Centerstage '28s: Top Uncommitted Defensive Performers

Centerstage was a smaller, boutique-style event with four '28 teams and six '29 squads. However, multiple D1 coaches attended to watch both age groups.   For the '28 division, we're focusing on players who haven't announced their commitment yet, rather than the top players everyone already knows. <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2026/11/centerstage-28s-top-uncommitted-offensive-performers/">Having covered five offensive standouts in Monday's piece</a>, here are some of the top uncommitted '28 defensemen at the event.    A righty lockdown defender in the most traditional mode, Fox was impressive because he was consistent in his play throughout the tournament. Oh, and he's mean. I'm talking little shoves around the ball, one extra check - the kind of stuff that curls an accidental smile when you see your defenseman do it, but when it's someone else's pole, your palms are already moving upward before you can yell. Fox also looked a little bigger than his 5'11'' height in person, but it may just be how he carries himself. Confidence breeds excellence, and Fox is one of those defenders that every coach wants on their team.     Friel was good enough to get serious minutes despite being a late addition to the roster. In fact, he's not on the provided roster, but luckily, Laxachusetts puts the last name on the back of everyone's jersey. Friel's tall frame is hardly gangly, as he has severe open-field hitting power and a quiver of short, choppy checks strapped to his person. I have seen Friel play before, but he really came into his own at Centerstage. He was aggressive on groundballs, often throwing himself into piles and somehow coming out with the ball, with three guys on the ground just trying to figure out what happened. With his length and overall ability, I'm surprised Friel hasn't gotten more looks, but I think that's about to change after this tournament.     Bauer is a high-energy pole who code-switches the second he gets across the midline with the ball. He goes from measured to madcap, darting through the seams of the channels like a lost remote control. The switch-up from order to chaos was more than wildly entertaining; it was impactful for his team. He was, in essence, the link-up player between offense and defense, a role that is normally occupied by a two-way middie or a speedy SSDM. If it were soccer, he would be the "regista" —a phenotype of player that focuses on winning the ball but also shepherding it to the next level. Bauer has the handles to be that and more; maybe that's the kind of LSM everyone should be recruiting more.     I'm more than a little surprised that Edwards hasn't made his commitment yet. He is everything you want in a defensive LSM. He's excellent at picking off passes and bringing the ball up the field, which he demonstrated to great effect at Centerstage. Edwards is not just a haphazard check-spamming pole; he's more of a positional mirror master. He has great feet and went stride for stride with some seriously speedy characters all day long. That being said, he will throw the odd wrap-around two-hander and come over the top, but it's not a regular occurrence, at least not when I saw him play.     A tall and strong lefty defender who throws an insanely echo-inducing slap, Pramataris is the defender who makes meek attackmen skip their turn dodging. To be fair, his other sports are football and wrestling, two activities that place a premium on pain. I think what I liked most about Pramataris, though, was his ability to play inside or shoot outside to cut off an easy pass. Sure, that thunder check is loaded and ready to fire, but he is smart enough not to lead with that; he uses his feet to get the angle, and then he pulls the trigger. There's almost a level of restraint to how Pramataris approaches, because that big lead check would work on attackmen made of weaker constitutions, but he knows it won't work against the best ones, and that restraint should be lauded.

Centerstage was a smaller, boutique-style event with four '28 teams and six '29 squads. However, multiple D1 coaches attended to watch both age groups.

For the '28 division, we're focusing on players who haven't announced their commitment yet, rather than the top players everyone already knows. Having covered five offensive standouts in Monday's piece, here are some of the top uncommitted '28 defensemen at the event.