
Both Sides Of The Coin – Part One: A List of Florida Kids On Division 1 NCAA Teams
This is part one to show the two sides of the recruiting coin for Florida bred lacrosse players. I have only included the IMG kids who are Florida raised as opposed to those who are from out of the state. These are from the current rosters and do not mean they are getting playing time. The list runs the gamut from seriously successful players . . . All Americans, Starters, Conference First Team players, etc., all the way down to roster players who never get on the field.
In the second article we are going to publish an editorial from Paul Davis, who takes the position of not allowing the recruiting process be too focused on the need to make a Division 1 choice. One thing I have noticed over the 5 years I have written here is that there has been a tendency to reach for some players to a Division 1 commitment when in the long run it would be wiser to go the D2 or D3 route. When we publish a commitment letter for a player we always make sure to never differentiate between someone committing to a D1 school versus the rest because I don’t want to embellish that type of decision.
Those who talk with me at a game or listen to a podcast when the subject comes up (like the Mike Loveday preseason podcast this year) know I very strongly believe that the player needs to pick the college that they want to go to if they never play lacrosse again. I will never waiver from that belief, no matter how big the sport becomes. The choice of the college a young man picks is the single most important decision they will make until they decide on a life partner. I have seen a number of kids over the 5 years that left their D1 school of choice before the season even started, so that tells me they didn’t focus enough on what was really important . . .
For those who are interested, I believe last year’s total was 44 across all the country. This year’s list was put together about a month ago so it might not be fully accurate if a few players have since left their roster or even left school this calendar year. In case anyone is wondering, I put the list together each year and send it off to Quint Kessenich for use on ESPN broadcasts. This list is now at 65 kids, a nearly FIFTY PERCENT increase in one year. That’s pretty good.
But one caution . . . I can GUARANTEE that some of these names will not be there next year. Because they did not get the experience overall they expected, among other reasons.
Here is the complete list of Florida-raised kids currently on D1 rosters:
Syracuse Sergio Salcido Winter Park
Georgetown Devon Lewis Lake Highland Prep
Boston Univeristy Sam Talkow Pine Crest
Boston University Jackson Colling Lake Highland Prep
High Point Terrell Sands St. Edwards
High Point Griff Caligiuri Lake Highland Prep
Delaware Don Eidson Lake Highland Prep
Delaware Jake Levine Saint Andrew’s
Mount St. Mary’s Stephano Mastro Tampa Jesuit
Towson JP Crowley St Thomas Aquinas
Duke Connor Alexander Jupiter
Duke Tripp Transou Maclay
Duke Teddy Transou Maclay
Hofstra Michael Diener Pine Crest
Cornell Grant Mahler Saint Andrew’s
Cornell Anthony Texeira Bolles
Manhattan Parker Giarratana Boca Raton
Manhattan Gian Noto Creekside
Manhattan Trevor Pelletier Gulliver Prep
Bryant Viper Scheele Jupiter
Bryant Jack Staab Jensen Beach
Denver Hunter Krout Barron Collier/Hotchkiss
Maryland Alex Tumminello St Thomas Aquinas
Maryland Jared Bernhardt Lake Brantley
Maryland Colin Hayek Oxbridge Academy
Furman Chase Hancock Bartram Trail
Furman Ty Randell Oak Hall
Furman Louie Yovino St. Thomas Aquinas
Furman Ben Yetman Jupiter Christian
Monmouth Dakota Dunmire Oviedo
Navy Hiram Carter Lake Brantley
Navy Julian Bonilla Creekside
Jacksonville Eric Applegate Ponte Vedra
Jacksonville Fernando Milanes St. Thomas Aquinas
Jacksonville Hayden La Vangie Fleming Island
Jacksonville Garrett Arnold Melbourne Cent Cath
Jacksonville Zach Crotty Jupiter
Jacksonville Granite Porcher Hagerty
Jacksonville Natron Curtis Brevard
Jacksonville Finn Swanson Buchholz
Jacksonville Will Indest Winter Park
Saint Joseph’s Mike Adler St. Thomas Aquinas
North Carolina Tim Gehlbach Lake Brantley
North Carolina Michael Nathan Barron Collier
Notre Dame Stephen Chase Maclay
Binghamton Dan Belline IMG via Miami
Albany Davis Diamond Saint Andrew’s
Marquette Anthony Courcelle Cypress Bay (redshirt)
Ohio State Colin O’Hare Benjamin School
Rutgers Jarett Alfaro American Heritage-Plantation
Rutgers Nick McCabe Boca Raton
Rutgers Charlie Nicklaus Benjamin School
Cleveland State Brandon Ruditz Boca Raton
Yale Jerry O’Connor Benjamin School
Army Peter Cox Jupiter
Army Miles Silva Ponte Vedra
Army Bennett Taylor HB Plant
Colgate Lewis Langford Maclay
Holy Cross Evan Kachris Bishop Moore
Air Force Daniel Pagano WT Dwyer
Air Force Logan Taucher Ponte Vedra
Air Force Chandler Coons Buchholz
Bellarmine Evan Kalish Hebron/Vero Beach
Bellarmine Max Smith IMG via Sarasota
Hampton Julian Edwards The First Academy