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2023 Rankings
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
Child’s play from @thunderlacrosse ‘23.
Niko Karetsos (Pace, Ga.) with the draw and dump and Alex Lobel (Roswell, Ga.) with the dunk as ⚡️ is cruising in its quarterfinal. pic.twitter.com/YW8gxXz1vH
— NLF (@natlaxfed) July 17, 2021
No. 61 Niko Karetsos, attack, Pace (Ga.) / Thunder – North Carolina
Karetsos is one of the better shooters in the class, but he’s not just a time-and-room guy. He’s got the athleticism to create his own shot off the dodge and was a major reason why Thunder had such a big-time summer. He put on a show when Atlanta’s finest made the finals at the prestigious CrabFeast tournament, showing the ability to take over a game while expertly changing planes on his shots. An all-state selection for Pace, Karetsos is one of the class’ elite lefties.
No. 62 Colin Vickrey, goalie, Culver (Ind.) / Iron Horse – Princeton
Vickrey committed to Notre Dame as a ’22 before reclassing, then flipped his commitment to Princeton in mid-September. The Tigers are getting a proven commodity on the club circuit, one that’s blessed with very quick hands and a poised presence in the cage. He’s not afraid to venture out of the cage, either. He might not be as battle-tested as some of the other goalies in the class, but he’s right at the top in terms of athleticism and potential.
No. 63 Matt Tully, goalie, Noble and Greenough (Mass.) / Piatelli Central – Cornell
Cornell scored a huge victory when it landed Tully as its ’23 goalie. The Nobles keeper was at the top of several schools’ wish lists, so count a major triumph on the recruiting trail for Connor Buczek and his staff. A standout at the Nike National All-Star Games for New England, Tully’s an athletic lefty who started at Nobles as a sophomore and was a consistent force throughout the summer.
No. 64 Brian Mullen, midfield, Avon Old Farms (Conn.) / Shore2Shore
The thick lefty is a physical presence out of the midfield and was instrumental in helping Shore2Shore reach the NLF National Championships final this summer. He had a four-goal game at UMass highlighted by him snapping home the overtime winner. The 6-2, 200-pounder opts for power and physicality over finesse, which makes him somewhat of a throwback midfielder. Once he gets going downhill, he’s awfully tough to stop and has a penchant for finishing in traffic. He also has the shooting range to keep a defense honest.
No. 65 Caulley Deringer, attack, Episcopal (Va.) / MadLax DC Dogs
One of the knocks on Deringer is that he doesn’t often see a team’s top defenseman because he plays alongside NLF No. 9 Colin Burns (Georgetown Prep, Md.) and NLF No. 17 ’23 Nate Kabiri (Georgetown Prep, Md.). There’s not a lot that he can do about that – it worked out very well for the Dogs at UMass – but Deringer is a problem for whomever he goes up against. He’s an excellent, slick lefty finisher who handles the ball very well in traffic despite a smaller frame. Deringer is a deadly time-and-room shooter, too, and he also has the athleticism to come out of the box at the next level.
No. 66 Drew Miller, defense / LSM, Northport (N.Y.) / Igloo
Miller is a versatile defender, capable of playing up top or down low. Many people who watched him play think that his college position is at close defense, but versatility is always endearing to college coaches. He’s got a great frame for the position at 6-2 or 6-3 and popped 10 goals this spring en route to helping Northport win a Class A Long Island Championship. Miller frequently gets his stick on his opponent’s hands and has the brawn to push his matchup around.
No. 67 TJ Lamb, attack/midfield, Episcopal Academy (Pa.) / PA Roughriders – Cornell
The best Philly lefty in the class after NLF No. 5 Kyle Lehman (Wissahickon, Pa. / Freedom / Penn State), Lamb had an excellent sophomore campaign for a Churchmen team that finished second in the Inter-Ac in the regular season. Depending on the situation and the defense thrown his way, Lamb can excel as a scorer or a feeder. He was the latter in a rout of Germantown Academy in mid-May, setting up three goals and tallying one. Lamb’s got a high IQ and knows what to do with the ball before it’s in his stick. He makes the one-more pass when needed and doesn’t make a ton of unforced mistakes. He’s got a big 6-3 frame should allow him to play in college at around 200 pounds.
No. 68 Larry Horning, midfield, Georgetown Prep (Md.) / MadLax DC Dogs – Georgetown
An elite-level athlete with good size who stood out for the Dogs at the NLF National Championships, Horning makes getting up and down the field look easy. It’s very easy to project his athleticism shining through at the next level, and it’s somewhat telling that the Hoyas made him a priority – he committed on Sept. 3 – despite him missing a good chunk of time with injuries. Horning’s a presence on the faceoff wings and excels off the carpet, and his athleticism helps him create scoring chances.
No. 69 Tyler McCarthy, midfield, Connetquot (N.Y.) / Team 91 LI Bandits – Syracuse
McCarthy somewhat flies under the radar on an excellent Bandits team loaded with offensive firepower – two of his teammates are in the top 5 of these rankings – but he’s a workhorse who contributes in a bunch of ways. Tasked with being one of Connetquot’s top scoring options this spring, he popped off for 39 goals and 28 assists en route to being named an all-Suffolk County midfielder. He’s still a legit scoring threat for the Bandits, but he’s also there making plays in the middle of the field on defense and in transition. The early Orange verbal and One Percent Showcase All-Star can also take faceoff wings.
No. 70 Nate Schwitzenberg, defense / LSM, Loyola (Ill.) / True – Notre Dame
Schwitzenberg, who earned One Percent Showcase and Maverik Showtime All-Star nods this summer, isn’t the flashiest defenseman, but he’s as reliable as the day is long. Packing an ACC-ready frame at 6-2, 190 pounds, he can match up well with bigger, powerful attackmen but also match feet with smaller, quicker attackmen. He’s one of the rare high school defensemen who might be as good off the ball as he is on it, and that’ll pay dividends as he tries to crack the Irish’s depth chart early.
