LI Summer Showdown: 2027's Flying Under The Radar

Last week, I closed out the 2025 summer club circuit with my annual trip to Long Island, where I was able to catch a handful of '27 teams that I either had yet to see this summer or had watched sparingly. Adding on to <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2025/07/five-days-on-long-island-southern-standouts-in-the-2027-classpreplacrosse.com">Wednesday's post on the top players from the South</a>, here's a look at some of the under-the-radar names from upstate New York, Colorado, and New England that stood out:    There's an old-school feel to Lawrence's game that jumps out — he's a 'jack of all trades, master of none' type, a testament to how hard he plays and how many things he does well. His presence was always felt, particularly in a big Tuesday night upset of 91 Long Island, whether that was on offense, defense, or between the lines. Providing an everpresent competitive energy, he picked up contested groundballs off the wings that turned into goals, applied pressure to the opposition with the ball in his stick, and played hard-nosed defense when called upon. Capable with either hand, he's got a pretty split dodge, snappy wrists, and a deceptive first step.     'Smooth' is the first word that comes to mind when watching Napolilli, a lefty who racked up 38 goals, 15 assists, and 46 groundballs as a sophomore. He has excellent skills and is quick, shifty, and fast, providing a spark to his team whenever he has the ball. As a shooter, often on the left-handed wing, Napolilli likes to utilize a beautiful three-quarters release. He consistently generated quality scoring opportunities, but what also stood out was that he didn't necessarily need the ball in his stick to have success. Super confident and poised, Napolilli appeared to be in control of the moment of all times.     A starter for a program no stranger to postseason success, Keough first caught my attention late in the spring; however, this was my first time seeing him play live. Unflappable and exuding confidence in cage, Keough takes up a lot of the net with his 6'2 frame and moves exceptionally well from pipe to pipe. Against 91, it felt like he got at least a piece of just about everything, whether that was with his stick or his body. At one point, he made an outstanding foot save, which was one of at least three or four stops that he had no business making. He's explosive as a stopper yet is incredibly disciplined and patient before the shot, holding his line, reading, and reacting in order to stymie opposing shooters.     Finishing the summer strong, Brathwaite caught my eye at both the LI Summer Showdown and the NILLY Invitational. While undersized, the standout longstick middie plays bigger than he is and was able to keep up with middies that were a few inches taller and several pounds bigger over the course of the two events. His stick is a hallmark of his game: he's got an excellent handle and is active with it, throwing disruptive and precise checks to put the ball on the ground. There are times that he tends to get a bit overzealous with his takeaway checks, so relying on his footwork and becoming more physical would be areas of his game that he could stand to improve. However, the pieces are there, and he impressed on first time groundballs, pretty caused turnovers, and transition play.     A product of New York Section 4 Class C champ Maine Endwell, Grace's size jumps out, but it's not as if he's impactful merely because of his size. At 6'4 and 200 pounds, he moves around rather well, given how big he is, so it didn't come as a surprise to hear that he's also a varsity basketball player. Taking LSM runs, he was disruptive on-ball and eats up space away from the ball. Once the ball was on the turf, he was quick to gobble it up and start fast breaks, moving upfield with his long strides and making the appropriate decisions. While he could stand to polish his stick skills and some of his defensive principles, there's a lot of pieces to work with when it comes to Grace's game.

Last week, I closed out the 2025 summer club circuit with my annual trip to Long Island, where I was able to catch a handful of '27 teams that I either had yet to see this summer or had watched sparingly. Adding on to Wednesday's post on the top players from the South, here's a look at some of the under-the-radar names from upstate New York, Colorado, and New England that stood out: