BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND FORUM Boys 2028 Grads - Mid Atlantic Region

For your enjoyment, here is the Bored Dad fall rankings preview. Ranking in parenthesis is the last ranking from the summer from me.

1. Annapolis Hawks (MD) (1). Put together the strongest season of any team last year. Outstanding offense and goalie. Solid in the midfield and defense. Word out of Annapolis is that they’ve added some key contributors this fall. Loss to Madlax at NLF is maybe a little concerning, but still not enough to knock them out of the top spot.

2. Madlax (VA) (2). Huge win to end the year at NLF. Very well coached and solid at all positions. Word out of McLean is that they retained all key players but didn’t add a lot this off-season so will be riding with basically the same group.

3. Team 91 (NY) (3). Very well coached and solid at all positions. Very physical. Word out of strong island is that they’ve upgraded talent significantly this offseason. They were maybe a little undersized relative to the top MD teams last year. (I can hear LI dads yelling holdbacks from here.). I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this team is at the top of the rankings at the end of year. (MD teams - we can’t let that happen.)

4. Next Level (MD) (4). Up and down team but no team except the those above them have shown they can win against very top competition. Had wins against Team 91 and Madlax but a bunch of surprising losses too. Very athletic in the midfield and physical. I would not be surprised if they ended the year top 3 or outside the top 10. Word from Bethesda is that they added a couple pieces, but mostly bring forward the same team.

5. 2way (CT) (5). Very solid results over the summer but didn’t play any of the top 4 teams or anyone from MD, so a little untested among the best teams. I don’t know anyone plugged into the CT lacrosse community so no idea about additions. Come to MD 2way, we want to see what you’ve got.

6. BBL (NJ) (6). Big and skilled. Struggled some against the very best teams, but clearly a top team. I’m not plugged into NJ either, but I’d expect talent in that part of the country to consolidate here.

7. FCA (MD) (9). I’m moving FCA up because I think the coaching change is going to make this a better team. Very skilled at attack. Good at FO and goalie. This is a team where the talent level seemed better than the results (outside wins against NL). Tournament schedule was a little weak last year.

8. Express North (NY) (8). Skilled team. Another team pretty solid across the board. Some uneven results, but a number of nice wins. Strong tournament schedule last year.

9. Legacy (NY) (7). Very uneven results but ended the year strong. Word from LI is they’ve added some nice pieces. Will they be able to retain their top players against the LI machines of 91 and Express long term? I doubt it, but I have them second on the Island for now. I think I had them slightly too high last year, so moved them down a little, but 7-9 all had pretty similar results last year so it could be any order.

10. Long Island Express (NY) (13). Moving them up based on word from LI that they’ve upgraded their roster. Had several strong athletes and good size when I saw them play. Very uneven in results, but I would expect Express and 91 to consolidate LI over time.

11. Freedom (PA) (10). They were an honorary HOCO team last summer with the amount they played HOCO teams. Really good FOGO and some good shooters. Well coached. I don’t know the Philly scene that well but would expect them to consolidate the Philly market as the other Philly teams are all at least a notch down.

12. 3D New England (NE) (12). The 3D teams don’t always have stable rosters. But this team played enough together that I’m including them. Seem to be the top dogs against NE competition. They were a little more uneven when they played NY and south teams.

13. Thunder (GA) (unranked). Their results were okay, but probably not good enough to be top 15. But anyone who watched the Atlanta based teams last year had to be impressed with some of the raw athletes they had. My guess is that Thunder consolidates talent and this ends up being a team no one wants to play. I expect we will see a California team and a Colorado team in the top 10 by the end of the year too.

14. MadDog West (unranked). Maybe more of a tournament team than a stable roster, but played enough together that I’ll include them. Big and strong athletes. Wouldn’t be surprised if they move way up.

15. Crabs (MD) (unranked). Have they improved enough to include them? Some Crabs dads think that is this case. We will see. Had some nice wins - mostly over True.

Watch list - Laxachusetts, 4 Leaf Army, True Annapolis, 3D Gulf Coast, 3D Dallas, Seattle Stars, Denver Elite, Alpha Elite Colorado, ADVNC. Who else?

