Seton Hall Prep added some depth to its face-off room with Assuncao, who went 71% at the stripe and added 22 goals at St. Joseph last spring. He had a fantastic showing at Naptown with the Hawks, going against some of the top face-off guys in the class. At the X, he thrives with quick moves, but what makes him great is the way he scraps for groundballs. Even when he loses a face-off in the stat book, he might still end up winning the possession because he is such a competitor. He hustles to apply pressure and is willing to strap up and play competitive defense. He is also no slouch on offense. He is a natural lefty with some crafty dodges and finishes on the move, plus a smooth underhand stepdown release that you do not see often from face-off specialists.

Sebastian Assuncao brings a true linebacker’s mentality to the faceoff dot, giving the Hawks a physical, gritty presence every time the whistle blows. He plays low to the ground like a wrestler, stays aggressive, and excels at winning tough ground balls in traffic. Unlike many specialists, Sebastian is fully capable of staying on the field defensively, where his toughness and instincts make him anything but a mismatch. He embraces contact, disrupts possessions, and adds an edge rarely seen from a FOGO. Sebastian is also unafraid to push the ball to the cage when he wins it forward, creating a legitimate scoring threat that keeps defenses honest. His blend of physicality, competitiveness, and defensive presence makes him one of the most impactful and unique faceoff athletes in his class.

Assuncao is regarded as one of the top 2028 face off specialists in New Jersey and last Sunday it was easy to see why he has earned that reputation. This elite FOGO displayed fast hands and polished footwork as he consistently won face-offs cleanly. Once the ball was in his mesh, Assuncao exploded off the dot and then streaked into the offensive end to create scoring opportunities. Last weekend, Assuncao proved he could score and distribute while running through multiple stick checks. Assuncao also demonstrated that he values possession by not forcing the fast break action and instead moving the ball to an open attack. Additionally, this poised FOGO with underrated stick skills showed that he could patiently carry the ball behind the cage and then feed cutters from X.