Dallas Jesuit (Texas) head coach Chris Surran says every player has an important role on his squad — from the senior captain all the way to the last player off the bench.

For attacker McAllister Hobbs, that role was to put the ball in the back of the cage — something he did frequently in 2022. Hobbs led Jesuit with 59 goals and contributed 31 ground balls and six assists.

Guiding Dallas Jesuit to a No. 1 ranking in the region and second straight state title, Hobbs is this year’s USA Lacrosse Magazine South Boys’ Player of the Year.

Hobbs’ progress at Jesuit was astounding. After scoring four goals in his freshman year and 10 goals in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Hobbs put the ball in the net 18 times in 2021. But it was his work in the offseason and shifting Hobbs from the midfield to the attack that led to his increased production, Surran said.

“I have coached McAllister since the fifth grade, and when he probably hit sixth or seventh grade, he made a concerted effort during our skills session in the offseason and on his own to work on his shooting mechanics,” Surran said. “We’ve never really had a harder worker in the program. He is at the facility every day, even right now, working on his game.”

Hobbs began playing lacrosse in the first grade after being introduced to the sport by a childhood friend’s father.

“I didn’t really know what it was, and his dad reached out to my parents and said, ‘This is something you should get Mac to try. This is something he would love and something he would be perfect at.’ So, he kind of introduced me to the sport, and I fell in love since,” Hobbs said.

Fortunately for Hobbs, he would end up at one of the handful of schools in Texas that offers lacrosse. Unlike the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast, finding opportunities to play lacrosse can be a challenge in Texas.

“Being from Texas, it’s very difficult to get recognition or get noticed,” Hobbs said. “There are a lot of programs that are up and coming. … It is building in Texas, which is a very good sign for the younger kids and the younger programs. But I think traveling up east during the summer into the heartland of lacrosse in Philly and Maryland and Pennsylvania, those tournaments in the summer really allowed me to meet all of these people, all these players, all these coaches and put myself out there for that recognition.”

Getting those opportunities to play outside of Texas helped Hobbs grow his game.

“You’re kind of seeing what they’re doing and how they’re able to be so successful and for me, I am a very visual learner, so I was able to see what they were doing,” Hobbs said.

When going up against top competition, Hobbs excelled. Facing defending Florida champ St. Andrew’s and Sean Jordan, one of the top defensive midfielders in the 2022 class, Hobbs scored six goals and added an assist. Two days later, Hobbs posted another six-goal effort, this time against St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), another one of the top teams in Florida.

“Going into the spring break, we were definitely the underdogs going into some of those games, St. Andrew’s and St. Thomas Aquinas, and I think it kind of pushed our team to be like, these are not going to be easy games,” Hobbs said. “I think that spring break trip was one of the most important times of the season. Everything seemed to click, we all gelled together, it was like one unit as a team rolling through just pass, pass, pass, goal.”

Hobbs also scored four times against national powerhouse St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Va.). While Jesuit had plenty of confidence going into the state tournament, Hobbs said his squad had some complacency going into the state championship game against rival Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas). After defeating ESD 11-5 in the regular season, Jesuit found itself down 10-7 in the final five minutes. Jesuit rallied with four goals to win, including the game-winner from Hobbs with 58 seconds left.

“I know I wasn’t able to find the net for a little while, but none of our teammates got down in that game,” he said. “We kept playing, and people stepped up.”

Hobbs is committed to Penn State and plans on majoring in biotech. He said he was attracted to Penn State because of its blue-collar approach. Surran is confident that Hobbs will continue putting in the effort at the next level.

“He is fully aware of the type of program coach Jeff Tambroni runs, and he is fully aware of what is going to be expected of him and he knows he is going to have to work extremely hard to have the opportunity to get on the field there,” he said. “He is not taking anything for granted, and as we sit here, he’s not eating the rat poison if he gets Player of the Year or whatever accolades he gets. He is just going to focus on getting better every day.”

