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NLF Class of 2025 Rankings
Brendan Millon maintains No. 1 spot
Gary Merrill, Jackson Maher headline 2-10 group
Cam Kelley, Wyatt Bowman highlight 11-20 grouping
Matt Triolo, Miguel Iglesias, Brendan Mullahy spearhead 21-30
Dash Lamitie, Aidan-Diaz Matos, Gavin Lynch set the standard for 31-40
41. Jake Bickel, attack/midfield, Malvern Prep (Pa.) / Team Ten ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s a lot to like about Bickel, particularly when projecting him as a college prospect. At 6-2, 165, he’s got a great frame that will allow him to prosper in a collegiate weight room. Before he gets there, though, he’s going to do a lot of damage from all over the offensive end. He ran midfield for the Friars this spring, emerging as a pretty consistent offensive threat to the tune of 15 goals and 12 assists.
On a team without NLF No. 4 ’25 Michael Ortlieb, he’d be a very good X attackman who could orchestrate the Friars’ offense. His versatility, size and athleticism set him apart from a lot of his peers. Bickel does a ton of damage from X and does a great job of using his vision to spot open teammates.
42. Russ Fitzgerald, faceoff midfield, Taft (Conn.) / Prime Time – Princeton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You won’t find a 2025 that had a better spring season against high-end competition than Fitzgerald. The Philly native, who committed to Princeton on Sunday, is battle-tested. He won 58.2 percent of his faceoffs in the Founders’ League, no small feat for any sophomore, let alone one who isn’t a reclass. Fitzgerald has excellent technique and a good array of counters. That, coupled with the fact that the Maverik Showtime All-Star is clearly no stranger to the weight room, make him one of the highest-floor faceoff guys in the class to go along with an excellent upside.
43. Grady Taylor, midfield, Holderness (N.H.) / 4Leaf – Cornell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first post 9.1 class of 2025 commit in the country, the 6-1, 195-pound high-IQ midfielder was a hot commodity with his size, speed and athleticism. He’s shown excellent shooting range and is a threat to score with either hand. Taylor, who helped Holderness rack up a perfect 17-0 mark this spring thanks to 21 goals and 16 assists, is also an accomplished box player. He was high on a lot of high-academic schools’ boards before quickly verballing to the Big Red.
44. Bryce Lyden, defense, New Canaan (Conn.) / Eclipse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of the class’ best lefties on the back end, Lyden certainly looks the part at about 6-3, 205 pounds. He led an incredibly aggressive and stifling Eclipse defense to a CrabFeast championship. It seemed like nobody wanted anything to do with him at that event. If you let Lyden get his hands on you, you’re done for. He can simply blanket opposing attackmen. Both a starter on defense and nearly a point per game hockey player for New Canaan as a sophomore, Lyden can slot into a high-end defense as a very solid No. 2 option.
45. Matty McKane, goalie, Marin Academy (Calif.) / ADVNC / West Coast Starz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s just something different about a team when McKane is in the cage.
“The attitude of the defense in front of him is just different when he’s in there,” West Coast Starz director Jono Zissi said. “He’s got the fastest hands of any goalie in our program since (Virginia starter and 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year) Matt Nunes. Matty’s a difference maker.”
“Matty’s been a starter since his freshman year and he’s as safe a bet a goalie as there is,” ADVNC director and Virginia Tewaaraton winner Chris Rotelli said. “He’s great at everything. He saves everything that he’s supposed to and maybe 30 percent of the ones he’s not supposed to. I think he had one bad half all summer, which speaks to his consistency.”
A high-academic student, McKane is likely to end up in the ACC.
46. Patrick Kelley, defense, Georgetown Prep (Md.) / Annapolis Hawks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kelley broke into the Georgetown Prep starting lineup as a sophomore, an incredibly difficult task on a top-5 team in the country. A 6-3, 210-pounder, he has significantly improved his footwork over the past year to 18 months. Kelley garnered rave reviews for his leadership, presence and willingness to cover top attackmen. He also just turned 16, making him one of the youngest elite players in the class, and his potential is sky-high as a result.
47. Ollie Nolting, midfield, Cherry Creek (Colo.) / 3d Colorado / West Coast Starz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nolting has as good a claim as anyone to be the best passing midfielder in the class. The youngest All-American in Colorado state history and a first-team all-state pick as a sophomore, Nolting’s an athletic mismatch with a very high IQ and good quickness. Nolting handed out 49 assists and tallied 24 times as a sophomore, a nod to that elite feeding ability from up top. His bounce is high-end and allows him to play a slashing style from up top.
48. John Rodehorst, LSM, La Salle (R.I.) / 3d New England ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s hard not to love Rodehorst’s gamechanging ability and his compete level. He doesn’t have an off switch and he throws checks to hurt people. Rodehorst just goes hard all the time and has a penchant for making plays in the middle of the field. He’s perfect for the LSM spot with how he can take the ball away in space and go in transition. At 6-1, 170, the Showtime and Main Stage All-Star has good enough size and he certainly won’t shy away from any matchup.
49. Oliver Skeean, LSM, Walton (Ga.) / Thunder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Like Rodehorst, Skeean is exceptionally gifted at making plays in space. As a freshman, he scored 30 goals as a short-stick for Walton. As a sophomore, he earned All-American honors as a pole. He just finds ways to positively impact the game. Skeean isn’t overly big but plays a very tenacious, aggressive and opportunistic game. A standout for the South team at Nike Nationals, Skeean has tremendous stickwork and is an asset on the faceoff wings.
50. Billy Henderson, defense / LSM, Springfield (Pa.) / Duke’s – Penn State ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Henderson is a versatile chess piece who moves around to cover other teams’ best scoring option. He earned All-Central League honors at LSM as a sophomore, but he spent some games down low blanketing opponents’ top attackmen. Henderson continues to Springfield-to-Penn State pipeline, joining the likes of Greg Gurenlian, Drew Adams, Austin Kaut and most recently Ryan O’Connor, a 2022 four-star LSM who played in all 16 games as a freshman for Penn State’s Final Four team, in State College.
“Billy plays with an edge and we really like what we got out of him this year,” Springfield coach Tom Lemieux said. “He’s made of all the right stuff. We’re excited to see him continue to develop into one of the best defensive players in Philly for the next two years.”
