Two years ago, sophomore goaltender Alex Hewit was touted as the top goalie recruit in the nation. This year, it was the Tigers' entering midfield and defense class that were ranked number one.
Clearly, they are missing something here — by Princeton standards, of course. One could make a safe bet that given time, head coach Bill Tierney would make sure he filled up the only position not to be ranked the top class in the last four years.
Of the nine recruits this year, five are attackmen. This is excellent news for a program where the biggest shortcoming is that it has difficulty scoring in double figures.
But the highlight of the group may be the highly touted midfielder Paul Barnes from the Haverford School outside of Philadelphia. And then there is the potential heir apparent to Hewit.
Though this group of recruits continues Tierney's trend of bringing in a top-ranked class, it is not true that his methods are the same from year to year.
"This year we did a better job of front-end recruiting which wasn't so much geared towards Princeton," Tierney said. "It was geared to making sure you go through the process the right way."
The growth of the sport has produced more top prospects, but with a relatively stable number of premier collegiate lacrosse teams, the demand for the top prospects has remained relatively unchanged.
So many blue-chip recruits are committing at the end of their junior year, Tierney said, which is an option highly incompatible with Tierney's – not to mention the admission office's — procedures.
So Tierney stressed the need for recruits to carefully weigh their options and realize that if the other schools who were pressuring them into signing early really wanted them that badly, they would be willing to wait. The strategy appeared to be successful, especially in the case of Barnes, who had to fend off a host of other offers.
Part of that is the effort to recruit families as much as individuals, and that move is clearly evident in this incoming class that features three younger brothers, a son of a Tiger football player and a possible walk-on whose dad played basketball for the Orange and Black.
Tierney thinks it paid off.
"Certainly the kids we got took their time," he said. "They were willing to understand that 'If I want to be at the best academic or lacrosse school out there, then I'm going to wait and do the right thing.' "
Attackmen
6 feet, 4 inches, 220 pounds; 6'5", 225; 6'4", 210; 6'3" 200. Those would be the respective heights and weights of Samuel Hayes (younger brother to junior attack Whitney), Walker Jungers (younger brother to junior defenseman Zachary), Scott MacKenzie and Ryan Morrell. All four will be vying for spots on the Princeton attack. They will also be competing with a fifth recruit, Robert Engleke.
"The other four attackmen other than Engleke are guys who [because of their size] could make up a hell of a high school basketball team," Tierney said. "And I'm hoping they help us make a hell of a lacrosse team."
Tierney is looking to the possibility that Engleke, from Garden City High School, will eventually play a quarterback role, a job that is currently assumed by the combination of junior attackmen Peter Trombino and Scott Sowanick, and sophomore Alex Haynie.
Meanwhile, Tierney sees MacKenzie as the guy most likely to make his presence felt early. MacKenzie, who went to Hotchkiss but is in the midst of a post-grad year at Exeter, is a great ball handler who can work the ball with his left or his right hand.
Jungers, according to Tierney, is an excellent shooter, a "pure finisher" from Calvert Hall in Baltimore, MD. Hayes is a talented athlete out of Deerfield Academy who's gained confidence and, with some grooming, should make an excellent addition.
Midfielders
The standout in this group is most definitely Barnes, a face-off specialist who can also excel in all aspects of the game, a fact that has not been lost on Tierney.
"To have a kid who can face-off as effectively as Paul and then run the field and shoot the ball the way he does is really special," Tierney said.
He will most likely compete with sophomore midfielder Alex Berg, the current face-off specialist.
The middie class also features Christopher Chandler, the first ever Tiger recruit from Illinois. And while his talent may be raw, his athletic ability more than compensates for any current shortcomings of skill.
There is also James Davis, younger brother to freshman attack Tommy, who looks to be a great student and great team player. Rounding out the class of middies is David Marshall from the Gilman School, who will be a between-the-lines midfielder moving the ball from defense up to the attack.
Ryan Morrell of the Tatnall School completes the group, the first recruit who played high school lacrosse in Delaware. Though he perhaps played against lesser company as a prep, the Tiger coaches have confidence in his ability. And he's already in their good graces; Morrell has gotten many teammates and league rivals interested in becoming Tigers.
Defense
Though the defense is already full of stars, Tierney simply could not pass up on Jeremy Hirsch out of Georgetown Prep, who he claims is possibly the best defenseman in the country. Though small (5'8", 180), he's got the athleticism to make up for it, in addition to toughness and tenacity.
Finally, realizing that Hewit will eventually one day have to graduate, Tierney has gone looking for a replacement. He has come in the form of Nikhil Ashra from Greenwich High School, who, while not the top goalie recruit in the nation, is definitely top three. Ashra's intelligence and size made him a good fit, and he should be a solid man in the cage.
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