2026 Preseason Public School Rankings: Who Else but Garden City?

While the public-private landscape has shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic, Garden City's dominance — and its steady stream of talent — remain constant.   Steve Finnell's Trojans will open the 2026 season ranked No. 1 after winning a third title in four years, while four more household-name programs round out the top five.   #1 Garden City (N.Y.) | 2025 Season: 21-2   The Trojans enter 2026 stacked once again, even after graduating a standout senior class led by Nassau County Player of the Year Blake Cascadden (Cornell) and his twin brother Luke (Navy), who both dominated in the middle of the field. As always, Garden City's roster is packed with athletes who also powered the football team to another state championship this past fall, extending the program's remarkable winning streak to 66 games. As a result, there's athleticism, chemistry, and grit all over the field. An uber-athletic UNC commit who is ranked 4th in the Class of 2027, Anthony Asaro put Long Island on notice a year ago by posting 37 goals and 21 assists. He'll form a nasty 1-2 punch on offense with Lehigh-bound senior Charlie Koester, who led the team with 99 points and has a track record of constantly upping his game year-over-year. Brayden Robertiello, an athletic Penn State commit and talented football player, is a high-impact Swiss Army knife who can excel at the face-off dot and help out elsewhere, and Cornell commit Andrew Dengler is one of the more proven cover defenders in the country. Holy Cross recruit Will Mattice and August Galli, another Lehigh commit, will also factor in on the defensive end, while promising lefty Ben Smith (46g/27a in 2025) and Chaminade transfer Michael Ferrucci are names to watch in the sophomore class.   #2 Darien (Conn.) | 2025 Season: 13-8 The Blue Wave last won a state title in 2019 — an eternity for a program as storied as Darien. With a phenomenal senior class leading the way, this group aims to end that drought in 2026 while also chasing the program's first FCIAC title since 2022. While Darien will miss the services of towering defenseman Mark McNamara (Penn State), the Blue Wave's other four First Team All-FCIAC picks are back: attackmen Ben Bilodeau (Georgetown) and Ryan Thurlow (Villanova), and midfielders Max McBride (Lafayette) and Wes Scallen (High Point), so there's no shortage of proven offensive talent. On the other end of the field, newly minted co-head coach Ric Beardsley will head a unit that features highly athletic d-middie Jack Marisca (Loyola), who was recently named CT's Skater of the Year in hockey, as well as a Top 100 recruit in junior defenseman Jimmy Benedict, who will step into the No. 1 cover role vacated by McNamara. If the Blue Wave can come together to get solid face-off and goalie play in 2026, they'll be an awfully tough out, and a challenging non-conference slate will prepare them for what's always a rigorous slate in the FCIAC. #3 Summit (N.J.) | 2025 Season: 18-5 There are plenty of reasons to be bullish about the 2026 edition of the Hilltoppers, and it's hard not to be given just how much firepower and experience there is in the senior class. The core of this group seized significant roles as sophomores, namely goalie Robbie Kievit (Fairfield), attackmen James Grainger (Washington & Lee) and Cole Sabol (Hamilton), and defenseman John Conniff (Providence), among others. There's plenty of talent in the midfield, too, with capable seniors like lefty Luke Fowler (Vermont), Quinn Hynes (Washington & Lee), and Jack Freeman (Bowdoin), with those three combining for 111 points a year ago. Fellow seniors Jake Reimold (Sacred Heart) and Andrew Smallwood (Lynchburg) are back to handle LSM and face-off duties, respectively. In the sophomore class, the Hilltoppers have rising stars in attackman Chris Davies (20g/20a as a freshman) and longpole Cooper Smoragiewicz as well. After losing two out of three to Westfield a year ago, including an 8-7 double overtime heartbreaker in the Kirst Cup semifinals, the Hilltoppers will look to reverse course in 2026 and send this senior class out on top. #4 Springfield-Delco (Pa.) | 2025 Season: 24-1 The Cougars got the monkey off their back in 2025, lifting the PIAA Class 3A state championship trophy for the first time since 2017 while knocking off four-time defending champion and chief rival Radnor in a 6-4 decision at Penn State's Panzer Stadium. Heading into this season, Springfield will have to replace some critical pieces of its lineup, including Delco Times Player of the Year Patrick Flaherty (Maryland) and most of the starting backline. Fortunately, the Cougars return one of the more dangerous duos in the region in Brad Barber (Maryland) and Luke Valerio (Penn State), a pair of seniors who have been critical to the program's success. Barber, a fiery lefty, put up 53 goals last spring and played through a torn ACL in the title game, so while he's set to miss the first few weeks, he's undoubtedly one of the nation's best when healthy. Another hard-nosed and proven left-hander, Valerio is a Top 100 recruit who can fill up a stat sheet and make game-changing plays, and his presence will be even more pivotal while Barber recovers. Fellow seniors AJ Clark and Jared Kennedy will also be relied on offensively, while High Point recruit Tommy Toomey is the unquestioned leader on the defensive end. Expect a bit of a youth movement to emerge as the season progresses, as there's been a plethora of freshmen and sophomores capable of seizing roles. #5 New Canaan (Conn.) | 2025 Season: 18-3 As successful as they've been during the regular season, the Rams have fallen short in the postseason in recent years, chasing the program's first FCIAC and state titles since 2019 and 2017, respectively. This group will look to change that, and though the roster will need younger players to help fill holes left by the graduation of an impactful '25 class, there are high hopes for this New Canaan team, even in a highly competitive county full to the brim with talent. Over the last few seasons, the Rams have had the luxury of being able to trot out two high Division I goalie recruits on any given day, and senior Cam Lyden (Michigan) and Prep's No. 24 junior Jackson Crowell (Princeton) are both back in the fold to stymie the opposition. Considering how much the Rams graduated defensively and at the face-off X, their jobs will be that much more important. Denver-bound senior midfielder Cole Campisi is coming off a First Team All-State campaign, as is sophomore attackman Grey Wildman, who looks poised to become one of the nation's highest ranked '28s after putting up 51 goals as a freshman. Bound for Holy Cross, senior Finn Roeder and junior Matt Reed will also look to build off the success they found last year, while Colgate recruit Rogan Lowe will also step into an even more significant role.

While the public-private landscape has shifted dramatically since the start of the pandemic, Garden City's dominance — and its steady stream of talent — remain constant.