The Northeast's Top 75 Seniors: Surging New York Public Schoolers

As we continue to go through and highlight some of the more improved players within the Top 75 out of the Northeast, it's time to take a few of the top players from the state with the best public school talent in the nation, focusing on several players that we haven't highlighted since before the summer, if at all.    First and foremost, Koester is a winner, helping Garden City soccer to back-to-back titles and winning a pair of New York state titles on the lacrosse field. The Lehigh commit was named an All-American after an insane junior season in which he racked up 66 goals and 33 assists, persevering through the final two games and filling up the stat sheet despite suffering a bone contusion. Watching the lefty throughout the year, his athletic IQ, competitive energy, and well-rounded skill set were on full display, as his game has grown significantly since his recruiting summer. Koester's snappiness as a shooter and the diversity of his release points make his shots particularly difficult to save, and he's gifted at shooting for the pipes and putting shots where goalies aren't. It's hard to watch him and not view him as a multi-year contributor for the Mountain Hawks.     As tough as they come, Nicholson has enjoyed a stellar two-sport career for the Warriors. This fall, he formed a monster 1-2 punch at running back with [player_tooltip player_id='126935' first='Luke' last='Martini'] (one of the nation's top 2028s) for the Long Island finalists, combining for nearly 3,000 yards on the ground. On the lacrosse field, Nicholson picked up Second Team All-Long Island recognition, posting 49 goals and 22 assists for the LI champs. He carries over his running back mentality, going hard downhill and putting his shoulder down to run over anybody in his path. As feared as he is as a goal-scorer, Nicholson is difficult to cover given how dangerous he is as a top-down feeder known to find his teammates with skip passes. He's also an absolute horse when going from defense to offense, and is capable of providing clamps on D then turning it into transition opportunities.     At first glance, O'Callaghan may seem unassuming with his wiry 5'7" frame. In reality, the lefty checks a ton of boxes as a highly athletic, fundamentally sound, and battle-tested goalie who was one of the first keepers off the board last fall for good reason. Since his commitment, it's become clear that he's someone who consistently rises to the occasion against elite competition and gives the defense in front of him tremendous confidence. Fiery in net and incredibly active outside of it, O'Callaghan catches the ball cleanly with poise and jump-starts transition with ease thanks to his outlets and ability with the ball in his stick. He's instinctual and reactive without being jumpy, reading shooters decisively and never guessing.     In a foot race, Santillo would be among the betting favorites among his Class of 2026 peers, as he has speed to kill and can get from restraining line to restraining line faster than most. Blessed with twitchy athleticism, he's crazy quick and explosive out of his dodges, often creating a few yards of separation on his dodges to get high-quality looks at the cage. Santillo has an outstanding shot on the run, with little drop-off between his dominant and off-hand, an area of his game that has shown tremendous year-over-year improvement. Cornell's done a stellar job recruiting highly athletic two-way middies in upstate New York, and I'll be curious to see what role he carves out in Ithaca, as he has a high ceiling.     Serving as the straw that stirred the drink for the Section I champions, Winters earned First Team Class 'A' All-State honors from the NYSSWA. Over time, I've been impressed with how dynamic he is. He can pick apart a defense as a feeder from behind the cage, finish appropriately from 5x5, sweep across the top, or pile up goals as a talented shooter from distance. He's got plenty of range and is armed with one of the prettier releases in the state, with the ball exploding out of his stick. As a dodger, he's comfortable creating offense from a variety of spots and loves to use deception, often throwing in head or shoulder fakes to make goalies move when in close. Harvard's done a really nice job recruiting on the offensive side of the ball, so I'll be intrigued to see whether Miller winds up at attack or midfield at the next level.

As we continue to go through and highlight some of the more improved players within the Top 75 out of the Northeast, it's time to take a few of the top players from the state with the best public school talent in the nation, focusing on several players that we haven't highlighted since before the summer, if at all.