Duke Men's Lax 2025
- Thread starter CrazyNotCrazie
- Start date
Dukie and Colsey agreed with you.
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
So basically we are trading our baseball coach and half the baseball team to UVA for him?
Great get. Sounds like he will add some firepower assuming he is back to full health.
Ask and you shall receive I guess.
DangerDevil
Member
Nice
Now according to Inside Lacrosse we have 4 of the Top 25 transfers, #4, #8, #14, and #25.
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
Lax signings for rising juniors are trickling in. The son of a woman I grew up with is the #1 or 2 goalie and I saw that he just signed - he is at Culver in Indiana (his mom is a professor at Colorado State). I was not particularly close friends with the mom but she is a very nice person and we were chatting at our HS reunion in fall 2023 and she mentioned her son was a good lax player in a very modest way. I asked a few questions and she very clearly knew what she was talking about (unlike everyone else who claims their child is a superstar but isn't) so I have been following him and he is definitely legit - 5 star - seems like a good signing. I think Culver has become the IMG/Monteverde of lax - lots of players going to top schools.
On an unrelated note, I am likely going to the PLL Championship game in NJ Sunday. I know very little about PLL but was offered tickets. Looks like a lot of Duke guys playing.
On an unrelated note, I am likely going to the PLL Championship game in NJ Sunday. I know very little about PLL but was offered tickets. Looks like a lot of Duke guys playing.
Great pick-up in Harmon. Also got M Berg out of Cali.
Still need talent at attack. Couple of 5 stars still on the board. Below that, I wouldn't be surprised if Lucovich chose Durham.
Got shut out. D heavy class. Missed on all the highly ranked attackman
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
In addition to my random connection to Harmon through my high school classmate, my son is somewhat friendly with Jagger Zemachson, who is a top 10 player and a LSM from NJ (lives near where I grew up and transferred from one of my rival high schools to another). Through no work of my son, he committed to Duke, which seems like a big signing. Sounds like a really good kid. Doesn't fill the attack need but top 10 is top 10 - I'll take it.
It is very odd to me that I am indirectly connected to two elite high school lax players in the same class (I know no other boys lax players) and they both ended up at Duke. Good karma. I know one top 2028 girl (daughter of a good friend of my wife) who I think is considering Duke so hoping that works out - still lots of time on that.
Class of 2027 recruiting did not go very well for Duke. Misses all over the place, especially on offense.
In contrast, UNC is in the conversation for one of the best recruiting class of all-time, with a group of attackman in this class that is astounding.
Maybe we're be able to spend a little cash to flip a highly ranked kid or two. We'll see.
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
Attack didn't go great but as I noted we got some top back line guys. You are a bit doomsday about it. It is also hard to recruit rising juniors in HS when there is a good chance the head coach will not be there when they are seniors in college. I am curious to know how Duke addresses that. My son might be seeing Jagger soon so I would love for him to ask but it is unlikely to come up.
Are there a lot of NIL monies (and other cash) being paid to the top lax recruits?
While I hope Dano stays indefinitely and I have no insider information, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does a Coack K/ Coach S like announcement with a successor handpicked for a reasonable period of time. I have neither insight on any successor nor recruits we may have “missed” in the ‘27 class, but, the sky isn’t falling. The ‘27 class is indeed defense-oriented, but 1.they are elite; 2. ‘25 and ‘26 classes are crowded with excellent offensive recruits, and, 3. Dano has been very good in mining the transfer portal.
Zemachson was a strong 4-star pick-up. The staff really liked him and went after him hard. However, from the same neck of the woods, we put the full court press on 5-star Brandon Fodor as well and weren't able to close. I've heard some say that Duke was not high on his 4-star D brother and that Brandon may have chosen Hopkins to go with his brother. No idea if that is true.
That being said, I don't think it's doomsday. I think it was a below average recruiting cycle for a blue blood program like Duke. Doesn't mean the '25 and '26 classes don't lift us to Memorial Day weekend. Doesn't mean this crop of '27 players don't turn out to be a full slate of All-Americans. It just means what it means. I would also say that the portal makes misses addressable (if necessary).
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
Clearly you are well tapped into the program and I appreciate your input. Just noting that Jagger was 5 star and the #5 overall player in NLF and it seems like that is interchangeable with IL - the kids seems to put more credence in NLF than IL - I am friends with Harmon's mom on social media and they were celebrating his NLF 5 star, not his IL 5 star (he was both, unlike Jagger who was split). Not that it matters.
2027 Player Rankings - National Lacrosse Federation
View The best of the best in the Class of 2027. Updated regularly, these rankings spotlight the top players making the biggest impact on the field and rising fast in the national conversation.
nationallacrossefederation.com
2026 looks like we really loaded up with top line talent at attack and mid so this actually makes a lot of sense. A bit more balance would be nice but it is logical.
2026 Player Rankings - National Lacrosse Federation
View The best of the best in the Class of 2026. Updated regularly, these rankings spotlight the top players making the biggest impact on the field and rising fast in the national conversation.
nationallacrossefederation.com
Figure that providing these links provides a lot more context for the casual fans who drop in.
I am curious if you know anything in response to duke79's good question about NIL for lax. I know there is at least one company that helps recruits navigate the process and I wouldn't be surprised if they help find some money for them. Also curious about what Duke is saying about succession planning.
Definitely not going to debate recruiting rankings. In my mind, there is no right answer. Some critique NLF rankings as biased at times towards NLF clubs. I am not saying I agree with it, just that some feel that way. I think it is fair to call any national rankings directionally accurate.
I actually hear much more from the Club side than the Program side. At least in the Northeast, the Club community is surprisingly small and interconnected. My understanding pre-House was that Duke lacrosse had done a really nice job fund raising for NIL compared to the larger D1 lacrosse marketplace, and that it was a variable in at least one Duke recruiting win in the last few years that I was told about. When Spallina (Joey) chose Cuse the word was that the Orange went deep into 6 figures to seal the deal, the first big NIL deal that I heard about. Post-House I haven't heard a lot about how the marketplace has shaken out yet. Probably will hear more during the summer Club season.
As for succession planning, I actually haven't asked anyone who might have been given the official narrative so I have no idea.
I actually hear much more from the Club side than the Program side. At least in the Northeast, the Club community is surprisingly small and interconnected. My understanding pre-House was that Duke lacrosse had done a really nice job fund raising for NIL compared to the larger D1 lacrosse marketplace, and that it was a variable in at least one Duke recruiting win in the last few years that I was told about. When Spallina (Joey) chose Cuse the word was that the Orange went deep into 6 figures to seal the deal, the first big NIL deal that I heard about. Post-House I haven't heard a lot about how the marketplace has shaken out yet. Probably will hear more during the summer Club season.
As for succession planning, I actually haven't asked anyone who might have been given the official narrative so I have no idea.
A little sensitive. The facts are Duke recruited several attacks very hard and got none. Irrelevant what the reason is (although if the reason is how long Dino will be around, that should have been addressed directly).
Also true Duke has recruited attack well over last couple years so hopefully they work out. Also worth noting it has been 10 years since Duke won it all. Class of 27 kids won’t remember those titles. ND, Cornell, UVA, MD much more recent success.
Heard same thing about Spallina. Was a big number as I recall ~$500k.