Recruiting Rundown: January's Service Academy Commitments

With spring's college season offering a brief lull in Division I recruiting, January has traditionally seen a surge of activity, especially as the next wave of junior verbals emerge following the fall circuit and subsequent visits. This year was no exception, with several dozen commitments and a handful of flips. Before things ramp up at the college level, let's take a closer look at a few of the recent commits to Air Force and Army, then continue to make our rounds across the landscape to highlight additional commitments from January.    A fleet-footed lefty, Baron's explosiveness is hard to miss, and he pairs his burst with exceptional stick skills. He dodges with a ton of confidence and has a skill set that comes with quite a bit of flash, as he's shown a willingness to take risks and work his way through high-traffic areas. With Baron's sudden movements and deception, he's constantly getting underneath defenses on wing dodges and can bang shots from range when given the opportunity. His spring highlights show Baron's ability with the ball in his stick, change of direction, and vision, which allowed him to put up 33 goals and 32 assists to earn All-Conference recognition for the second consecutive season. Baron strikes me as someone who will run out of the box at the next level, given how much he excelled while operating above the cage on the summer circuit.     At 5'11" with a powerful frame, Coogan has drawn praise from his coaches as a beast in the weight room and a technician at the face-off stripe. Formerly a '25 at BC High (Mass.) before transferring, his best lacrosse is still ahead of him, with a prime opportunity to be a force in the ISL this spring for a squad featuring two other West Point commits. His size and physicality allow him to outmuscle opponents and excel in tie-ups, and he showcases versatility in how he wins possessions. The next step in his development lies in becoming more comfortable and consistent with his decision-making when the ball is in his stick.     You'd be hard-pressed to find many Class of 2026 prospects who can match Johnson's blazing speed. A promising young middie who doubles as a standout running back, he plays with pure grit and relentless competitiveness — perfectly fitting for a service academy commit and the son of a former Army lacrosse player. With exceptional hips and footwork, Johnson has the key traits of a future college SSDM. At this level, he's tough to stop once he puts his foot in the ground, and his athleticism and motor are always on display. Racking up 53 goals and 42 assists last spring, Johnson's upside is even more exciting to think about now that has the opportunity to play under longtime Cortland head coach Steve Beville, who took the Webb job this past summer.     In a notable mid-January flip, the Black Knights secured a highly accomplished two-sport senior who had been committed to UAlbany since the fall of 2023. Martini is coming off a phenomenal football season, during which he racked up 1,976 rushing yards along with 35 touchdowns and was named the Tom Thorp Memorial Award winner as Nassau County's top player. Despite being on the smaller side, he's one of the most dynamic athletes on Long Island, helping the Warriors to a county title by racking up 58 goals and 18 assists. Impactful on the ride as well, Martini's a fiery competitor who possesses excellent hands that allow him to finish with flair inside. He's just as capable of stretching a defense with his big-time shot and has improved his overall game significantly. At West Point, he'll reunite with his cousin Jake, who is spending the year at M.A.P.S.     Helping make up a heavy upstate contingent on the Crimson Knights' roster, Moore came to Salisbury from Geneva (N.Y.), where he was a second-team All-League pick before reclassing and transferring. Athletically gifted with his twitchy 5'9, 165-pound frame, he's always one of the fastest players on the field, gliding up and down and making a two-way impact. His speed is undoubtedly Moore's best trait, as it allows him to play a significant role in the clearing game and create fast break chances. He's able to run with just about anybody and has great punch when forcing his man away from scoring areas, so Moore has quite a bit of upside as a defensive midfielder, especially as he polishes his stick skills.     Another talented athlete who applies pressure with his play on both ends of the field, Schwitzenberg is the younger brother of Nate, a Notre Dame defenseman who played in nine games as a freshman for the 2024 national champions. The younger Schwitzenberg does several things at a high level and seems to embrace whatever role is asked of him, whether that's in settled offense, transition, defense, or clearing. He's formidable when going from D to O and can trigger fast breaks after getting hard-nosed contested groundballs, then flies upfield. Schwitzenberg can win his matchups and generate quality looks for his team, and he's just as capable of playing shutdown defense, impressing on-ball whenever I watched True last summer. I'll be curious to see where his game is six months from now as he looks to build on a 28-goal, 10-assist sophomore season.

With spring's college season offering a brief lull in Division I recruiting, January has traditionally seen a surge of activity, especially as the next wave of junior verbals emerge following the fall circuit and subsequent visits.

This year was no exception, with several dozen commitments and a handful of flips. Before things ramp up at the college level, let's take a closer look at a few of the recent commits to Air Force and Army, then continue to make our rounds across the landscape to highlight additional commitments from January.