ossining bandwagon” was an oxymoron, lol.
lax,
Agree. With Mamo in A, yes, they replace WP in my list.
no_style_points,
On the Iist above would have Stephens (FL) at Goalie and Ferguson (Mamo-LSM) would be competing with Landis for the LSM spot.
M Wiel
M Mabus
LSM Landis
Pray, Schut,
D-Lambert.
Where do these people play?
Attack Daniello, Mariano, Caffrey
Midfield Walter, Mabus, Schuldt, Prunty
All 4 are D1 players. If was starting another line would have
Weil, Monteferante, Lombardo.
LSM could go with Landis here or Lambert from JJ. JJ may move him to close though for his next 3 years.
Defense Schurr, Fahey, Lambert, Collins
Schurr is going to Hop and is a good positional Dman. Fahey gathered alot of attention this summer and has D1 offers. Lambert will be a stud for a few years.
Goalie Tough one for no sure fire goalie is coming back. Fraylick is real good but I would go with Branca having seen him this summer at Showtime.
Lot of JJ and Ytown guys I know. Rye kids are real close in my mind as Collins would be only one i picked. Barton is real good attackmen but potential not as high as the others.
All for fun remember guys. And the guy who said this team would lose to Darien. Come on. All respect to the Wave, but come on. This is an All Star team like they create with the Chargers.
lax
Wiel – John Jay
Mabus – Yorktown
Landis – Pelham
Pray – John Jay
Schut – Yorktown
Lambert – John Jay
Bigeasy,
Good comments.
Got to include Fox Lane’s Stephens (Ohio State) in the top goalie mix.
Hey Bigeasy,
I agree it’s all for discussion and the fun of it, that’s what offseason lax chat is primarily about.
Oh and I didn’t say that the Sec 1 all stars would lose to Darien, that wasn’t even in the equation. I said that some of the guys originally listed wouldn’t get on the field for Darien without a battle for playing time from rising seniors and juniors you have never heard of. It’s all conjecture, but there is a good likelihood that all 10 starters for the Wave may be committed to college teams by the start of next season. 7 rising seniors are there now, Matheis and West are rising juniors on the IL Top 50 list, and some other rising seniors and juniors are already deep into the recruiting process. Sec 1 has a number of fine players who will play and contribute at the next level, they just simply don’t have the depth of Connecticut’s best program.
Big Easy
Sorry, I don’t know Lambert from JJ, but didnt Pickel play LSM for JJ last year. So a sophomore (lambert) who didnt even start last year is the best LSM in the section. Tell me more about him please.
Pickel did start at LSM, however Lambert started at close d as a freshman. However Lambert is definitely or at least seems to be more of a LSM and should get playing time at that position. Look for this kid to be having his choice of D1 schools.
Congrats Case on this prestigious honor. Highest ranking ever for a Blue Waver! And the great thing is your best lax is still ahead of you!
Jake Lambert – LSM/D – John Jay 2013
Maverick Showcase All-Star
Primetime Lacrosse
Good size, Good stick and sees the field well. Scored a highlight reel goal against Somers in 2010 section 1 finals. Should be an early commit next summer.
Remember in item #5 it was opinion only. These blogs are for discussion, I like to hear about other players and then check them out during the season. Thanks for the feedback.
Is it true Lambert supposed 2 b a JR.
I agree Inside Lacrosse is very Baltimore centric. It’s always been that way.
Where does Landis want to go/ where is he looking/ has he commited?
Branca may be good, but to say he’s the best is impossible:
Cameron Stephens – Fox Lane 2011…Committed to Ohio State, Empire Team Starter, All-Section as a Junior, Journal News Westchester All-County, Blue Chip 225 All-Star, Top 205 All-Star
Connor Fraylick – Pleasantville 2011…Committed to Fairfield, All-Section as Sophomore and Junior, Full-Time Starter since Freshman Year, Showtime All-Star in 09, Jake Reed Nike Blue Chip Camp
Chris Aline – Clarkstown South 2012…All-League, Journal News Rockland 2nd Team All-County, Sophomore Full-Time Starter, Blue Chip 225 All-Star, Hotbeds All-Star
Andrew Larabee – Byram Hills 2012…All-Section Honorable Mention, Journal News Westchester All-County, Showtime All-Star, Full-Time Starter as a Sophomore
Mikey D’Alessio – Hackley 2012…Starter as a Sophomore, Freshman and 8th Grader, Blue Chip 225 All-Star
Landis is a nice player. At this point though he is a newcomer to the scene, so no rep, and he is from Pelham, so no rep. If he continues to develop, he will end up at a reasonable program, depending on his grades and where he wants to go. He has good speed and size, but needs to work on his stickwork which is a little rough. Kind of like Savaughn Greene at this point, maybe a little less athletic. We will see how he develops.
For those picking next years stars, consider this. I was going thru one of the threads from last september 13. Joe was talking about commitments and next years (2010) AA’s. Not one of 24 comments made a single mention of Conor Prunty as an AA or a top middie in the section. Just goes to show you how good we are at predicting next year.
But keep on trying.
Goalies – Agreed – Fraylick and Stephens were back and forth for the top spot for GAA in Section 1 all season last year with Fraylick coming out on top by 0.16 goals with both teams having a fairly equal strength of schedule; FL had that great 4OT win vs. Pville early in the season with Pville then coming back to even the series in a downpour late in the season. Great Goalie battle between two proven goalies last year. Looking forward to seeing them both next spring. Branca has a Jay pedigree which seems to count for a lot on this blog but did have a solid summer season, no question, as did Aline and Larabee.
Long Time Laxer – FYI
Landis – Best Football Player in his school
Top 3 Hockey Player
By far best lacrosse player in his school
I would say more athletic then less athletic. Going into Junior year will get good looks this Spring. With Rye moving up to “B” Pelham should make a run in “C”.
Long Time Laxer
Saw Landis this summer. With his skill base as exists now, feel if he continues to improve and importantly play for a top summer team, that he could end up at a top D1 school. What really impressed me was his aggressiveness, footwork, foot speed and balance which allowed him to go out deep, stay all over a middie without much risk of being run around, etc.
Wow this blog is a great resource.
Lax Man and Slacrosse,
I think Landis has tremendous upside. Athletically I compared to Sav Greeene who is playing at Stony Brook now. I wasn’t saying he wasn’t athletic, just not quite where Greene was at the same stage. I think stickwork is where he needs to improve simply because when I saw him thru the ESG tryouts, he missed a few relatively easy groundballs and dropped a few clearing passes. He needs to eliminate that from his skill set if he wants to reach D1.
Top mids,
TJ Foley-Mahopac
Justin Mabus- YTown
Jack Near- Broxville
Forrest walter- jj
Jake weil- jj
Conor Prunty-LP
Ty Schuldt Town committed to Hartford
Do these guys have any ideas the level of lax played in Hudson Valley??? What a joke.
They focus on Baltimore and private schools for the most part.
They know exactly what kind of lax is played in the Hudson Valley. One rising senior and zero rising juniors is reflective of the current state of HV talent relative to the top tier players around the country. Ask around, who went to the most selective invite-only camps? That’s where IL sees these players, the ones who are already identified by coaches.
What’s more there were 21 rising seniors and 16 rising juniors selected from NY schools, and that does not include NY guys going to boarding schools outside of NY. So they focus very specifically on NY State, and they know who the best players are. That’s not to say there won’t be good players coming out of the section. There have been many Section 1 players become stars at the next level over the years, in the past. This is the present.