Check out Episode 2 of the NLF Insider podcast, featuring NLF No. 7 ’23 Tomas Delgado (Brunswick, Conn. / Prime Time / Duke) and NLF No. 39 Shawn Lyght (Seton Hall Prep, N.J. / Leading Edge / Notre Dame) at the banner above.
The NLF team rankings are back!
Rankings are never a perfect science. Teams play at different events, players miss some tournaments due to a long list of reasons, etc. The NLF rankings are compiled by a computer with the use of scores loaded to Tourney Machine. There is a heavy emphasis on playing high-quality opponents, something that separates our rankings from everyone else’s.
The event that carries the most weight in the rankings is the NLF National Championships. Considered to be the top event in the country by a healthy margin, the National Championships are THE toughest event to win. When you win this event, you know you’ve made it through an absolute gauntlet littered with the very best teams in the country. Couple that with more than 300 college coaches attending, and there’s no doubt that it’s the top event in the land.
That, combined with a handful of other elite events, helped formulate these rankings. Without further ado, here’s a breakdown of the top 10 teams, with rankings 1-20 included in this story. Younger graduation years will be featured in the coming weeks.
BY GEOFF SHANNON
No. 1 Team 91 Maryland
The rings are racking up early for Team 91 Maryland’s vaunted 2025 group.
Over the last 12 months this squad, composed of some of the top players from the Mid-Atlantic region, is a combined 47-0. They took home two titles in fall events last year and then rode that momentum into a monster run going undefeated through brackets at HoCo Spring League, Crab Feast and Millon Event Summer Invitationals.
Team 91 Maryland topped their incredible summer with a 7-4 win over Laxachusetts at the NLF National Championships, competing in a tough grind featuring the nation’s toughest ‘25 players. Over the summer they’ve also battled top programs including Long Island Express, MadLax, Eclipse, Sweetlax Upstate, Next Level and DC Express.
What’s made this particular crew so special? It starts with coach Mark Millon, one of the all-time great players, providing guidance. That expertise trickles down to the talent.
“It’s just an amazing group,” Millon said. “They have talent, high IQ, high compete level, they’re disciplined. The kids love each other and are very close.”
Though Team 91’s roster goes deep, there’s a core group that have provided the leadership during this team’s current dominant run.
“These guys are super talented,” says Millon. “They’re vocal leaders and the hard workers who lead by example.”
Balance Is Key
The group starts at attack, where Millon’s son, Brendan Millon (McDonogh, Md.) dominates. The younger brother of NLFRankings.com No. 1 ’23 recruit McCabe Millon, he’s a rangy presence working behind the cage and on topside, able to drive to the cage with purpose and shoot from multiple angles. Attackman Peyton Forte (Calvert Hall, Md.) is a talented lefty shooter who is capable of driving the cage or ripping a powerful shot off the feed.
Team 91 leadership also includes talented midfield trio Griff Meyer, Eli Schaller and Luke Bair. Meyer (Haverford School, Pa.) is the team’s top face-off midfielder, a physical presence in the middle of the field who can also initiate offense. The younger brother of NLF No. 5 ’22 Will Schaller (Maryland), Schaller (Hill School, Pa.) can feed or shoot from topside with skill. Bair, whose older brother Jake is a ’22 Marquette commit, has a knack for finding space in the middle of the defense and capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
Goalie Aidan Seibel (McDonogh, Md.) is an athletic stopper who has great snap to the ball on shots. He’s a righty who’s able to reach across his body and make long reach saves.
Depth Leads the Way to Undefeated Season
While the team’s leadership provides a quality baseline, there’s also a long list of hustle guys who add to the program’s depth and provide the edge during tournament runs.
Attackman Jack Iannantuono (St. Paul’s) has proven himself as the team’s smart righty option. He’s another guy who can take it behind and drop it or work with the midfield and rip it. Midfielder Bogue Hahn (McDonogh, Md.) adds another strong player to the midfield.
Defensemen Bo Popham (Delbarton, N.J.) and Harrison Schline (Gilman, Md.) provide high IQ and physicality on defense helping Seibel.