FINAL SOUTH TOP 10

1. Dallas Jesuit (Texas), 14-2

The Rangers rallied to defeat Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas) 11-10 in the state title game May 8. Dallas Jesuit defended its 2021 title and earned the fourth crown in program history. Penn State recruit McAllister Hobbs led Dallas Jesuit with 59 goals while goalie Connor Knight had a .628 save percentage. Beckett Foley is expected to return after a 43-goal season. Previous: 1

2. St. Andrew’s (Fla.), 20-3

The Scots earned their second-straight state championship, topping Benjamin (Fla.) 9-7 on May 7. Junior Jack Schulte, an Air Force recruit, led the team with 60 goals and 53 assists. Senior Nick Golubov picked up 118 ground balls and won 63 percent of draws. St. Andrew’s will lose the services of Sean Jordan (Harvard) who is widely considered the best defensive midfielder in the country. Previous: 2

3. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), 16-3

The Raiders avenged their 2019 championship game loss to Ponte Vedra (Fla.) by defeating the Sharks 13-12 to win a state title. Senior Trace McDonald had a team-leading 76 points. St. Thomas Aquinas loses all seven players who were in double digits in goals this season. Previous: 3

4. Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas), 20-4

The Eagles gave up a three-goal lead to Dallas Jesuit (Texas), falling in the state championship 11-10 on May 8. ESD’s season was highlighted with multiple wins over Westlake (Texas), Lake Mary (Fla.) and Valor Christian (Colo.). ESD returns Sean Browne who is considered one of the region’s top 2024 prospects. Previous: 4

5. Lovett (Ga.), 23-0

It was a perfect season for the Lions. Lovett went from a losing campaign a year ago to a 23-0 season after defeating Westminster (Ga.) 14-7 on May 14 to claim a state title. Lovett’s biggest win of the regular season came against Lambert (Ga.). Lovett loses Utah commit William Overly and Denver’s Russell Overly this offseason. Previous: 5

6. Middle Creek (N.C.), 21-2

Tate Jones scored the game-winner giving the Mustangs a 9-8 win over Weddington (N.C.) in the state championship. Jones, an Ohio State commit, led Middle Creek with 92 goals. James Cardillo is Middle Creek’s top returning scorer after providing 50 goals. Carter Kryszak returns after picking up an impressive 169 ground balls. Previous: 6

7. Westlake (Texas), 13-4

The Chapperals closed out their season with a heartbreaking 13-12 overtime loss to Episcopal School of Dallas (Texas) in the semifinals. Westlake finished the season 13-2 against in-state competition, with both losses coming against ESD. Westlake will lose several key seniors, including Ethan Burke who is committed to Texas football and Michigan recruit Carter Barksdale. Previous: 7

8. Benjamin (Fla.), 18-4

After starting the season off with a loss to St. Andrew’s (Fla.), the Buccaneers were unable to get revenge against the Scots in the state championship on May 7. Benjamin’s season was highlighted by wins over St. Edward’s (Fla.) and Jupiter (Fla.). Tufts University recruit Jack Regnery led in scoring with 54 tallies while junior Brady Quinn had a team-leading 52 assists. Dylan Furshman is also slated to return after averaging over 10 ground balls per game. Previous: 8

9. Holly Springs (N.C.), 16-3

The Golden Hawks fell in the round of 16 to Middle Creek (N.C.) 17-7. Holly Springs’ only two in-state losses were against the Mustangs. Holly Springs was led by Wade Watson, who scored 56 goals during the season. Holly Springs will lose five of its top six goal scorers, but returns James Legg following a 45-goal campaign. Previous: 9

10. Plant (Fla.), 18-3

The Panthers’ season ended in the state semifinals in back-to-back seasons with a 12-10 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Plant has yet to win a state title. Junior Turner Ashby, an Air Force recruit, had a team-leading 45 goals and 34 assists. Previous: 10