2025 IAC and WCAC Playoffs Results and Commentary

[Anonymous]

They use the stars as a filter and work their way down the list. Schools have 4 people working on recruiting and this is a major time saver. Players then shift up and down based on other factors like grades, physical size and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They use the stars as a filter and work their way down the list. Schools have 4 people working on recruiting and this is a major time saver. Players then shift up and down based on other factors like grades, physical size and so on.

One good example are 2 poles at SJC. One is a 3 star and the other a 4. The 3 star is already committed and plays on the field while the 4 is really good but won't play much this year. I suspect the 3 will shift up to a 4 at some point and the 4 will get a ton of looks but eventually shift to a lower tier than what one would normally consider a 4 star school.

[Anonymous]

How many of Prep's IL 3 stars, 4 stars, or 5 stars are boarders at Prep?

Where is the idiotic Homer who continues to preach that Prep doesn't use its boarding facility to recruit marquee athletes...

Prep is afraid to play with the big boys from the WCAC - its a fact.

[Anonymous]

Having gone through this process my observation is that college coaches value speed more than size and the IL evaluators are generally are the opposite.

Size and strength seem to give the biggest advantage the summer before junior year and also why the holdbacks are so highly rated by IL at that time.

My sons D1 head coach values speed and skill the most for his offensive players.

If your kid is both an early puberty and older during recruiting summer he will have a big advantage.

The following summer before senior year many of the highly rated 4/5 star kids come back down to earth and don't really stand out as much but at that point they have already committed so the damage is done

One thing I was told by several D1 coaches who watched the 26’s this summer is that many of the kids they recruited were no longer playing hard and that is something that does not bode well for them once they get to college.

Going into college when everyone is evening out size and strength wise, speed and skill dictates who actually plays at the next level because creating and shutting down separation quickly is paramount.

Of course All field sports are about creating and negating separation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of Prep's IL 3 stars, 4 stars, or 5 stars are boarders at Prep?

Where is the idiotic Homer who continues to preach that Prep doesn't use its boarding facility to recruit marquee athletes...

Prep is afraid to play with the big boys from the WCAC - its a fact.

Prep beat GZ and GC last year. Big boys of the WCAC is more hilarious than you seem to be aware. Maybe worry about seeing if you can win any OOC games next year, and try to contend for your league's title for the 1st time in awhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having gone through this process my observation is that college coaches value speed more than size and the IL evaluators are generally are the opposite.

Size and strength seem to give the biggest advantage the summer before junior year and also why the holdbacks are so highly rated by IL at that time.

My sons D1 head coach values speed and skill the most for his offensive players.

If your kid is both an early puberty and older during recruiting summer he will have a big advantage.

The following summer before senior year many of the highly rated 4/5 star kids come back down to earth and don't really stand out as much but at that point they have already committed so the damage is done

One thing I was told by several D1 coaches who watched the 26’s this summer is that many of the kids they recruited were no longer playing hard and that is something that does not bode well for them once they get to college.

Going into college when everyone is evening out size and strength wise, speed and skill dictates who actually plays at the next level because creating and shutting down separation quickly is paramount.

Of course All field sports are about creating and negating separation.

Interesting. I see the opposite and looking at the area stars, I think it works out. I can give a lot of specific examples but don't want to be flamed. If one takes a look at the stars by position, it's clear the midfield is far behind with the amount given when compared to the attack and lsm's. The midfield player is typically bigger than the attacks and don't get the glory of catch and shoot crease goals.

[Anonymous]

One of the things that will impact lots of recruiting moving forward with be portal (more so) and roster limits.

While, I firmly believe roster limits are a walking antitrust violation it is the current world these kids are living in. Add in the portal and many of the kids not quite at the top of the star rankings are going to see soft offers and communication - one of the reasons is that they'll be competing against 22-24 year old college kids for spots.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure but I was told by friend that the word on the street for softball is unless you are 5 star don't expect any offers on September 1st - maybe they'll start trickling in late fall. They were told that many schools will be looking at their current holes during fall practice and fill in via the portal - then they recruit for what they need 2 years down the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They use the stars as a filter and work their way down the list. Schools have 4 people working on recruiting and this is a major time saver. Players then shift up and down based on other factors like grades, physical size and so on.

You must be talking about lower D1, and D2/D3 schools, because these lists are just coming out now and D1 coaches have their own and will be hitting them hot and heavy in a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the things that will impact lots of recruiting moving forward with be portal (more so) and roster limits.

