Nick Crowley to Rutgers Lacrosse from Princeton via transfer portal?
- Thread starter mdk02
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Confirmed. He was their fourth defenseman, played on their down man unit. He will play immediately and is a versatile piece. Not sure he will make the impact our last Princeton transfer made, but he will make one assuming good health. They also wear the same number. Maybe we reserve that for our Princeton transfer every year lol.
We've now had numerous transfers from Ivy schools. Penn, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Good to know these guys are having positive experiences which brings in more players.
We've now had numerous transfers from Ivy schools. Penn, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Good to know these guys are having positive experiences which brings in more players.
Cali - is Cam Hitchcock expected back after apparently redshirting with injury this past season?
No, his lacrosse career has ended unfortunately. He was a tough loss. He was expected to play a big role this past season but health was an issue. Our depth really got tested across the board.
A history of both solid contributions when healthy and serious injury problems while at Dartmouth. Unfortunately it was the injury problems last marked last year. This year it's the same story with Hopper Zappitello. He's in the portal only because he graduates this year and the Ivies don't allow a 5th year based on injury.
What position does he play? Assuming he's the ex Maryland defenseman's brother? If he's that good he is going to have a lot of suitors.
Attack. Very good but not in his brother's class. Injuries in more than 1 season is the catch. Barely played in '26. An Ivy starter quality attackman who would be excellent depth, but I would not be counting on him to carry a team with his injury history.
Gotcha. I would think attack wouldn't be the first on the portal wish list unless it was someone like the BU kid who could slide right into the x spot. I heard he was considering transferring. You could then move Sommer up to midfield. I am sure a lot of teams will be trying to get that kid though. He's an instant starter on any team he goes to. He plays all over the offense though so you wouldn't necessarily have to move Sommer as he could play the left spot too. Would give options, but he's going to be a tough get. I think his brother plays at Michigan so I'm sure they are on the radar. He will be a wanted commodity though if he leaves BU.
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It's annoying that the other major conference Jersey team just won a NC, and we didn't even get in (again). How did Princeton become such a great team so quickly? Do Ivies have advantages?
Quickly? They’ve been stacking recruiting classes for awhile. They have an incredible history having won multiple NC in the past. As long as their administration is willing to play ball with admissions, they are going to win.
The Ivy advantage is though the game is spreading, there is still a lot of high end talent coming from NE prep schools and a few of those schools get a ton of those guys, Princeton being one. Two of our last 5 NCAA wins were against Ivy schools, Penn and Harvard though. Yale is one to watch moving forward too though. That team has a ton of young talent
Lot of prep talent coming out of NJ and PA schools as well. Both Hill and Lawrenceville are in Inside Lacrosse's Top 25 this year along with Haverford and some other Pa. private day schools.
Another factor is cost, with allegations triggered by the sour grapes on the FanLax board that all Ivy players get full rides under the table. Well there's been a major increase in aid in Ivy schools, but it is available to ALL students. Running through the list:
Princeton - Families making <250k tuition free, Under 100k full ride.
Harvard - <200k tuition free. Under 100k full ride.
Yale - <200k tuition free. Under 100k full ride
Dartmouth - <125k tuition free
Brown - <125k full ride
Cornell - <75k full ride
Penn - <75k full ride
Brecht was at the game - but yes, Chaminade FOGO RU commit did not play. No shot clock either so that absolutely killed Chaminade.
I may have missed it but what’s the deal with Radonis? Everyone was high on the kid as a stud physical athletic FOGO from Deerfield. Also, did RU miscalculate on Raniero?
I didn't realize Chaminade's FOGO was a RU commit. Would love to make inroads with that school. Was talking with a Chaminade dad who's son is a sr. Apparently this FOGO kid is very good. Team was very disappointed to get smoked by a team that was close in the national rankings (both top 10) but the starting FOGO was so good, the back up rarely played. Interesting about the shot clock. As a RU fan, we all know how important face offs are.
I was recently forwarded a usa lax magazine interview with the Adelphi coach. His best guy stayed after being offered $160K to transfer to Penn State. The Ivy kid Jago that transferred to ND got a bag.
most of the top lax schools in B1G and ACC have more than double the amount of scholarships that RU has. Those same schools are signing kids to 6-figure deals to sign on top of the full ride. I’ll defer to Cali or mdk02 to say how much RU has to give on top of a ride. RU has a massive hill to climb just to be on equal footing with their peer schools.
needless to say Brecht has a knife in a gun fight. For the cost of a men’s bball recruit, RU could be top 10 in lax…..if they choose to be
2 things. Yago is an Air Force grad taking an extra year, not Ivy. ND had Ivy 5th years play major roles in their prior tourney wins, however. And I'm no help on RU NIL payments. You'll have to look elsewhere
Probably Chaminade’s worst loss in a long time - it was a blood bath. RU needs to make inroads at Delbarton there are kids buried on the depth chart that will be future D1 players. Good to see Brecht at the game. Delbarton has 3 FOGOs committed to Cornell, Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins. Cornell FOGO moved to middie, and the other two are both over 70% playing a national schedule, including destroying Culver at the X going over 85%.
Definitely some gaming of that. At least at Princeton and Harvard. I can tell you that first hand.
He’s a stud. At least at the HS level. They play tough comp obviously. Outside of a can’t miss kid or two, fogo is the hardest position to project. We have another high potential fogo in the 27 class. Feel we are good position there in the coming years. Wouldn’t be shocked if we took a portal transfer this year to help bridge the gap. Scarelli was getting better and better as rhe year went on. He needs help though.
