High School Boys' Lacrosse Northeast Region Preview

The addition of teams rostering post-graduate players to the USA Lacrosse high school rankings makes the Northeast Boys' Top 10 even more competitive.

St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) tops it to start the year despite some heavy graduation losses. The Friars will try to stay ahead of loaded squads from Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) and Belmont Hill (Mass.). Salisbury (Conn.) and Taft (Conn.) also have deep squads that look like they can compete with anyone.

Then come usual powers Brunswick (Conn.) and Chaminade (N.Y.) from different angles. Brunswick graduated a ton, and Chaminade returns a lot. Deerfield (Mass.) can put plenty of firepower on the field, and Fairfield Prep (Conn.) and Darien (Conn.) return the sort of talent that anyone would want. 

Our Northeast rankings cover all of New England and New York. Rankings are compiled by USA Lacrosse writers with input from coaches around the country.

1. St. Anthony's (N.Y)
2024 record: 12-2

The Friars graduated their starting attack, two-thirds of their first midfield, three starting defensemen and a pair of goalies, all currently playing Division I lacrosse. But back for St. Anthony’s is Gary Merrill, an athletic force at midfield bound for UNC to play both lacrosse and football, a pair of beasts at LSM in Parker McDonald (UNC) and Ethan Bramoff (Virginia), as well as faceoff specialist Robbie Johnson (Penn State) and defenseman Michael Kelton (West Point). Danny Rooney (Maryland) could be poised for a breakout year.

2. Loomis Chaffee (Conn.)
2024 record: 16-2

The Pelicans return a ton of talent from last year’s squad, highlighted by attackman AJ Rodriguez (Georgetown), defenseman Nate Macpherson (Villanova), Liam O’Keefe (Harvard) in goal, attackman Jayden Rodriguez (Syracuse) and LSM Michael Brennan (Harvard), as well as attackman Milki Conway-Reppert (Dartmouth), who returns from injury. And when you add stud post-grads like Rowyn Nurry (Cornell), David Disque (Johns Hopkins), Cole Goodwillie (Harvard), Gray Tamasco (Richmond), and Hayden Cody (Georgetown), Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) is downright scary.

3. Belmont Hill (Mass.)
2024 record: 17-1

The Hillers are blessed with a strong returning attacking unit, featuring Preston Evans (Brown), who had 29 goals and 34 assists last year, Topher Batchelder, who moves from midfield to attack, and Virginia-bound midfielders Dylan Casillo and Lindan Verville, while Trey Clayton arrives from Acton Boxborough (Mass.), where he was an All-American last year and returning faceoff specialist Eli Friedman led the ISL with a 72% percentage at the X.

4. Salisbury (Conn.)
2024 record: 7-9

A deeper, more balanced Crimson Knights is poised for a big bounce-back season. Dashiell Lamitie (Johns Hopkins) is a three-year starter and one of the top goalies in the Class of 2025. Defensemen Caden Creech (Princeton) and Joe Florada (Ohio State) are coming off great summers, Connor Wambach (Duke) returns at the faceoff X, Parker Reynolds (Princeton) and Christopher Alexis (Maryland) bring experience to the midfield and there’s a wealth of stud attackmen, including Finley Watson (Ohio State) and Cam Kelley (Notre Dame).

5. Taft (Conn.)
2024 record: 12-6

Taft (Conn.) ticks all the boxes this year — team chemistry, personality, and, oh yeah, studs all over the field. They include returning midfielders Brendan Mullahy (Notre Dame) and Kaden Parsons (Michigan), Henry Hughes (Yale) on attack, faceoff specialist Russell Fitzgerald and Thomas Sheumack (Air Force), who will anchor the defense alongside Evan Freeman (Virginia) and Joe McBride (Michigan) from the Class of 2026. Midfielder Asher Ziv (Yale), John Fisher (Richmond), and Charlie Lowe (Bates) come in as impactful post-grads.

6. Brunswick (Conn.)
2024 record: 17-1

Ten Division I-bound seniors helped lead the Bruins to a second straight appearance in the Prep Nationals championship game, where they lost to Lawrenceville (N.J.) last year. They might not be as elite as in previous years. Still, there’s no such thing as rebuilding at Brunswick (Conn.), who will be led by faceoff specialist Aidan Diaz-Matos (Notre Dame), defenseman Tucker Spiess (Princeton)l midfielder Matt Coletta (UPenn), and attackman Lucas Garcia (Virginia).

7. Chaminade (N.Y.)
2024 record: 11-4

The Flyers were a young team that had some growing pains a year ago. This year, they return a ton of high-end talent from last year’s squad, including all three starting attackmen in Connor Kuttin (Johns Hopkins), James Gillis (Duke), and John Balsamo (Virginia), as well as midfielder Gavin Lynch (Notre Dame), faceoff specialist Quinn Ball (Penn) and defenders Lou D’Agostino (Syracuse) and Gavin Fitzpatrick (Johns Hopkins).

8. Deerfield (Mass.)
2024 record: 11-6

Deerfield should also be improved from last year, with post-grads Matt Johnson (Georgetown) and Brayden Lahey (Virginia) strengthening an attack that returns Sam Whitehurst (Boston University) and Cooper Brozek (Harvard) and Atticus Oliven (Michigan) helping strengthen a defense that also returns Connor Coutu (Marquette) and Grant Ramsey (Denver). Liam Appleton (Brown) arrives to join a midfield that includes Justin Tavares (Denver) and Billy Weller (Michigan).

9. Fairfield Prep (Conn.)
2024 record: 21-1

Timothy Shannehan, the USA Lacrosse Magazine Northeast Player of the Year, is gone from last year’s state championship squad. But everyone else on attack returns, including younger brother Luke Shannehan (Michigan), Nate Estrella (Air Force), Emmet Crotty (Colgate), as well as midfielders Finbar Malloy, a Rutgers commit who will PG at Hun School next year, and Theo Rudolph, who was on first midfield last year as a sophomore. Transfer Fynn Mulligan (Utah) should also provide a punch on attack.

10. Darien (Conn.)
2024 record: 16-7

The Blue Wave could end up being the best public school in Connecticut when the smoke clears. Mark McNamara (Penn State) anchors the defense, while his 6-foot-7 twin brother Connor will be a matchup nightmare in the midfield. Ben Bilodeau (Georgetown), Max McBride (Lafayette), and Ryan Thurlow (Villanova) are stud juniors in an explosive attack, George Persinger (St. Lawrence) is a crafty lefty who takes over in the cage and Jack Marisca (Loyola) brings toughness and athleticism as a SSDM/FO.