While, I firmly believe roster limits are a walking antitrust violation it is the current world these kids are living in. Add in the portal and many of the kids not quite at the top of the star rankings are going to see soft offers and communication - one of the reasons is that they'll be competing against 22-24 year old college kids for spots.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure but I was told by friend that the word on the street for softball is unless you are 5 star don't expect any offers on September 1st - maybe they'll start trickling in late fall. They were told that many schools will be looking at their current holes during fall practice and fill in via the portal - then they recruit for what they need 2 years down the road.

The portal was dry as a bone this year for lacrosse. Maybe softball's different, but it's not the landscape it was several years ago when covid year eligibility was rampant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They use the stars as a filter and work their way down the list. Schools have 4 people working on recruiting and this is a major time saver. Players then shift up and down based on other factors like grades, physical size and so on.

You must be talking about lower D1, and D2/D3 schools, because these lists are just coming out now and D1 coaches have their own and will be hitting them hot and heavy in a few days.

Inside actually has done podcasts where they talk with coaches of both higher and lower levels of D1 recruiting about how they put together their lists. Almost all of the coaches say they follow something like the following: at the end of the fall before the recruiting year the assistants start to put together initial lists of the kids they want to follow from what they’ve seen and film, etc. they receive. They then talk with club coaches and other people they know and add and revise the lists. Then in the summer of the recruiting lists they watch these players and others that come up on their radar over the summer in June and July. Then in August they talk to club coaches and finalize the lists of their targets. So the teams target lists are mostly done before these IL star rankings come out. There are outliers to this but the above is what most coaches do. Interestingly to me, the top schools list of players that they are focusing on is much smaller than you might think. Since UVA gets a fairly high percentage of players they offer, it’s a fairly small number of kids they are seriously considering in each class. Lars Tiffany said the number on the podcast and it was something like 30-50. He said other schools further down the rankings might have bigger lists since the yield is smaller, but the top team coaches have likely seen the players they are targeting multiple times and formed their own opinions before these star rankings come out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many of Prep's IL 3 stars, 4 stars, or 5 stars are boarders at Prep?

Where is the idiotic Homer who continues to preach that Prep doesn't use its boarding facility to recruit marquee athletes...

Prep is afraid to play with the big boys from the WCAC - its a fact.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They use the stars as a filter and work their way down the list. Schools have 4 people working on recruiting and this is a major time saver. Players then shift up and down based on other factors like grades, physical size and so on.

You must be talking about lower D1, and D2/D3 schools, because these lists are just coming out now and D1 coaches have their own and will be hitting them hot and heavy in a few days.

Inside actually has done podcasts where they talk with coaches of both higher and lower levels of D1 recruiting about how they put together their lists. Almost all of the coaches say they follow something like the following: at the end of the fall before the recruiting year the assistants start to put together initial lists of the kids they want to follow from what they’ve seen and film, etc. they receive. They then talk with club coaches and other people they know and add and revise the lists. Then in the summer of the recruiting lists they watch these players and others that come up on their radar over the summer in June and July. Then in August they talk to club coaches and finalize the lists of their targets. So the teams target lists are mostly done before these IL star rankings come out. There are outliers to this but the above is what most coaches do. Interestingly to me, the top schools list of players that they are focusing on is much smaller than you might think. Since UVA gets a fairly high percentage of players they offer, it’s a fairly small number of kids they are seriously considering in each class. Lars Tiffany said the number on the podcast and it was something like 30-50. He said other schools further down the rankings might have bigger lists since the yield is smaller, but the top team coaches have likely seen the players they are targeting multiple times and formed their own opinions before these star rankings come out.

+1
This is a very good point. I am not an expert like the PP seems to be, but I am sure that these coaches have their lists ready to go by now and are not waiting to see who gets stars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just looked at some of the ages of the 4 star players from IL My goodness you got some old kids!

Birthdays in June 07, Jan 08, March 08, Nov 07 to name a few on the list. And if any local kid goes up North to a prep school, book it he is a year back, at a minimum.

I guess…if you must in order to compete…

Facts. It is crazy, but reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just looked at some of the ages of the 4 star players from IL My goodness you got some old kids!

Birthdays in June 07, Jan 08, March 08, Nov 07 to name a few on the list. And if any local kid goes up North to a prep school, book it he is a year back, at a minimum.

I guess…if you must in order to compete…

Facts. It is crazy, but reality.

The last 3 are nothing beyond normal in lacrosse. probably 40-50% or more in the top 1/3 of division 1 are 1 year holdbacks. June 07 is more than a little nutz if it's anything but a PG.

[Anonymous]

Enough about the IL stars. Big players make big plays in big games.