2026 Girls Player Commitments🥍🥍

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does matter what program you play for. College recruiting is an inexact science. The travel team matters a ton. Many of these kids play on the same “all star” or select teams. When playing next to each other…the Capital girls are great but similar to some of the best players from other programs. Colleges believe in a couple of these teams and it puts them at the front of the line on many of these lists. Yes Capital players are great. But they have commited 10 kids to too programs in a week. Thats not a coincidence.

Thanks Capital mom, don't hurt yourself. The reality is they aren't on the same plane and aren't all the same great. The hype machine is strong here.

There’s a key difference between the battling agendas here: unsupported claims of the Capital haters vs undisputed results of Capital’s recruiting machine. When Capital players go this early to these impressive schools, sorry to break it to ya: they are great players.

You missed it. The OP said "sure, they're great players" in a dismissive way. As in they're the same as everyone else. Could've easily said good and their point was the same. That it's Capital that got them where they are.

So that actually runs counter to coming to your conclusion.

Go Cap!(?)

As a capital orange parent I completely agree that many of these blue and orange girls are interchangeable. But please note that some of the blue girls that have already committed are elite.

I will add that the Capital brand amongst college coaches is 100000% a selling point. Is it more than M&D or Heros? I can’t be certain but the three of them are very good at what they do.

I am not sure why Capital gets so much hate on here about taking players etc. For the millionth time they were always a high school program. Just because other clubs now want to be is not their issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

Please make sure to come back in several years and let us know how it turned out for the 28s and 29s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are great schools and truly happy for all girls, but you cannot ignore that being full pay and not needing any $ is a key factor to going fast. Others who may have multiple offers are in the process of making family decisions about cost as well as fit and prestige.

I know some who really won’t or can’t consider the Ivy League. Yes, great financial aid if you qualify, but many threads across college boards talk about donut families in the middle. These are personal decisions, but with lacrosse or not, families with smart, capable kids pick schools for a variety of reasons including cost and overall family budget to educate their children. Some may “save” that money for law school or graduate school where the name of the school or program usually matters far more.

As someone else said - Speed doesn’t “win” here. For example, YJ Manning may have the strongest 26 crop of girls from a club with arguably the strongest reputation among colleges and only a few have committed so far. It is not for lack of choices I am sure.

DMV does not have exclusive claim to smart, lacrosse girls. That seems naive; and an Ivy commitment isn’t the “prize” for everyone. The Cap parent(s) comments (or whomever it is) on here that keeps saying this and has claimed CLC has won recruiting is silly. This is not to diminish the awesome schools those girls committed to - it is truly great when girls find their fit and commit to a dream school.

I’m puzzled by regular comments that suggest that kids that get into top academic schools for lacrosse go because they have money. Top lacrosse schools like Syracuse, Boston College and others are as expensive as the top academic schools (that are also too lax schools) like a Duke or Stanford or Hopkins. Maybe Ivys are a bit different but are girls playing lacrosse at Ivys really going with zero scholarship (I realize they can’t give athletic scholarships but they find way to give merit money).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does matter what program you play for. College recruiting is an inexact science. The travel team matters a ton. Many of these kids play on the same “all star” or select teams. When playing next to each other…the Capital girls are great but similar to some of the best players from other programs. Colleges believe in a couple of these teams and it puts them at the front of the line on many of these lists. Yes Capital players are great. But they have commited 10 kids to too programs in a week. Thats not a coincidence.

Thanks Capital mom, don't hurt yourself. The reality is they aren't on the same plane and aren't all the same great. The hype machine is strong here.

There’s a key difference between the battling agendas here: unsupported claims of the Capital haters vs undisputed results of Capital’s recruiting machine. When Capital players go this early to these impressive schools, sorry to break it to ya: they are great players.

You missed it. The OP said "sure, they're great players" in a dismissive way. As in they're the same as everyone else. Could've easily said good and their point was the same. That it's Capital that got them where they are.

So that actually runs counter to coming to your conclusion.

Go Cap!(?)

