National ASG 2028s: Shortstick D-Middies Who Turned Heads

As our event coverage comes to a close for the summer in the coming days, here's one last breakdown in my positional series on breakthrough standouts from the National All-Star Games.    Although Chisam somehow wasn't on my radar entering the weekend, I left convinced he was one of the most impactful SSDMs in attendance, and a prospect who unquestionably raised his stock. The victorious Midwest squad was excellent in the middle of the field, among other places — quite frankly, it didn't show any weaknesses — and Chisam's play was crucial to its championship run. He was clearly frustrating to dodge against; nobody, including a handful of surefire Top 150 recruits, did much of anything when they were matched up with him. Even when guys were able to get a full head of steam on downhill dodges, Chisam provided the clamps, and when opponents got a step on him, his speed allowed him to recover rather easily and re-initiate contact. He's a speedster in the open field and reliable off the ground on the wings of face-offs.     A Class of 2027 graduate who will PG to join the '28s (and has played with the LI Express Chucks since the fall), LeSueur had one of his better outings of the summer at the National All-Star Games. Saving his best for last, LeSueur was extraordinarily sticky on-ball in coverage, helping end possessions regularly and then triggering transition. He gets up and down for full-field clears and wonderfully executed fast breaks, and is the most offensively inclined prospect featured in this post, known for racking up points in transition. A shortstick d-middie who is always man-conscious away from the ball, he plays excellent team defense and never misses an assignment and seldom makes mistakes. This has essentially become a cliché for guys at the position, but he embraces his role above all. In addition, he's got the right bloodlines, given that he's the son of former Johns Hopkins d-middie and captain Paul LeSueur, and the nephew of 2005 captain and All-American attackman Peter LeSueur.     An athletic and hulking presence at 6'3, Lorang plays the shortstick defensive midfield position the right way: with malicious intent yet under control. He notched a beauty of a caused turnover against one of the more imposing midfielders in the Mid-Atlantic at one point, and made a handful of other eyebrow-raising plays throughout the weekend. Adding to that point, it seems as if he causes turnovers more than most '28s I've seen at the position, catching middies slipping with a trail or wrap check. Lorang's aforementioned confrontational mindset is always on display when he's pushing dodgers off their line, as he's just a bear to get past. While he could stand to improve his stick skills going forward, he otherwise checks a lot of boxes and should be coveted come September. After starting his career at Saint Francis, the San Jose (Calif.) native will be taking his talents to Sacred Heart Prep, a talent-laden roster coached by ADVNC director Chris Rotelli.     When I first watched Onofre back in the fall, I viewed him as one of those shortstick defensive midfielders who can almost blend into the background — the type of player you don't notice until you realize how many plays he's quietly impacting. His game speaks a bit more loudly now, and he's playing with more confidence than ever. Playing with a Team New Jersey that was almost entirely comprised of Leading Edge guys, Onofre turned in another excellent campaign to cap off his summer, and his nearly 11-minute (!!!) highlight reel shows just how impactful he was over the last six or so weeks. While I love Onofre's work near the top restraining line, I've also been struck by how he passes the test when covering the ball below the goal line, which can't always be said about top shortsticks. He plays with controlled aggression and ever-present physicality, bulldozing dudes in the clear, preventing rollbacks by maintaining contact and pushing middies away from where they want to go, and harassing offensive weapons that are much bigger than him. By my estimation, he'll have no shortage of suitors this fall, and he solidified his standing with a great few days in Edgewood.     Rensing was someone with whom I came into the summer rather familiar, given that he was a sophomore starter at my alma mater, putting together a pretty impressive 2026 season. He kept it up this summer and ended with a bang by helping form a lights-out SSDM unit in tandem with Calvert Hall's CJ Saunders while leading Team Maryland to the championship game before falling to the Midwest squad. In many ways, Rensing moves laterally like a defensive back and utilizes his physicality and active stick to disrupt attackmen and midfielders alike, even the most fleet-footed ones. At the National All-Star Games, the athletic Carroll County product did a nice job closing out on shots to hinder high-percentage changes. In addition, he's a stud off the ground and comes up with big-time groundballs in traffic, then is off to the races. I'll be intrigued to see where he takes his game going forward, especially as he bulks up by committing himself more to the weight room.

As our event coverage comes to a close for the summer in the coming days, here's one last breakdown in my positional series on breakthrough standouts from the National All-Star Games.