“It’s incredible,” Brendan Millon said after the team’s win at UMass. “There’s so much talent on this team. We all love each other. We just really play together. That’s our main goal. (Winning at UMass) is definitely on top (of championships won by 91 Maryland) because there are so many good teams. We got a pretty tough draw and we played a lot of good teams, and we just fought.”
No. 2 Laxachusetts
When you break out a 26-2 run, people notice, and Laxachusetts definitely turned heads over the summer.
LXC 2025 finished undefeated at both the NLF Main Event, winning the title game in overtime on an picturesque low-to-high top-shelf rocket from Tuck Gilbane (Noble and Greenough, Mass.), and Long Island Express Express Tri-Lax Event this summer, going a combined 10-0. They also fought to the semifinals at Prime Time Summer Invitational and earned a spot in the title game at NLF National Championships.
Total Buy-In
It was a complete team effort for Laxachusetts, with leadership roles changing from game to game.
“The boys played for each other,” LXC coach Dan Chouinard said. “They are a very close group and have been together for a long time. They are all very close friends and they all play very unselfishly. They’re hard working and tough, and love to grind.”
The offense starts with midfielder Willy Robinson (Scituate, Mass.). He’s the team’s best ground ball and transition guy, sprinting hard and fighting for every possession. Linden Verville (Belmont Hill, Mass.) is the team’s old school two-way midfielder. Not only was he one of the team’s top middies but he also locked down opponents top midfielders running on defense.
Midfielders David Hahm and Chase Couture were the team’s thunder and lightning on face-offs. They’re both gritty players who could spark the team in crucial moments.
Goalies Chandler McClements (St. Sebastian’s, Mass.) and Ethan Train (Noble and Greenough, Mass.) were both stellar between the pipes. McClements made a tremendous amount of one-on-one saves, while Ethan has quick hands and creates transition with lightning quick outlets off of saves.
“They have very different styles and were one of the big reasons we have so much success as a team,” says Chouinard. 
No. 3 Team 91 Long Island Shock
It’s been a meteoric rise for Team 91 Long Island Shock over the course of the past three seasons, particularly so in the past year and a half.
While the Shock was always considered a solid team, but there was plenty of untapped potential, especially with the sky-high expectations of carrying on the tradition of the extremely strong Team 91 program.
It was this year that the pieces finally started falling into place, but it was years in the making. The transformation started when former pros Jimmy Mulé, Brian O’Keefe and Ross Turrini took over the team. The trio had worked together with 91’s 2019 Orange team to great success. All three have sons who play or played at the Division I level in Cameron (Duke) and Christian Mulé (Lehigh), Penn State record holder and PLL champion Mac O’Keefe and Nick Turrini (Lehigh). Mulé is a former MLL Coach of the Year, O’Keefe is an accomplished box lacrosse coach and Turrini coached at Army for a spell.
That staff helped kickstart the Shock, and did so in style this summer. The team won the World Series of Youth Lacrosse, reached the NLF Opening Weekend championship game and reached the semifinals at NAL.
“Three seasons ago, we took over the team and the World Series was one of the goals,” Mulé said. “Our players really committed to the staff and their dedication to our 91 winter training was incredible. The turnaround has been there and it’s because the kids have worked so hard to continually get better.”
World Series Champions
Kimo Kouletsis (The Woodlands, Texas) was the team’s top scorer at the World Series. The slick lefty does a little bit of everything and doesn’t need much room to get his hands free and score. James Pagano (Commack, N.Y.) is another gifted scorer who buried the overtime winner against MadLax at the WSYL.
Mulé’s group, however, is probably at its strongest in the midfield. Gary Merrill (St. Anthony’s, N.Y.) and Anthony Raio (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y.) are a pair of super athletic six-foot middies. Hunter Kimball (Chaminade, N.Y.) isn’t nearly as big as the other two, but he’s exceptionally shifty, versatile and tough. Alex Bauer (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) rounds out that very strong midfield group.
Defensively, Parker McDonald (St. Anthony’s, N.Y.) and Jojo Filardi (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y.) project as big-time recruits. The pair alternates on faceoff wings and both can make a monumental impact, both in coverage and off the ground.
Rounding Out The Top 10
No. 4 BBL
No. 5 Eclipse
No. 6 MadLax