As a capital orange parent I completely agree that many of these blue and orange girls are interchangeable. But please note that some of the blue girls that have already committed are elite.

I will add that the Capital brand amongst college coaches is 100000% a selling point. Is it more than M&D or Heros? I can’t be certain but the three of them are very good at what they do.

I am not sure why Capital gets so much hate on here about taking players etc. For the millionth time they were always a high school program. Just because other clubs now want to be is not their issue.

[Anonymous]

^^^ since it's 100000%, can you explain what you think this means? how is the brand a selling point to college coaches, in your estimation?

[Anonymous]

Exactly- Ivys give no merit or athletic. You either qualify for aid or pay in full.

The others you cite are expensive but you can get athletic, some merit, some stack athletic and merit and there may be aid also. Depends on the school. However, if you don’t need $$ at all, it also doesn’t take from 12.5 scholarships the coach is trying allocate. It doesn’t take away from being a great player to get the offer, but makes it cleaner and more simple. The family also can decide fast because they are not waiting for more information on aid and looking/comparing net cost calculations to see if they can afford the school.

So saying - look Cap wins because the most Ivies fast - or high academic fast - ignores this piece.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

You'd be an idiot to turn down a spot on Capital Blue - unless it was to play for M&D or Hero's. I agree that Capital doesn't develop the players (scrapes talent is one way to put it), but they know what good looks like and if they are interested in your daughter you better 100% join the "cult" if the goal is to play for a college someone has heard of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are great schools and truly happy for all girls, but you cannot ignore that being full pay and not needing any $ is a key factor to going fast. Others who may have multiple offers are in the process of making family decisions about cost as well as fit and prestige.

I know some who really won’t or can’t consider the Ivy League. Yes, great financial aid if you qualify, but many threads across college boards talk about donut families in the middle. These are personal decisions, but with lacrosse or not, families with smart, capable kids pick schools for a variety of reasons including cost and overall family budget to educate their children. Some may “save” that money for law school or graduate school where the name of the school or program usually matters far more.

As someone else said - Speed doesn’t “win” here. For example, YJ Manning may have the strongest 26 crop of girls from a club with arguably the strongest reputation among colleges and only a few have committed so far. It is not for lack of choices I am sure.

DMV does not have exclusive claim to smart, lacrosse girls. That seems naive; and an Ivy commitment isn’t the “prize” for everyone. The Cap parent(s) comments (or whomever it is) on here that keeps saying this and has claimed CLC has won recruiting is silly. This is not to diminish the awesome schools those girls committed to - it is truly great when girls find their fit and commit to a dream school.

I’m puzzled by regular comments that suggest that kids that get into top academic schools for lacrosse go because they have money. Top lacrosse schools like Syracuse, Boston College and others are as expensive as the top academic schools (that are also too lax schools) like a Duke or Stanford or Hopkins. Maybe Ivys are a bit different but are girls playing lacrosse at Ivys really going with zero scholarship (I realize they can’t give athletic scholarships but they find way to give merit money).

What part is confusing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

You'd be an idiot to turn down a spot on Capital Blue - unless it was to play for M&D or Hero's. I agree that Capital doesn't develop the players (scrapes talent is one way to put it), but they know what good looks like and if they are interested in your daughter you better 100% join the "cult" if the goal is to play for a college someone has heard of.

I'd worry about coaching up the 28s before banging on the 29s. The fall may tell the tale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly- Ivys give no merit or athletic. You either qualify for aid or pay in full.

The others you cite are expensive but you can get athletic, some merit, some stack athletic and merit and there may be aid also. Depends on the school. However, if you don’t need $$ at all, it also doesn’t take from 12.5 scholarships the coach is trying allocate. It doesn’t take away from being a great player to get the offer, but makes it cleaner and more simple. The family also can decide fast because they are not waiting for more information on aid and looking/comparing net cost calculations to see if they can afford the school.

So saying - look Cap wins because the most Ivies fast - or high academic fast - ignores this piece.

