2026 Recruiting: How Top Evaluators (Anonymously) View the Class

On September 1, recruiting will officially start up for the Class of 2026 after several months of live evaluations.

In what has become a yearly tradition while preparing the rankings, I had a long list of Division I recruiters share their general (and anonymous) thoughts on the class and how each positional group looks.

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— “Across the board, it's a very average group if we compare it to years past…. the cream is the cream and then there's not much depth except for a lot of kids that fit the 'TBD' mold. Will they evolve and develop? I just think it's a very small group of elite players.” 

— “We talked about maybe taking a smaller class because it's not as good and we're not as high on it. There's not even that much depth — even at the top end, I don't think there's as many high-level players in this class… There's a lot of lefties in the class, even if it's not guys that don't project to be multi-year All-American types.”

— “I feel like last year was a Big 10/ACC class and the top guys were outside of Ivy League and high-academic material, but I think it's trending well there this year from our point of view.... In general, I guess it's not super deep with elite talent, maybe you're not seeing what you did with ‘25s and have to look a bit harder. I also think in terms of size, there's not as much of it relative to previous classes. A lot less, honestly.” 

— “I always struggle a bit with the class-by-class generalizations because there are so many different viewpoints [depending on where you coach] … It's interesting because the recruits you're most confident in are often the ones you took the latest before you made a decision and were the most informed relative to an early evaluation and an early fall take… In terms of the geography of the '26 class, there's a lot of high-end talent from Long Island and Philly. 

— “I think everybody has to be careful how much money they spend — it's a ‘let the buyer beware' kind of class and very much a ‘wait and see' group from where I sit.” 

— “I feel like there's a pretty big drop-off from the elite talents to the next group and that's the interesting part. Are you going to reach for those second-tier guys and pay them like first-tier guys just because they're the next in line when maybe they're not necessarily as good as the guys in that tier? Are you going to pay them based on this class or based on what you believe their talent is compared to the classes before it? 

ATTACKMEN: “Maybe it's just me, but I think the attack class is deeper than it has been even if the top names aren't as high-level compared to last year's class…. Not a ton of true X attackmen, so there could be a bit of a premium on the guys that fit that role. …. Beauty's in the eye of the beholder but I think most would agree that there isn't the same level of talent at attack. It feels like there are 3 or 4 studs and then the rest is a matter of that guy fitting in that school's specific scheme rather than being kids that could fit within any offensive scheme…. I don't think anyone's worried about not getting a talented lefty. It seems like there's a bunch of lefties, and I'm not sure the ones at the top are all that different from each other…. For whatever reason, every two years, it seems like there's an abundance of lefties and that's the case for this group.”

MIDFIELDERS: “Is midfield the deepest position? I know that has been the case the last few years, but it definitely feels that way right now with this class… I do think the middies are pretty frickin' good, there's a lot that I could see translating well at the next level. The midfield group is much better than the attack group… There's a lot of depth in the midfield, but a lot of guys that do one or two things really well rather than complete players.”

FACE-OFF: “I just think it's a very confusing group, a few kids that are all over the place and up and down depending on the matchup when it's a top guy going against another top guy… everyone's saying the position isn't super deep and I wouldn't disagree. For what it's worth, it seems like that's a positional group with some mutual interest with the Ivies… The top group seems fairly clear, but I don't know if it stacks up to the past few recruiting classes… Man, it's a crapshoot at that position.” 

LSM & DEFENSE: “Not seeing as many alphas defensively, there's no doubt there's a lack of high-end talent across the board at the position…. Defensive is very thin at the top end… I don't love the defensive depth and think it's just an okay or below-average group overall. The size, in particular, isn't what you'd like to see when you're evaluating and projecting defensemen….. It's as weak defensively as I can remember in the last decade. With that being said, it's a position where some guys tend to develop a bit later, so we'll see…. Defensively, it's just not very good. That seems to be the consensus…. People are quick to knock this defensive class, but I actually think they've done a decent job closing the gap since the beginning of the summer… Looking at the LSM's, it's a group that is very good in terms of stick skills, transition, and scoring goals — sure, there are lots of ‘between the lines' guys, but some are very raw when it comes to cover ability. I don't see many traditional and old-school shutdown defensemen at close.”

GOALIE: “It'll be interesting how goalie recruiting shakes out since programs like Duke, Syracuse, and North Carolina all don't plan on taking one… I don't think it's super deep. A lot of guys have heard that the Class of 2027 is off-the-charts in goal, and that's something to keep in mind for the coaches that don't feel like this is a great group of goalies... Most coaches probably agree on who the top guy is, but more so than any other position in this class, I think there's a mixed bag of reviews on the keepers behind the No. 1 guy, so I'm sure you'll have fun ranking them."