National teams - Nationals, Mad Dog National, True National. yes these teams will probably be good. No I am not including national teams in these rankings unless they consistently play together.

I'd add Blue Claws (MD), BLC and True KP (MD) to the watch list. I think all three remain in tact from their very good teams last year and added a few new pieces. We shall see.

For your enjoyment, here is the Bored Dad fall rankings preview. Ranking in parenthesis is the last ranking from the summer from me.

1. Annapolis Hawks (MD) (1). Put together the strongest season of any team last year. Outstanding offense and goalie. Solid in the midfield and defense. Word out of Annapolis is that they’ve added some key contributors this fall. Loss to Madlax at NLF is maybe a little concerning, but still not enough to knock them out of the top spot.

2. Madlax (VA) (2). Huge win to end the year at NLF. Very well coached and solid at all positions. Word out of McLean is that they retained all key players but didn’t add a lot this off-season so will be riding with basically the same group.

3. Team 91 (NY) (3). Very well coached and solid at all positions. Very physical. Word out of strong island is that they’ve upgraded talent significantly this offseason. They were maybe a little undersized relative to the top MD teams last year. (I can hear LI dads yelling holdbacks from here.). I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this team is at the top of the rankings at the end of year. (MD teams - we can’t let that happen.)

4. Next Level (MD) (4). Up and down team but no team except the those above them have shown they can win against very top competition. Had wins against Team 91 and Madlax but a bunch of surprising losses too. Very athletic in the midfield and physical. I would not be surprised if they ended the year top 3 or outside the top 10. Word from Bethesda is that they added a couple pieces, but mostly bring forward the same team.

5. 2way (CT) (5). Very solid results over the summer but didn’t play any of the top 4 teams or anyone from MD, so a little untested among the best teams. I don’t know anyone plugged into the CT lacrosse community so no idea about additions. Come to MD 2way, we want to see what you’ve got.

6. BBL (NJ) (6). Big and skilled. Struggled some against the very best teams, but clearly a top team. I’m not plugged into NJ either, but I’d expect talent in that part of the country to consolidate here.

7. FCA (MD) (9). I’m moving FCA up because I think the coaching change is going to make this a better team. Very skilled at attack. Good at FO and goalie. This is a team where the talent level seemed better than the results (outside wins against NL). Tournament schedule was a little weak last year.

8. Express North (NY) (8). Skilled team. Another team pretty solid across the board. Some uneven results, but a number of nice wins. Strong tournament schedule last year.

9. Legacy (NY) (7). Very uneven results but ended the year strong. Word from LI is they’ve added some nice pieces. Will they be able to retain their top players against the LI machines of 91 and Express long term? I doubt it, but I have them second on the Island for now. I think I had them slightly too high last year, so moved them down a little, but 7-9 all had pretty similar results last year so it could be any order.

10. Long Island Express (NY) (13). Moving them up based on word from LI that they’ve upgraded their roster. Had several strong athletes and good size when I saw them play. Very uneven in results, but I would expect Express and 91 to consolidate LI over time.

11. Freedom (PA) (10). They were an honorary HOCO team last summer with the amount they played HOCO teams. Really good FOGO and some good shooters. Well coached. I don’t know the Philly scene that well but would expect them to consolidate the Philly market as the other Philly teams are all at least a notch down.

12. 3D New England (NE) (12). The 3D teams don’t always have stable rosters. But this team played enough together that I’m including them. Seem to be the top dogs against NE competition. They were a little more uneven when they played NY and south teams.

13. Thunder (GA) (unranked). Their results were okay, but probably not good enough to be top 15. But anyone who watched the Atlanta based teams last year had to be impressed with some of the raw athletes they had. My guess is that Thunder consolidates talent and this ends up being a team no one wants to play. I expect we will see a California team and a Colorado team in the top 10 by the end of the year too.

14. MadDog West (unranked). Maybe more of a tournament team than a stable roster, but played enough together that I’ll include them. Big and strong athletes. Wouldn’t be surprised if they move way up.

15. Crabs (MD) (unranked). Have they improved enough to include them? Some Crabs dads think that is this case. We will see. Had some nice wins - mostly over True.