A lot of this, but Syracuse is the only one that gives out any achievable merit. Hopkins' financial aid is now in line with many Ivies.

And all those non-Ivies do now have the prospect of keeping the 12.5 or expanding it. The SEC and Big Ten teams will be most likely to be expanding women's scholarships, or at least the most.
So that may be interesting to follow for the BCs, UNCs and Syracuses in the next 5 years. And maybe even the Vanderbilts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

Please make sure to come back in several years and let us know how it turned out for the 28s and 29s.

I'm sure you may find out well before then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

You'd be an idiot to turn down a spot on Capital Blue - unless it was to play for M&D or Hero's. I agree that Capital doesn't develop the players (scrapes talent is one way to put it), but they know what good looks like and if they are interested in your daughter you better 100% join the "cult" if the goal is to play for a college someone has heard of.

What about Orange? And are there girls who are misplaced on Orange and should be on Blue? Maybe they will leave Capital for another club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It does matter what program you play for. College recruiting is an inexact science. The travel team matters a ton. Many of these kids play on the same “all star” or select teams. When playing next to each other…the Capital girls are great but similar to some of the best players from other programs. Colleges believe in a couple of these teams and it puts them at the front of the line on many of these lists. Yes Capital players are great. But they have commited 10 kids to too programs in a week. Thats not a coincidence.

Thanks Capital mom, don't hurt yourself. The reality is they aren't on the same plane and aren't all the same great. The hype machine is strong here.

There’s a key difference between the battling agendas here: unsupported claims of the Capital haters vs undisputed results of Capital’s recruiting machine. When Capital players go this early to these impressive schools, sorry to break it to ya: they are great players.

You missed it. The OP said "sure, they're great players" in a dismissive way. As in they're the same as everyone else. Could've easily said good and their point was the same. That it's Capital that got them where they are.

So that actually runs counter to coming to your conclusion.

Go Cap!(?)

You make no sense. It's pretty simple: Capital players are great players, and Capital got them recruited to great schools. Period

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

You'd be an idiot to turn down a spot on Capital Blue - unless it was to play for M&D or Hero's. I agree that Capital doesn't develop the players (scrapes talent is one way to put it), but they know what good looks like and if they are interested in your daughter you better 100% join the "cult" if the goal is to play for a college someone has heard of.

What about Orange? And are there girls who are misplaced on Orange and should be on Blue? Maybe they will leave Capital for another club?

It's possible, but that sorts itself after freshman year during summer tryouts. If you're still on Orange during sophomore year, that's most likely the final destination unless you head to another club.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After watching all of this unfold for my daughter (2026) over the years, my observation is that the Capital Blue team is seen by college coaches as the top players in D.C. Frankly, because it is. These girls have already been vetted as the top players, so why go to a Pride, Cap Orange, Stars etc. until Capital Blue girls have all been signed? If girls on these teams were top players, they would be on Capital Blue. Unless colleges know they don't have a shot at this pool of players I wouldn't expect recruiting at other DMV clubs to really start until this group has been placed.

This might surprise you, but not every player decides jumping to the Cap cult is the way to go. And not every good player is identified in 8th grade. Also, not every club pushes their players to jump on the 1st offer that'll blow up in the first week of talking to coaches. So on the latter point, you may be correct.

That said, Cap has done a great job scraping talent away in 8th/rising 9th grade, and then claiming the recruits. Given how the 28s and 29s are playing out, the next couple years will be very interesting.

You'd be an idiot to turn down a spot on Capital Blue - unless it was to play for M&D or Hero's. I agree that Capital doesn't develop the players (scrapes talent is one way to put it), but they know what good looks like and if they are interested in your daughter you better 100% join the "cult" if the goal is to play for a college someone has heard of.

What about Orange? And are there girls who are misplaced on Orange and should be on Blue? Maybe they will leave Capital for another club?

It's possible, but that sorts itself after freshman year during summer tryouts. If you're still on Orange during sophomore year, that's most likely the final destination unless you head to another club.

Agreed. I'll add tie will go to the girl already on blue so an orange player needs to be clearly better.