After a full month and a half of recruiting for the class of 2022, it's time to take stock of where things stand in the Big Ten. As a result of the NCAA's decision to give every college player an additional year of eligibility, commitments have come fast and furious for the 2022s. The ACC is a clear #1 as a conference, with the Ivy League right behind them.
Big Ten programs started slow, but there are still a ton of players left on the board. This is how the programs stand right now based on star rankings and a bit of my own evaluation, because why else would I post?
#1 Maryland
It's not close, either. Maryland has oodles of talent committed to the Terps' program. While I don't believe he's the best scheming coach in the conference, John Tillman has ALWAYS been an ace recruiter. There's absolutely no doubt about that, and it shows.
So much about college sports is bringing in talent, and Tillman does that with ease. With 3 5-star talents committed, Maryland currently has 100% of the 5-star commits in the B1G. That's not good for the rest of the conference.
AJ Larkin is an incredible defender ranked in the top 10. Will Schaller is another 5-star defender who will make the B1G that much harder to win. Brian Ruppel is a fantastic goalie, and helps put the Terrapins at the top of the heap defensively in this class right now. The entire list of commitments is outstanding, cementing Maryland's #1 status.
#2 Ohio State
This was a hard call just a few days ago, but a string of commitments vaulted the Buckeyes out of the middle of the pack. The biggest name currently on offense is John Maccarone, a reclassification to 2022 from 2021. A top 50 player in 2021, Maccarone's absolutely incredible, and should slot in quickly on the right side once he gets to Columbus. Cullen Brown, Jonny Cool, and Oran Gelinas are outstanding 4-star players as well, making this defensive class the core of the 2022 commits right now. Gavin Begonia is a bit of an enigma to me.
He is a better feeder than Jackson Reid right now as a lefty attackman, doesn't have quite as hard of a shot, but is really, really deceptive. His favorite move is to pull the ball into a right-handed goalie's offside shoulder, which is really difficult to save. Begonia lost his sophomore season, so 2021 will shed more light on his standing in the 2022 class. He is rated high by IL, but hasn't gotten any name recognition at all outside of a new lacrosse recruiting setup.
Tate Jones is an athletic stud, with some work to do on his dodging to make it in the Big Ten. Currently rated as a 3-star, I think two more years of polish will help him get to the 4-star level. Coleman Kraske is an up-and-coming faceoff man, but also doesn't have the hype of some of the players in this class. Overall, this is an incredible start, with probably 6 4-star recruits committed, and 1 3-star. And OSU isn't done.
#3 TTUN
At the end of September, the Wolverines were in a different stratosphere. Only the Buckeyes' late run in the month prevented TTUN from being in the #2 slot. They're pulling in serious talent, and only lag behind Maryland and OSU in this class currently because the depth isn't quite there. Underappreciated Canadian players like Finlay Thomson are how Ohio State got to a title game in 2017, and Coach Kevin Conry is going north of the border with more regularity.
The biggest problem for TTUN has been defense and faceoffs, both of which have been addressed spectacularly in 2022. A couple borderline top 100 poles have committed, and Jack Rideout is a top 100 FOGO who the Buckeyes were hard after. If the Wolverines start to put it together on the field, they may start making the B1G a multi-horse race.
#4 Johns Hopkins
Just barely behind TTUN, Johns Hopkins has better top-tier talent, but not the numbers. Matthew Collison is an absolute monster of a lefty middie who will do great things for the Jays. Charlie Iler and Jameson Smith, two more offensive middies, make this a fantastic haul.
Tripp Didden is a 4-star defender, and Mike Trepeta is another fantastic defender who will pair nicely with Didden. The Jays are solid, not spectacular with 4 4-star commits. The Jays always are flip candidates, though, so I imagine they will end up in the top 2 when the dust settles.
#5 Rutgers
Rutgers is because they have five players committed for 2022, way fewer than the top 4 teams. Brady Kurdyla is a 4-star legacy commitment, while Cardin Stoller is a 4-star goalie from Boys Latin in Maryland. The Scarlet Knights also have a commitment from 4-star LSM Ryan Splaine.
Rutgers will hover between #5 and #6 for the rest of the recruiting period, mostly because of numbers. To this point, their recruit quality is pretty much top-end for 2022, they just don't have the same number of commitments as other programs. Adding 6 transfers in 2021, most of them underclassmen, will crunch the roster.
#6 Penn State
The Nittany Lions are this low only because of their numbers and the fact that only one of their three commits is ranked. Penn State got a commitment early from Cam Sanderson, one of my favorite players in the class.
He would have rounded out Ohio State's offensive class extremely well, and he will suck to play against. Alex Ross is an extremely talented defender that Ohio State would have been lucky to get, and will help Penn State get to another Final Four. The Nittany Lions definitely won't end up last come signing day 2021.
These rankings are nothing more than a snapshot, so don't take them as set in stone. There will be ebbs and flows as players commit through 2022. I expect Ohio State to finish around 3 or 4, based on the players remaining and flip potential. A lot depends on how many players each Big Ten program plans to take. We'll revisit it come December or January, depending on movement in players.
Go Bucks!