Watch list - Laxachusetts, 4 Leaf Army, True Annapolis, 3D Gulf Coast, 3D Dallas, Seattle Stars, Denver Elite, Alpha Elite Colorado, ADVNC. Who else?

National teams - Nationals, Mad Dog National, True National. yes these teams will probably be good. No I am not including national teams in these rankings unless they consistently play together.

Finally- something to chew on other than holdbacks. Great list— I do think some of the clubs out west are deserving of top 15, likely too 10, and one BIG oversight is West Coast Starz, which will have a 2028 team this fall. It’s their 2027 Blue team from last year, which is all 2028’s. They’re VERY good at virtually age class, particularly good at 2027. They will be top 10 for certain, likely top 5 by the end of this coming year. Expect to see them in Delaware in November.

Bravo Bored Dad! I do believe that US Club Lax is supposed to include 2028 in this years rankings. Someone should go ahead and forward this to them and make it easy for them

Finally- something to chew on other than holdbacks. Great list— I do think some of the clubs out west are deserving of top 15, likely too 10, and one BIG oversight is West Coast Starz, which will have a 2028 team this fall. It’s their 2027 Blue team from last year, which is all 2028’s. They’re VERY good at virtually age class, particularly good at 2027. They will be top 10 for certain, likely top 5 by the end of this coming year. Expect to see them in Delaware in November.

Can’t always get what you want. Those teams you mention—. Their best players will migrate to Hawks, Crabs, FCA soon enough. Sad but true. Say what you want, nobody is going D1 from Bkue

What good teams have west coast starz beaten? Or did a west coast starz dad find their way to this board?

Pay attention. There wasn’t a WCS 2028 team until this fall. It’s their first year... and they’ll beat most of the teams in this top 15 when they do play them this year.

It's going to be really embarrassing for them to come all that way and then realize they spelled Stars wrong.

Cali Dad infiltrating the mid Atlantic board?! Excellent

Petition to rename to WCP.

West coast preds

Oh so it’s a wishful thinking West coast dad. Good luck on the season mate.

Nope. MD dad Who has watched WCS beat virtually everyone around the country and every age group the last couple years. Granted, they pull from Dallas all the way to Seattle, but they are a top team at every age group and they will be a top team in 2028. Just ask the 2027 hawks. They got smoked by WCS.

Just pointing out to Bored Maryland dad that he overlooked WCS, as their 2028 team was playing in the 2027 division the last two years. But they are all 2028

Pitbull is no longer Mr. Worldwide. It's the Predators.

They pull from Dallas to Seattle? They aren’t a real team then. No one cares.

Very possible, but those teams already have a few kids who did the elite thing and then left from Hawks, Crabs and FCA to avoid some of the negative aspects. This isn’t a “They are better than” conversation. This is a “they were very good last year and will
Likely improve” thanks to coaching continuity and another year together, conversation. I think all 3 can surprise andgood enough to beat Crabs or FCA if they get overlooked.

Correct.

I’m gonna go get Kelly’s kid from FCA, the lefty from Hawks, the best middies from Madlax Hawks, Next Level and FCA, the Hawks goalie, the good poles from Venom and True and ABSOLUTELY Beat the Brakes off any of these darn all star teams ECD, Nationals etc etc

Or just have the Predators play them , Couldnt help

it

Unless a kid is an absolute stud who is already well coached in team-play, I tend to believe that the kids playing together longer makes for a better team. Filling glaring holes....i guess would work, but pulling in a bunch of new kids....i'm suspect. 90% of the ML28 team have been together since they were playing clinics at age 6/7. They are the starters. The recent new blood that has joined the last 2 years have been good, but they haven't changed the team much. My 2-cents.

Like the pole from Dallas that Madlax has brought in? I doubt he was playing clinics in McLean at age 6.

Like the pole from Dallas that Madlax has brought in? I doubt he was playing clinics in McLean at age 6.

I think it should be said that through this whole thread, the only team without these repeated issues where kids are just a transaction, is Team91. I think those guys over there are growing them right. Sure the young squads don't win all their games but clearly the expert coaching staff has got the young men tuned up by the time they hit high school. And it shouldn't have to be said that the staff at Team91 are on top of making sure the boys get into the best private schools in the region.