Brunswick (Conn.) No. 1 in Northeast Region Boys' Top 10

Brunswick (Conn.) tops the first Northeast Region Boys’ Top 10 of the 2023 spring season.

With each region beginning play in different weeks — the South and West start before the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Northeast get underway — our high school contributors will provide in-season updates in each active region prior to the first National Top 25 update.

The West and Mid-Atlantic previews were unveiled the week of March 13, and watch for the Midwest preview on Thursday, March 23. USA Lacrosse Magazine will also release 25 players to watch for both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse on March 23.

The first National Top 25 update comes March 28. From there, rankings will be updated each Tuesday throughout the spring.

USA Lacrosse Magazine contributors consult with high school coaches across the country to develop the Nike/USA Lacrosse National Top 25 and Regional Top 10 rankings for boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. These rankings do not include schools that admit post-graduate students.

Nike/USA Lacrosse High School Rankings

National Boys' Top 25 | National Girls' Top 25
Northeast Boys' Top 10 | Northeast Girls' Top 10
Mid-Atlantic Boys' Top 10 | Mid-Atlantic Girls' Top 10
South Boys' Top 10 | South Girls' Top 10
Midwest Boys' Top 10 | Midwest Girls' Top 10
West Boys' Top 10 | West Girls' Top 10

1. Brunswick (Conn.)

Brunswick (Conn.) has arguably the most impressive, and highly rated, collection of players on the same team in the nation this spring. It starts with senior midfielder Leo Hoffman (Penn) and continues with fellow seniors Tomas Delgado (Duke) in the midfield and Hunter Spiess (Princeton) on defense. That’s three of the top 13 rated players in the Class of 2023 by Inside Lacrosse. And the ‘24s, including midfielder Hudson Hausmann (Brown), midfielder Payton Anderson (Syracuse) and defender Luke Hublitz (Virginia) are no joke.

2. St. Anthony’s (N.Y.)

Yes, Michael Leo was instrumental in St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) CHSAA title run a year ago and is now part of that terrific freshman class at Syracuse, but the strength of that Friars team last year was a bevy of talented juniors. Leading the way is attackman Owen Duffy (UNC) and the entire first midfield, highlighted by Jack Ponzio (Navy), returning defenders Jaeden Jenkins (Penn State) and Kevin Kearns (Michigan) as well as goalie Tommy Snyder (Virginia).

3. Chaminade (N.Y.)

Chaminade is hoping to end St Anthony’s three-year reign this spring. Charles Balsamo, now a productive freshman at Duke, is impossible to replace, but Chaminade is never in rebuild mode. The attack is paced by uber athletic Gavin Creo (Richmond) and lanky and tough midfielder Ryan Landolphi (Navy), Quinn Ball, who was the first freshman to ever play varsity last year, is the faceoff specialist, junior Ben Fox (UNC) and Owen Murphy (Lehigh) are excellent long poles and PJ Verdi (Johns Hopkins) returns in the cage for Jack Moran’s 44th season at the helm in Mineola.

4. Manhasset (N.Y.)

Manhasset (N.Y.) was one of New York State’s title towns last spring with both the boys and girls teams winning state championships. Can the Indians repeat? Joey Terenzi (Virginia) will be sorely missed, but the Indians have a game-changer in faceoff specialist Cal Girard (Duke), a legacy guy on attack in Liam Connor, an athletic, tough cover midfielder in Jack Petersen (Harvard) and a terrific DM in James Lapina (BU).

5. Darien (Conn.)

The Blue Wave had just three losses a year ago, but one came in the CIAC Class L final, a stunning 12-3 defeat to Staples. That defeat will surely resonate in the preseason and beyond for a Darien (Conn.) team that should again be a title contender. Brady Pokorny, a hard-dodging lefty ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2024 by Inside Lacrosse, is a Notre Dame commit and will be the face of the franchise this spring. Jake Wilson (Loyola), a running back on the school’s football team, should anchor the defense.

6. Garden City (N.Y.)

Another defending New York State champion, Garden City should again be considered a favorite to lift the hardware at Hofstra at the season’s close. A big reason for that is a stacked returning squad highlighted by versatile attacking threat Stevie Finnell (Duke) and midfielder Jack Archer (Lehigh). But the strength of this squad is arguably on the other side of the ball, a stout and athletic defense including defenders Cole Webber (Virginia) and Tristan Mullahey (Navy) and goalies Patrick Blum (Lafayette) and Denis Fargione (Villanova).

7. Baldwinsville (N.Y.)

Baldwinsville is coming off a dream 2022 season, when they finished 19-1 and captured a first-ever New York State Class A title to become New York State’s other title town last spring. Can they do it again in 2023? The Bees will surely be in the mix, thanks to returning USA Lacrosse All-American Keegan Lynch, who along with midfielder Carson Dyl, have committed to Fairfield. Baldwinsville also has a stud LSM in Brayden Penafeather-Stevenson (Richmond) and a Siena-bound junior defender in Anthony Nicolucci.

8. Northport (N.Y.)

Want to talk stud LSMs? There might not be any in the country more fun to watch than Andrew Miller (Army), a ridiculous athlete who scored 18 goals last year, mostly off turnovers and ground balls. He’s joined by three Division I commits on defense in Jonathan Alfiero (High Point), Nick Valenti (Siena) and Nick Tzimas (Jacksonville), and sophomore Dylan Baumgarth will look to fill the large shoes of a dominant faceoff specialist in Tyler Kuprianchik (Penn State).

9. Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.)

Is it time for Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.) to take over the helm as Suffolk Class C champions from rival Mt. Sinai (N.Y.)? Mike Taylor’s squad was young a year ago, but they’re absolutely loaded, especially offensively. SWR is led by junior Liam Kershis (Duke), who Taylor calls a combination of alums Chris Gray and Xavier Arline, midfielder Liam Gregorek (Navy) and older brother Alec Gregorek (Navy), a starting attackman since the 8th grade.

10. Mount Sinai (N.Y.)

No, we’re not sleeping on Mt. Sinai, not in the least. Obviously Joey Spallina is no longer the face of the franchise, currently playing at Syracuse with Dylan Sageder, who was a beast of an LSM. Lucas Laforge (Michigan), a sensational lefty attackman, had 53 goals and 13 assists a year ago. He’s joined on attack by Cole Marsala (Quinnipiac), while Jake Spallina, midfielder/FO, and twin Brett Spallina, a defender will take an advanced roles this year before joining Joey in the Dome.

Also considered: Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.), Fairfield Prep (Conn.), Massapequa (N.Y.), Staples (Conn.)