It was quite the challenge to both beat XLC’s shorties and stop them in transition with the duo of Hawkes Packard and Ben Mount. Packard stole a ton of the spotlight as the top player from the West, but Mount deserves a ton of credit. Absolute straps on defense—everything you want in a short stick: great feet and a strong upper body to jam dodgers. Every once in a while, he’ll give a little extra on his cross-checks to shatter a dodger’s confidence. When it comes to natural movers—groundballs under pressure, one-man clears, splitting doubles—only a handful of players sit above Mount, and that’s a national conversation not just in the West. When he turns on the jets and runs past riding defenders, his team likely gets a numbers advantage on the other side.

Historically, St. Ignatius has never lacked two-way talent, and Mount and Hawkes Packard continue that tradition in the Wildcats’ sophomore class. It would be an understatement to say that Mount embraces the d-middie role, bringing the size, athleticism, and physicality it demands. Quite frankly, the way he moves makes him a bit of an outlier relative to the 2028s I’ve seen thus far. He can match feet and make life difficult for top offensive threats, while also doing yeoman’s work between the lines and in the clearing game. Don’t be surprised if he emerges as one of the most coveted SSDMs in the class.