I’m not going to get into specifics but the challenges are very known and being addressed. They don’t have 2x our scholarships but they have a bunch more. It’s all led to guys we’ve had to play against while seeing them perform. But that’s changing. Next two years we will be closer but those schools will undoubtedly be fast tracking to the 48 limit. We need to do the same. NIL is a similar issue. As wrong as one of the posters above has been on the issues, make no mistake. It’s a money race in lacrosse now. Some of the money these kids are making and roster payrollls are getting crazy.
Not to get too far off topic, but Cornell is stockpiling FOGOs. One of the Cascadden brothers from Garden City was their starter this season (assume he is done) but his talented younger brother was a freshman. They have a Rockville Centre kid who is a sophomore who dominated in the NY state tournament in high school as they won a state title. So, they are adding a Delbarton stud now. I guess it is like QBs in football, the top programs add a top recruit every year and let things play out. Thanks for the info! Glad RU got a good one this year.
Based on multiple schools I followed this year you damned well better have at least two FOGO's ready to go, preferably three. Lose #1 to injury and #2 gets called for a FO violation you need #3 for the next faceoff.
Schools with the luxury of adding a top FOGO in every recruiting class have a huge advantage. It’s a physical position and match-ups matter. There are some teams carrying 5 now. Thats one position that can make or break a team.
Per IL, we have 3 commits so far:
Rutgers
Just my two cents as spectator, but all three look like instant starters or at least rotational players. Crowley at LSM/D, Lewis as a Dmid, and Moore on the attack. Moore has had 111 TO's his first two years (for comparison Kurdyla has had 66 in 3 years) but it may be an example of trying to do too much for a not great Bellarmine side.
Losses:
Not sure of the incoming freshman, who would be competing for instant PT. Just based on seniors and transfers out, I would imagine maybe grabbing another D starter, 2nd line midfielder, and potentially another D-Mid? I know Brecht likes to run a freshman out as a 2nd line D-Mid pretty regularly.
Rutgers
- Nick Crowley, LSM, Gr. from Princeton- Career: 35 GP, 1 assist, 31 GB, 19 CT
- Tatum Lewis, DM, Gr. from Vermont- Career: 31 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 26 GB
- Ezra Moore, A, So. from Bellarmine- Career- 33 GP, 54 G, 68 A (program record 43 in '26)
Just my two cents as spectator, but all three look like instant starters or at least rotational players. Crowley at LSM/D, Lewis as a Dmid, and Moore on the attack. Moore has had 111 TO's his first two years (for comparison Kurdyla has had 66 in 3 years) but it may be an example of trying to do too much for a not great Bellarmine side.
Losses:
- Shane Murphy, A, Gr.- 33 GP 19 G 14 A
- R.J. Radonis, FO, Fr.- No Stats
- Jordan Smikle, LSM, Gr.- 3 GP 1 GB
Not sure of the incoming freshman, who would be competing for instant PT. Just based on seniors and transfers out, I would imagine maybe grabbing another D starter, 2nd line midfielder, and potentially another D-Mid? I know Brecht likes to run a freshman out as a 2nd line D-Mid pretty regularly.
Anyone know the story on Radonis? It’s not like the FOGO room is stacked and Rainero’s transition from Drew did not appear to go as planned.
IL is reporting a 4th transfer, Cade Faulkner. A 2 time All-ASUN middie from Utah.
We are doing very well in the portal. We didn't get all the guys we wanted but close to it. All those guys are going to play serious roles on next year's squad. Moore will have to cut down on the turnovers but he will also be playing with better guys. His talents are what this team was desperately missing last year. A true x attacker who can distribute. With more NIL, I am convinced Brian can bet us back to the FF. It's really all that is needed.
Interesting class coming in with a ton of guys the coaches are excited about. Really the entire class has a lot of potential. Personally, the faceoff kid from Chaminade coming is one I'm interested in seeing given the position of need. We need to play more than one guy consistently. Declan Kurdyla isn't even ranked and he might be the best midfielder in the entire state. Not sure how doesn't see action somewhere. The kid is a beast. Legit 6'4" 200 and can run. Can't imagine guarding him from getting downhill in the years to come. Hopefully he gets acclimated quickly. Keegan Nash is another. Stretch shooter too.
One of the most interesting recruits to me is Mason Kelly. He was a late flip from Towson. Do it all x attackman with size, creativity, and very athletic and uses both hands equally. His high school comp wasn't NE preps but physically he already looks the part. Curious how that all translates to the next level.
Interesting class coming in with a ton of guys the coaches are excited about. Really the entire class has a lot of potential. Personally, the faceoff kid from Chaminade coming is one I'm interested in seeing given the position of need. We need to play more than one guy consistently. Declan Kurdyla isn't even ranked and he might be the best midfielder in the entire state. Not sure how doesn't see action somewhere. The kid is a beast. Legit 6'4" 200 and can run. Can't imagine guarding him from getting downhill in the years to come. Hopefully he gets acclimated quickly. Keegan Nash is another. Stretch shooter too.
One of the most interesting recruits to me is Mason Kelly. He was a late flip from Towson. Do it all x attackman with size, creativity, and very athletic and uses both hands equally. His high school comp wasn't NE preps but physically he already looks the part. Curious how that all translates to the next level.
Declan has 50 goals and 34 assists (84 points) in 19 games for Bridgewater-Raritan thus far. They're playing in a sectional semifinal starting in 10 minutes at Westfield.