NAL's 2026 Attack Standouts from the Northeast

A staple of the fall recruiting period, mid-November's North American Lacrosse Invitational attracted dozens of top club programs and gobs of recruiters, and while the lion's share of the evaluators focused their efforts on the '25 class, plenty of upper-echelon DI programs opted to get a first (or second) look at the '26 class given the speed of the juniors' commitment timeline. I spent both days at DE Turf and tried to evenly balance the two grad years, attempting to knock out Saturday evaluations for the clubs that were in attendance both days, as the overwhelming majority of attending teams were there for Sunday only due to fall and winter sports conflicts. Following my own lead from a year ago, I focused my efforts on getting a head start on the sophomore class. We'll have plenty of additional notes coming out of NAL, but for now, here's a look at a few of the '26 attack standouts from Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.   [player_tooltip player_id='16388' first='John' last='Balsamo'], A, Chaminade (N.Y.) | LI Express I made a point of watching multiple games of the incredibly talented LI Express Channy squad, a group that unselfishly shares the glory as well as any offense in the '26 division. In any given game, several attackmen and attack/mid types can go off for multiple points, so it's only right to highlight more than one. Sharing a lot of attributes with his brother Charles, a rising sophomore standout at Duke, the younger Balsamo fared nicely in his X attack role, putting pressure on defenses with his change of direction, precise feeds, and ability to create offense from behind the cage and from the wings. He had at least two helpers and a goal in the first game I caught, displaying a slippery dodging style that helped him get his hands free. Elsewhere on the attack, Cameron James (Smithtown East, N.Y.) also posted a hat trick and was another beneficiary of his own off-ball work as well as his squad's precise ball movement to open up scoring chances.   [player_tooltip player_id='16391' first='Charlie' last='Cacciabaudo'], A, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) | LI Express Simply put, Cacciabaudo has an off-ball acumen that is advanced well beyond his years, as he makes cutting, catching, and finishing look much easier than it is for some of us to pronounce his name correctly on the first try. In all seriousness, it's hard not to rave about the Garden City native's lacrosse IQ, handle and scoring ability — to use a football term, his catch radius is flat-out ridiculous despite his 5'10 frame, and he has such a knack for getting open and finishing appropriately even when under duress. From the sidelines, it was incredibly impressive, but even more so after rewatching the film two weeks later.   [player_tooltip player_id='16394' first='Ty' last='Curry'], A, St. Sebastian's (Mass.) | Laxachusetts The crafty 6'1, 170-pounder was a bright spot for an LXC offense that was without star playmaker [player_tooltip player_id='45365' first='Tuck' last='Gilbane'] (Noble & Greenough, Mass.) for the weekend, among others. Although the West Coast Starz clamped down in its big 7-5 win, Curry was constantly at the end of plays en route to a four-goal showing. Slick, savvy and efficient, he handled contact well and was great at getting to his strong hand and to his spots for high-percentage scoring opportunities. A right forward in hockey, Curry was one of two sophomores to make a St. Seb's varsity team that will start the new season as the No. 1 squad in New England.   [player_tooltip player_id='16386' first='Lucas' last='Garcia'], A, Brunswick (Conn.) | Prime Time It'd be an understatement to say that being tasked with attempting to guard Garcia on an island off the endline doesn't seem enjoyable. Having played double duty for the PT ‘25s and ‘26s at NAL, the Rye (N.Y.) native was constantly attacking his matchups with confidence and proving to be difficult to match feet with and get a stick on. It speaks volumes that Garcia got plenty of time for the Bruins' five-star and senior-laden roster as a repeat freshman, and quite frankly, he's been as good as any 2026 that I've seen in my first few weekends of evaluations.   [player_tooltip player_id='16397' first='Ryan' last='Thurlow'], A, Darien (Conn.) | Eclipse Between his skill level, poise and intelligence, Thurlow possesses a number of attributes that top DI programs tend to covet when looking for a quarterback type at attack. Part of the Blue Wave's highly talented '26 class, he does a great job with his stick protection to limit turnovers, and surveys the field with his head up at all times, in addition to being sneaky as a goal-scorer on the pipes. Thurlow turns the corner impeccably well and sets up his teammates nicely, recording at least three points in a highly competitive matchup on Sunday.

A staple of the fall recruiting period, mid-November's North American Lacrosse Invitational attracted dozens of top club programs and gobs of recruiters, and while the lion's share of the evaluators focused their efforts on the '25 class, plenty of upper-echelon DI programs opted to get a first (or second) look at the '26 class given the speed of the juniors' commitment timeline.

I spent both days at DE Turf and tried to evenly balance the two grad years, attempting to knock out Saturday evaluations for the clubs that were in attendance both days, as the overwhelming majority of attending teams were there for Sunday only due to fall and winter sports conflicts.

Following my own lead from a year ago, I focused my efforts on getting a head start on the sophomore class. We'll have plenty of additional notes coming out of NAL, but for now, here's a look at a few of the '26 attack standouts from Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.