2028s Anonymous: How Top Evaluators View The Class (FREE)

In the past, midnight on September 1 has marked the start of rising juniors' recruitment. From now on, the Wednesday after Labor Day at 7 a.m. will serve as the starting point, meaning 9/9 will kick things off this year — and act as the latest start date until 2037, when 9/9 comes back around.

In what has become an annual tradition while preparing the rising junior rankings, I had a long list of Division I coaches share their general (and anonymous) thoughts on the class, how each positional group looks, and how things could shake out in a new era of college lacrosse — with roster caps and 5-for-5 completely changing the landscape. As a result, class sizes will shrink.

ICYMI, check out our Five Burning Questions piece from earlier this month, which broke down the new eligibility model and its effect, among other subjects. For reference, also take a look at the anonymous thoughts from the 2027 and 2026 cycles.

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"I thought there was more depth than ever; there's obviously very high-end in certain positions — [if you want] a pole or a lefty attackman, you don't have to look too far — and lots to get excited about. Overall, definitely seeing some high-end talents that stick their head above the rest." 

"I think the class is very deep; a lot of people judge classes on the Top 10 players at each position group and the better classes, but for me, it's the Tier 2 guys maybe 11-25 or 20-40 at each spot — you may be able to get value a little bit later, depending on the timeline and how things shake out."

"Overall, I walked away feeling more strongly about this group relative to '27s with volume and talent level; that class was more slim pickings, and you're looking a little harder for guys."

"The depth of the class is lefties, LSMs, d-mids, and goalies… it also feels like a high-academic class, relatively speaking.”

"The whole thing fascinates me how it could shake out — how many everyone takes, who they're taking, what positions they skip over — it'll be interesting to see how schools build their classes."

“It's a really deep and athletic class; there are so many impressive athletes all over the field, and that's something that certainly jumped out, especially at the midfield.”

"Do the rich get richer because they have money, or do some of these guys filter down because the top teams take eight guys and that snowballs down, where some of these kids were the 9th/10th/11th kids in a class, and that trickles down — or do they commit then ultimately flip? It's gonna be interesting to see how it shakes out."

“This feels like the best below the goal line [quarterback] group in recent memory… Not to be a prisoner of the moment, but lefty attack may just be the deepest it's ever been...I think the top group of attackmen is deeper than it has been lately; I think there's more depth in terms of below GLE guys and the lefties that are dynamic and not just scorers. Plenty of righty wing guys who can dodge and shoot as well… It'll be interesting with the dynamic of teams recruiting fewer guys and seeing how that's handled. I'm curious how quickly guys decide given those realities — lots of high-level attackmen, fewer spots — does that lead to guys jumping to the first good opportunity they see? … Very strong attack class and plenty of options there; it's not just 2 or 3 guys; it stretches 10 or 11 guys that are different….. Every top school will get a stud lefty, but it's a bit thinner on right-handed scorers at attack… Last year had some legit left-handers, but the overall depth of lefties is just far greater than it was a year ago, [there's] just a lot more options in this class."

“There's an abundance of super athletic middies, with more kids labeling themselves and showing well as two-way and not just O or D. Midfield-wise, it's like we're back to 2008 and 2009 with those types of players… I feel like we'd all agree that there's a lot of depth in midfield with the two-way guys… At SSDM, maybe there aren't as many dedicated shortsticks like last year, but there's a lot of high-end two-way guys that can do both… Maybe I'm crazy, but [offensive] midfield is where there's the least depth [in terms of] high-end guys…. At midfield, there's some depth depending on what you need — a small group of elite middies, and then another group of guys who may not be there yet but will be very good college players.”

“I haven't felt the hype around the face-off guys besides the top two or three…. Three top face-off guys, then a group of good face-off guys…. The face-off guys are actually pretty good — better at the top in ‘28s than ‘27s — so that's a spot that we're all watching closely…. Face-off wise, that spot is top-end heavy. From there, your guess is as good as mine… What will be interesting, especially considering the top-heavy reality of this FOGO group, is who chooses to skip recruiting one this cycle."

“At pole, there's a really good core of entertaining poles at the top who can actually play defense, long and rangy guys who want to push the ball on offense, have good skills, and choose to play defense… The poles are the best part of the [defensive] group in terms of the high-end guys, but at close, I don't think there are many No. 1s, just a lot of No. 2 cover guys…  This isn't a very good class at close [defense], and I'm inclined to think that there aren't as many good close defenders in general anymore — part of that is the club effect and guys not dodging poles as much. I will say, there's plenty of longstick middies who can make an impact in numerous ways… the LSM group is the main narrative, along with the lack of a close D presence… It's below average at close defense… The defensive side is where a lot of us are picky this year. I'd say there's probably some better projected LSMs as opposed to down low guys, but not that they can't be both, though that's been harder to figure out."

“Goalie is one of the deeper positions in the class; there's a lot of really good [players], and it's hard after the top few to differentiate these guys. It's just a very deep group in that regard... You can get down to goalies ranked 11 to 15 and feel really good about it… If you're paying for a goalie, last year was the year to do it, but a lot of schools will get a stud this year… It's one of the deepest goalie classes I've seen in a while.”