2028 South Rankings: Five Hidden Gems on Defense

<a href="https://preplacrosse.com/national/player-rankings/2028-lacrosse-lax-south-region-player-rankings/">We released the 2028 South regional rankings yesterday</a>, slotting 75 players plus a hefty watchlist. These defenders may be hidden gems for different reasons, but they all deserve to be seen. Let's take a look at a few defenders, LSMs, and an SSDM who made the Southern rankings.    When you pull up Resnick's summer highlight tape, you will find a slew of videos of him playing perfect one-on-one defense against several Top 100 recruits. It takes a little bit to get over the eye test when it comes to his game, but he packs a punch. He plays with controlled but quick feet, an active stick, and is heavily reliant on his strong cross-check. Besides, in his 1v1 matchups, his athleticism really pops off-ball. Starting in his athletic stance, he will burst from a show position to sliding or showing to scraping back to play his man. A quality that is important for not only settled situations, but in unsettled as well. His stick looks solid in the clear, making good decisions when to run past a riding attackman and find the open man to finish his job on the other end.     Scott fills the role of an LSM—and then some. His quick feet help him all over the field. Off the wings on face-offs, he collapses quickly to apply pressure and scoop groundballs. On the defensive end, his footwork gives him the confidence to extend out and apply pressure outside the box. As a lefty, he provides constant pesky pressure on hands while also having a strong base to body up bigger dodgers. With an athletic stance and constant head turns, he puts himself in good positions to help off the ball and jump on groundballs when they come. At the National All-Star Games, he looked terrific off the ground, pushed the tempo, and had the stick to make things happen on the other end, too.     Levy's potential is obvious when you watch his feet and how he works off the ground. In 1v1 matchups, his footwork allows him to mirror dodgers with ease and stay active on the ball carrier's hands. He's most effective when his stick is out, staying on gloves with small, effective checks—less so when he relies on the crosscheck from the start. I noticed his quickness multiple times this summer; he was always one of the first into a groundball scrum or to run out a shot. I could see him bumping up to LSM because his groundball skills are the highlight of his game. He gobbles them up off the bounce, with pressure on—you name it. His stick is solid, too: he makes good decisions in transition and will let it fly if you let him.     You can't teach speed and footwork—that's why I love JD Pierce's potential. I really noticed it when he was one of the few with a different helmet playing with Westlake at NHSLS. He matched up against a DI-committed quicker dodger, navigated around a pick, bodied up, and "closed the gate" on the island. Off the ball, he puts himself in good spots, playing with a solid stance and quick hands to knock down skips. He projects more as an LSM because of his range—able to extend out and pressure outside the box while also playing off the wing on face-offs. His work off the ground looked solid; he can get up and out in transition with a quality stick to secure possessions for his offense.     Zielke doesn't always pass the eye test for some, but the more I've watched him, the more I've come to appreciate his game. Could he add some weight? Sure, but he packs a punch for his size. Watch him when dodgers think they can bully him—he holds his crosscheck well and guides dodgers into predictable slides to end possessions for his defense. The most obvious part of his game is his feet. He mirrors everyone; it doesn't matter how fast their straight-line speed is or how quick their changes of direction are, he stays in front of them. That same athleticism serves him well as a one-man clear, too. He can slip through doubles and press defenses early in transition.

We released the 2028 South regional rankings yesterday, slotting 75 players plus a hefty watchlist. These defenders may be hidden gems for different reasons, but they all deserve to be seen. Let's take a look at a few defenders, LSMs, and an SSDM who made the Southern rankings.