Does Notre Dame Have the #1 Lacrosse Recruiting Class?

Good morning.

I’m Jake and this is Recruit Report presented by Apex Lacrosse Events.

I’m your friend who tells you everything you need to know about high school lacrosse.

Apex just opened up applications for the Apex 60 Showcase.

Over 600 ALUMNI are now playing college lacrosse, and there’s over 50 college lacrosse coaches attending.

Spots are closing soon, and you can fill out an interest form here.

Now, let’s get into it!

2025 Lacrosse Recruits Fly Off the Board

It’s been another week of craziness for the class of 2025, with more and more juniors making their college decisions. Let’s recap the big winners of the class:

• Notre Dame is the frontrunner of this class, with three 5-star recruits and a whopping seven top 50 recruits. I guess winning a national championship helps with recruiting…

• UNC gets the “most improved player” award for this class. With four top 50 recruits, things are looking up for the Tar Heels like we talked about last week.

• Princeton is also making a big splash with six 4-star recruits and three top 50 recruits. The Tigers finished third in the Ivy League last year, so look for that to change soon.

• UVA locked down #5 recruit Robby Hopper, considered to be the best LSM in his class.

• I’m curious to see how the 2025 Syracuse class shapes up. The class is headlined by Bogue Hahn (the #14 2025 recruit), but it lacks the overall star power that other ACC rivals have. Luckily the Orange seem to get great players in the transfer portal every year.

We’re still waiting to see where #1 recruit Brendan Millon is headed.

The Rise of the D-Middie

Back in the day, being a ‘defensive midfielder’ wasn’t exactly a badge of honor. The position was usually reserved for freshman or upperclassmen who didn’t have a prospect of playing on offense.

But in the past 5 years, everything’s changed.

The defensive midfielder is now a coveted position that plenty of college teams recruit for. Last week we highlighted Will Tantillo - a ‘25 defensive middie who just committed to Duke.

Team USA just won a world championship on the back of its defensive middies like Ryan Terefenko, Zach Goodrich, Danny Logan and Jake Richard.

Long story short, coaches are looking for really good defensive middies, and I think this presents on opportunity:

There’s a high demand for elite defensive middies, and a low supply of elite defensive middies.

If you’re wishing for more playing time on your high school team, or for more calls from college coaches, becoming an elite defensive middie might be your best chance.

Study defensive strategies in other sports. Go watch film on the best defenders in basketball, football and soccer. Learn their footwork patterns and apply them to lacrosse.

If I was a high school lacrosse player hungry to level up my lacrosse career, I’d seriously consider looking into becoming a d-middie.

Featured Recruit: Sawyer English

At 5’10, 150 pounds, Sawyer English’s physical stats certainly don’t jump off the page. But when you watch him play lacrosse, you see why he’s such a coveted recruit.

The Canadian middie suited up for #1 high school lacrosse team in Lawrenceville this spring and put on a show. For his efforts, Inside Lacrosse ranked him the #42 player in the ‘25 class.

Now, he’s committed to Brown to help bring an Ivy League program back to the top.

English is a good example of why everyone should play some form of box lacrosse. If you’re an undersized middie, your eyes should be glued to his tape.

His highlights are on repeat for me this week.

Remember, every week we feature a recruit. Respond to this email to nominate a player!

Talk to you soon.

P.S. Make sure to fill out an interest form before the Apex 60 Showcase before spots close.

Best,

Jakes