High school boys lacrosse recruits are again adjusting to the new normal

When the NCAA granted an extra season of eligibility to student-athletes impacted by the COVID pandemic, the competition for roster spots and scholarship dollars increased exponentially.

The move also made playing time harder to come by.

Many of the concerns expressed by lacrosse coaches across the Lower Hudson Valley were realized over time. Offers to play at the next level decreased. Financial resources became even more limited, and college players went looking for greener pastures.

"The kids just know the process is going to be completely different now," Rye coach Steve Lennon said.

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College rosters swelled with fifth-year seniors and impact players began to funnel through the NCAA transfer portal to chase a national title. While the decision to make up for lost time was made with good intent, there's no denying it changed the game and had a ripple effect.

According to the NCAA, only 14.4% of high school lacrosse players make the jump to college and only 3.3% land a Division I opportunity. There were nearly 300 residents of the Lower Hudson Valley on college men's lacrosse rosters this season and just as many in the high school ranks who aspire to go next level, so recruiting trends are constantly front of mind.

"Right now, we’re looking to add three players for next year," said Binghamton University coach Kevin McKeown, a Brewster native and former All-American who took over at his alma mater eight year ago.

Don't send those video clips just yet.

"We had a small graduating class, so there are just a couple of spots that we’re looking to fill through the portal," McKeown added. "We haven’t quite reached the new normal yet because the Division III guys still have an extra year and there are a lot of guys there who have the ability to come into a college program, no matter the level, and make an impact. There will definitely be less Division I guys in the portal."

While the NCAA transfer portal has brought seismic change to college football and basketball, the number of players on the move in lacrosse is on the decline.

"This is probably the last big year of quality players flooding the portal," said Nick Daniello, whose Prime Time 2025 club team has seven players with ACC offers in hand.

According to an NCAA analysis of trends, nearly 300 Division I men’s lacrosse players entered the transfer portal last year. There were 87 undergraduate entrants who eventually left to play for another NCAA institution and 90 graduate entrants who signed on with another institution for one final season. There were a total 77 entrants in Division II in 2023 who changed uniforms.

Last year, only 44% of the players who entered the portal wound up on scholarship at Division I schools.

"There is still a little bit of an arms race," Daniello explained. "Top schools continue to fill their needs with the transfer portal, but the schools are being more selective now and I would say the kids are more selective now. Once you’re in the portal, you release your scholarship."

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Viewing the portal as a safety net may not be a good strategy.

"You do need to find a place you where you know you’re part of a four-year plan," said former John Jay All-American Bryce Ford, who just finished a fifth year at Fairfield. "I’ve seen guys filter in and out, and it’s impossible to come into a place knowing you only want to be there for a certain amount of time and ultimately leave.

"You need to see yourself walking across the stage and getting your diploma and not come in thinking I’m going to use two years here to boost my level of recruiting and go somewhere else. Ultimately, transferring isn't going to make you happy. Your relationships will be out of whack. Coaches will be asking, 'Why is this guy leaving?' ... The end goal is staying four years. That’s how you get the most out of it."

Ford graduated with a degree in accounting. He picked up an MBA this year and is currently in the NCAA transfer portal. A medical redshirt gave Ford an extra year of eligibility, so he is now being courted by Big Ten and ACC powers.

"I know how lucky I am," Ford added. "I feel good about the everlasting relationships I made here and I feel like I made an impact. The goal now is to play on Memorial Day weekend and compete for a national championship. A lot of times, you see people burn bridges in this process. I’m really living the best of both worlds."

And no matter where he lands, it will impact at least one player on the roster and one player in the high school ranks.

"If you're a college coach and you see a kid who's had success go into the portal, you want that player because you know what you’re getting," John Jay coach Mike Bocklet said. "Financially, you know what you need to invest and the return on that is going to be higher, potentially, than a high school player who’s unproven at the next level."

McKeown suggests redshirting may become a more popular practice. It's a way for a player who's sitting behind talented upperclassmen to buy time.

"I think guys are more in tune with the idea of redshirting whether they miss a year due to injury or they don't play," he said. "I think more people are looking at that as a viable option post-graduation than maybe before. It’s a thing guys are doing and having success with on and off the field."

While there are likely to be fewer comings and goings, the recruiting calendar Division I programs generally follow isn't likely to shift back.

"Right now, we’re at the height of it," Bocklet said. "The college seasons are ending, some teams are still in the playoffs. There are like four college coaching jobs open now and players are having tough conversations with their coaches, who are every day checking the portal. There is still active recruiting on the high school side, but we’ve seen it pushed later into June, into the club season."

There will be plenty of college sightings in the bleachers during sectional and state play in the coming weeks, but those coaches are typically logging miles to watch players who have already committed. Next month, they will begin to focus on landing the elite rising-juniors. Players who are close but still developing may need to be patient.

In the days since Binghamton's season ended, McKeown has been a different kind of busy, mapping out the summer and fall with his staff.

"So right now, we're kind of taking stock of the roster for next year," he said. "We don't have anybody going to the portal. We have a couple of guys who are graduating or have exhausted their eligibility so we're looking at a couple of transfers and that's Step 1, getting that figured out. We have a handful of current high school juniors that we'll target in addition to the guys who have already committed. We'll get out and watch the guys we needed to see develop in the next month and then in June and July, we'll see more travel and club games.

"We might be looking for a guy or two. We'll focus mainly on rising juniors and start recruiting them on Sept. 1. We might get a couple of commitments in the fall and then we'll watch guys more in the fall. As the ACC and Power Five schools get their guys, we'll have more of an idea who we can hone in on and figure out who we like as players and people."

That is the new normal for most college programs. For now. It may change in the near future as additional name, image and likeness (NIL) money filters in to college lacrosse.

"NIL is in lacrosse, but it’s not as big as people think it is," Daniello said. "There are a lot of rumors because coaches don't want to discuss it. There are some programs with money, but lacrosse is not a revenue producing sport. It's not like basketball or football."

There's no telling what an influx of pocket money might do to college lacrosse.

"We felt it a little last year when we lost one of our fifth-year guys," McKeown said. "It’s not a huge thing for us. It's affecting recruiting more in the ACC and Big Ten, but might not be far down the road. It’s definitely something that’s going to be part of the future."

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud boys lacrosse new normal for high school recruits