Main Stage Showcase: 2028 Midfielders Who Balled Out

The Main Stage Showcase was held at iconic Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, June 23, and Wednesday, June 24. Tuesday brought heavy downpours, while Wednesday brought sunshine, playoff action, and the All-Star Game.   [player_tooltip player_id='179335' first='Zack' last='Tabacco'], <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2026/07/new-names-from-nal-class-of-2028-speedsters-who-turned-heads/" id="https://preplacrosse.com/2026/07/new-names-from-nal-class-of-2028-speedsters-who-turned-heads/">who Ty Xanders recently featured</a>, was one midfielder who really stood out. He impressed with his speed and ability to navigate through the defense to create quality looks. [player_tooltip player_id='25535' first='Cooper' last='Augustine'] was another, showing off his shiftiness as a dodger by mixing in hesitations and flashing incredibly quick wrists on his shot. [player_tooltip player_id='163167' first='Zachary' last='Strohmeier'] also stood out for his efficiency as a dodger, both creating for himself and drawing slides before skipping the ball through the defense.   Those three midfielders are already familiar names, but here are five more who balled out at Main Stage:    Baum has been on an absolute tear this June. Main Stage was the event where I really came to appreciate his skill level, but he also impressed at NHSLS and again this past weekend at the NAL Summer Invitational. He is a well-rounded midfielder whose gamer mentality helps set him apart, especially when paired with the skill, deception, and physicality he brings to the field. He is a sneaky-good dodger who excels at cutting off his matchup, getting physical when needed, and working his stick back to the middle to improve his angle. Goalies do not enjoy seeing the ball come out of his stick, as he changes levels well, has touch on fakes in tight, and can hammer shots from distance. On the defensive end, that gamer mentality shows up too. He hustles all over the field, lands checks, and brings the kind of hockey-bred toughness you want from a short stick.     [player_tooltip player_id='182016' first='Michael' last='Rabel']'s pure shooting ability was on full display at Main Stage. He can score in just about every way, using both hands, varying his release points, and finishing on the run, off stepdowns, and through pressure. Two things stand out most about his scoring ability: how well he creates his own shot and how many different releases he can use. He can dodge in a variety of ways, doing it with the kind of unpredictability that shifts defenders' weight through deception and true two-handedness. He mixes in hard jabs, splits, hitches, and rollbacks to get his hands free with ease. The variety in his releases makes him productive within the flow of the offense and difficult for goalies to handle. He can catch and shoot from all angles, avoid checks high and low, and still get the ball off quickly from different slots. Add in the fact that he can really rip it, and you get a very tough cover.     Mason Walenta looks like the kind of midfielder who will thrive at the next level in an offense that values dodge-heavy initiators. He has the right mix of speed, quickness, shiftiness, and two-handedness to make life difficult for short sticks. At the start of his dodges, his active feet and jab combo consistently force defenders to lunge out of position, allowing him to get his hands free. Once he gets into the second phase of the dodge, he does a great job of reading the field, finding teammates while manipulating the defense, or slipping through slides to get his own shot off. His right hand is lethal, but if defenders overplay it too much, he is fully capable of making them pay with his left.     Cutter lived up to his name on day two of Main Stage, scoring twice with his off-ball movement. His frame is a major asset, making him tough to move in a variety of situations, especially when he catches the ball ready to finish in one motion. He also showed strong touch around the cage, cleaning up a rebound and burying another goal off a jump shot. As a dodger, he uses his size well to get into defenders, create separation, and shoot comfortably with either hand. His stepdown shot is another strength, as he holds the stick low behind him and delivers a smooth release with both placement and heat.     Having watched plenty of 91 Long Island games, I have to admit I did not fully notice Watrous' game until Main Stage. He is a lefty-dominant dodger with enough shake to beat defenders even when they know he wants to get back to his left hand. He has a knack for slipping right through the middle of the field to generate quality looks, and one of his best moments at Main Stage came when he split a hard double and still got to his shot. With a compact, snappy release, he gets the ball out deceptively fast, which fits well with a game built on winning in tight windows.

The Main Stage Showcase was held at iconic Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, June 23, and Wednesday, June 24. Tuesday brought heavy downpours, while Wednesday brought sunshine, playoff action, and the All-Star Game.