2025 Rankings: Breaking Down the New Five-Star Recruits

On Wednesday, we unveiled the final Top 150 for the Class of 2025, highlighted by six new five-star recruits and a strong Philly flavor.   Here's a closer look at each one before they arrive on campus later this month:    Ball's performance during the Flyers' trip to Maryland gave me the sense that he was well on his way to earning five-star status, as he went 17-for-23 against the top-ranked 2026 face-off specialist and continued his dominance all spring. As technical and dynamic as he is at the face-off dot, it's Ball's high IQ ability with the ball that helps set him apart. He checks all of the boxes at the position and will be a crucial piece of the puzzle for new Penn head coach Taylor Wray from Day 1. On the All-Star circuit this summer, Ball went 15-of-32 against top-ranked '25 face-off specialist Aidan Diaz-Matos. It was pretty much a toss-up for the top spot, but either way, Ball had wrapped up his fifth star weeks earlier and looks every bit of a game-changer at the Division I level.     Bickel was phenomenal as a senior, posting 37 goals and 37 assists for the Friars against what was one of the more challenging high school schedules I can ever recall. He answered the bell after an up-and-down junior year during which he struggled with consistency and shooting, though last summer provided a sign of good things to come. Bickel was exclusively a midfielder at Malvern, however, he has plenty of experience playing attack in club ball and is incredibly dynamic with the ball in his stick. He puts pressure on defenses wherever he's attacking from, and does so both as a scorer and a feeder, often tossing superb skip passes to his teammates when he's not banging shots on the run. Beyond that, he doesn't necessarily need the ball to be successful and is great playing off of his teammates and finding seams. Expect Bickel to get time early and often upon his arrival on the Hilltop.     It's a fool's errand to take too much away from any individual performance — especially a goalie — in the New Balance Senior All-American Game, where defense is sold separately, as Quint Kessenich would say. That being said, Lamitie's 10-save half (with seven goals allowed) was insanely impressive and spoke volumes about just what he's capable of against a gauntlet of top shooters. It was the perfect way to cap off a brilliant high school career, as he was the best goalie on the field by a wide margin. In every setting, Lamitie has been unflappable and gives the guys in front of him tremendous confidence. He was remarkable as a senior for Salisbury (in what is a top two league in the country) and will enter Johns Hopkins rather battle-tested and ready to fight for the starting role. Fans should expect to see a goalie who is fundamentally sound yet with a flair for the dramatic, especially on the doorstep, where he's off the charts.     <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2025/05/class-of-2025-big-board-defenders">Written up at length in May's Defensive Big Board piece</a>, MacFarland saved his best for last and was named Player of the Year by both the Inter-Ac and PhillyLacrosse.com, putting up 57 groundballs and 53 caused turnovers. He plays both spots better than anybody else in the class and has the makings of an elite college defender, checking in as the No. 2 longpole in the class and No. 15 overall. Wherever he lined up, he was instrumental in the Churchmen's success as they shared an Inter-Ac title for the first time in 27 years. Individually, MacFarland had his way with just about every matchup, applying relentless disruption while showcasing his athleticism, strong defensive principles, and high-level stick and footwork. For the second time in three recruiting cycles, Kevin Warne will have a five-star defenseman to work with, as MacFarland will join All-American rising junior Ty Banks on the Hoyas' defense. Right now, it's just a matter of whether the freshman lines up down low or up top at LSM.     Nurry's meteoric rise as a recruit has been well-documented, but as a refresher, he was originally an under-the-radar Class of 2024 recruit (compared to his peers), committing to Cornell a few days into September before ultimately deciding to bump back to the '25 class. Winning yet another Delaware state title and Player of the Year honors, the Avondale, Pa. native was lights-out as a Salesianum (Del.) senior. Nurry faced a much higher level of competition as a Loomis postgrad and was habitually the most dominant player of the field, posting 50 goals and 34 assists and garnering NE West I Attackman of the Year honors. An electric playmaker, Nurry kept defenses on their toes with his change-of-direction and relentless dodging style, as well as his downright nasty shooting release. He plays within himself at all times and has a knack for making the players around him better. In the coming days, we'll get to see Nurry on the international stage as a member of U.S. U-20 team. Heading into his freshman year at Cornell, the No. 6 overall recruit has 'instant impact' written all over him and will arrive at the perfect time.     Tantillo went wire-to-wire as the top-ranked shortstick defensive midfield recruit and earned his fifth star after another brilliant year for the Friars. While there have been several five-star recruits that have moved to SSDM roles in college, he's the first pure d-middie to garner that honor. Tantillo is one of the very best cover defenders in the class and was steady as they come in his three years as a starter. He's got outstanding footwork and plays with ever-present tenacity, jackhammering opponents to death and rag-dolling opposing dodgers on a regular basis. Winning every possession, his defensive acumen is off-the-charts, and he has the athleticism to be a constant factor in the clearing game. That being said, Tantillo isn't the type of defensive midfielder to rack up points — he knows himself and knows what to do with the ball rather than force the issue. He'll join a phenomenal group of defensive midfielders in Durham.

On Wednesday, we unveiled the final Top 150 for the Class of 2025, highlighted by six new five-star recruits and a strong Philly flavor.