We have arrived. After months of little to no real news aside from transfer pickups, a new recruiting season is upon us. For the next month, commitments will come hot and heavy, to all teams. We have 76 DI programs looking to fill rosters with the top talent possible. COVID holdovers have officially dried up. And that means this class is going to be a wild one to see be recruited.

Maryland, Notre Dame, and Denver will be back in the mix for HS recruits, as the transfers which flooded those rosters have now evaporated. Add to that Rutgers trying to maintain relevance, and you have a whole lot more sharks in the recruiting waters this cycle. There are a ton of players on the recruiting board I put together, and evaluations on Inside Lacrosse. I won't bother trying to do a magazine's job and give thoughts on all players.

I will highlight what I expect to happen, and name a few guys who I think COULD commit to the Buckeyes. Let's have fun.

9/1

Last year, one of Ohio State's highest rated 2023s was the first player to commit on September 1st, 2021. Aiden Bodonyi pulled the trigger early for the 2023 class, and will sign this fall.

Personally, I don't think that guy exists for the Buckeyes this year. There's not a player that the Buckeyes have an extensive history with who won't have a million contacts come midnight.

The M.O. for Ohio State is to fill up early, so I expect lots of booms during September. Lots to follow as we move into the new year.

The Big Boys

Like every other program, Ohio State is going after the top players in this year's class. FOGO is definitely an area of need, and the Buckeyes are going to be hard after Ben McCarthy from Haverford in PA. He is probably the best FOGO in the class.

Matthew Jeffrey of Chesire (CT) is the number one midfielder in the country, and will be hotly pursued by every program in the country. He is also the composite#1 overall recruit, if such a thing were to exist. The Buckeyes will shoot their shot with everyone else.

Spencer Ford is a highly rated attackman out of Boys' Latin in MD. Travis Crane has a GREAT history of pulling players out of the Lakers' program, and could have the best of the bunch if he can land Ford. That would be a bigger get than Tre Leclaire, rankings-wise, though it's tough to say how that would translate to the Big Ten right now. Word is that he's sticking close to home, though, with Navy and Maryland in the lead.

Kyle Colsey from Ridgefield (CT), Pete Laake from Loyola Blakefield (MD), and Seane Brown from Episcopal School of Dallas (TX) are just a sprinkling of names to look for as the new year approaches. Each of these is rated as a 5-star by multiple services. It's going to be a battle for each school to really land their next group of guys.

Who Commits?

The million dollar question, with no really clear answers in sight. Bodonyi and Cayden Christopher were pretty obvious Buckeye leans last year, at least once Ohio State got serious about recruiting Christopher. After that, however, it was a mystery until the trigger was pulled for most of the 2023s. I will lay out some options, and make predictions at the end.

Possibilities

That covers pretty much everyone at this point. Recruiting is going to move fast this year, I believe, and it won't be anything but a madhouse. Having said that, I think the in-state class is VERY strong, and there are some out of state gems the Buckeyes could be in a position to land.

The Ohio Group

This year, there's a plethora of talent to comb through, in state and out of state. That said, I think that quite a few Ohio-based players could be in the ranks come next November.

Western Reserve Academy, helmed by Dylan Sheridan (former Ohio State OC) has potentially FIVE different players the Buckeyes could add to their ranks. Tyler Coryea (G), Jared Maznik (A/M), Josh Schlackman (M), Ryder Lewis (M) and Rocco Laperna (A) are all on Ohio State's radar for the 2024 class. Not all will probably don the Scarlet and Gray, but I feel confident that more than one will.

Ian Ludewig of Hudson is a midfielder who is also tearing it up on the gridiron this fall. He will be a force in college, and has to get a long look from the Bucks.

Tommy Janowicz (A) was a MAJOR force for the state champion Upper Arlington Golden Bears in 2022, and he will be a focus of the 2024 class, I have no doubt.

I have said before, if the Buckeyes can put a fence around Ohio, they will be sitting pretty. This year is no different. We will see if there is much progress in 2024 on keeping in-state players home.

This wouldn't be a way to make a fool of myself if I didn't.

Out Of State

This section is a bit murky, as there are so many top-tier targets the Buckeyes are in on that it's going to be difficult to point to players that really want to be at Ohio State. A few are more likely than others, though, so I will list them here.

Tyler Olsen is an all-around midfielder from Colorado who transferred to Trinity-Pawling in New York after reclassifying to the 2024 class. Olsen has been a Buckeye target for a long time, and would probably be a very solid get. Olsen may lean more towards SSDM in college, but we will see. IF there's a guy who commits tomorrow, this would be my choice.

Anthony Panetti is a midfielder from Landon in DC, and he's a big problem in high school. Panetti is a borderline 5-star for at least one service, and the Buckeyes have had success with Landon specifically, and DC in general. I doubt he is a quick commitment if he goes Scarlet and Gray, but Panetti is definitely one to watch.

Jewel Walker is a midfielder at Bullis in MD, and would be an incredible get for the Buckeyes. Walker is a stud with the ball in his stick, and can really take a beating on his way to the cage. At 6'3", over 200 pounds, Walker is physically close to ready for Big Ten lacrosse right now. Have to imagine it would be a battle for a long time for Walker, but he is another to keep tabs on.

Peyton Booth is an attackman at St. Anne's Belfield in VA, and would be a sneaky good player for Ohio State to nab, in my opinion. Booth is a box guy through and through, playing through the national program, and looks exceptional. Very much in the vein of other Canadian Buckeye greats.

Finally, Trevor Havill is a 6'5" attackman at St. Xavier in Kentucky, and is dynamic across the board. Not a traditional hotbed, Kentucky still has more success than you would think in developing quality players. Havill would probably be in if the staff really wants him, and I think they do.

I could go on and on, but I only have so much time and you only have so much attention. The point is, even below the top tier there is a lot of opportunities for Ohio State to get really good players.

Predictions:

All of this leads to the final part of our time together this afternoon. Who actually commits to the Buckeyes? This is where I get to make bold claims and look the genius or absolute dolt in 24 hours. So let's go big.

I think the Buckeyes get a BIG boost from the state of Ohio this year. A few public school prospects and the WRA pool will be a giant boon to the Buckeyes.

Prediction: Jared Maznik (Canadian in OH), Tyler Coryea, Tommy Janowicz, Ian Ludewig.

I will be capping my class at 13 for argument's sake, so nearly ¼ of the class as Ohio-based is really, really good. With a little luck, it could be more.

Out of state guys will be mostly a toss of darts towards the board. But let's get crazy.

Prediction: Tyler Olsen, Ben McCarthy, Caden Harshberger, Jewel Walker, Pete Laake, Eric Graham (Canadian), Paul McLucas (McDonogh in MD), Lucca DiBartolomeo (Malvern Prep in PA), and Alexander Latchford (Bullis in MD).

Nothing here is based on 100% knowledge. Some are more educated guesses than others. I DO believe there's a lot of Ohio talent in this class, and that chances are good they will be bound for OSU. Not every player will be a Buckeye. But a lot of them could be. Which is all we can ask.

Happy recruiting Christmas Eve!

Go Bucks!

P.S. I will post commits in the 2024 thread, so follow along there for updates on the class.