This is the February D1 lacrosse recruiting roundup 2026 edition, and February is when the recruiting calendar starts cooking. The early signing period has closed, the spring evaluation circuit is weeks away, and programs are locking in the final pieces of their classes before the summer showcase season flips everything upside down. Here are the commits that caught our attention this month.
Connor Rielly, Attack — Committed to Notre Dame (Class of 2027)
Rielly out of Malvern Prep in Pennsylvania is exactly the kind of player Notre Dame builds around: elite hands, high lacrosse IQ, and the kind of motor that doesn’t turn off between whistles. He chose the Irish over Maryland and Princeton, which tells you everything about how his recruitment went. Malvern Prep doesn’t produce many misses at this level, and Rielly fits the Notre Dame mold perfectly. Big get for Kevin Corrigan’s staff.
Miles Fontaine, Midfield — Committed to Maryland (Class of 2027)
Fontaine from the Laxachusetts corridor — right out of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts — is one of the most athletic mids available in his class. Maryland beat out Virginia and Penn State for him, and the Terps needed this one badly after a couple of their top targets in the class decommitted last fall. Fontaine is a transition threat who’s already shooting at a high enough level that you can envision him on the crease in College Park. Don’t sleep on this commit.
Jake Whitmore, Defense — Committed to Cornell (Class of 2027)
Cornell’s defensive pipeline doesn’t happen by accident, and Jake Whitmore from Long Island’s Chaminade High School is the next piece. Whitmore is a physical, technically sound close defender who also has the athleticism to cover in space — increasingly non-negotiable at the D1 level. He picked Cornell over Syracuse and Duke. The Ivy League commitment at this level signals that Whitmore is serious about the education piece and confident in his ability to compete academically. That combination usually produces great college players. Congrats to Jake and the Whitmore family.
Tyler Oakes, Goalie — Committed to Virginia (Class of 2026, Early Commitment)
Virginia needed a long-term answer at goalie, and they found one in Tyler Oakes out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Oakes is a big-bodied keeper — 6’3″ — with the kind of athleticism that lets him challenge shooters at the top of the crease rather than just guess and hope. UVA’s goalies over the past decade have been a legitimate program calling card, and Oakes has the toolkit to continue that. He committed over Penn State and Johns Hopkins. Lars Tiffany’s staff did their homework on this one.
Savannah Breckenridge, Attack — Committed to Northwestern (Women’s, Class of 2027)
The women’s side gets representation here because this commit deserves it. Breckenridge out of Hingham, Massachusetts is one of the top attackers in the 2027 class nationally, and Northwestern landing her is a statement. She’s a dual-threat — capable left and right — and her shot selection is already mature in a way that most players her age haven’t developed. Furthermore, Northwestern choosing her over Maryland and North Carolina tells you the Wildcats are not done building. The program that wins the 2027 recruiting class wins for years. Breckenridge is a cornerstone piece.
Marcus Webb, Faceoff Specialist — Committed to Syracuse (Class of 2027)
Faceoff recruiting is its own strange animal, and Syracuse landing Marcus Webb out of Haverford School in Pennsylvania is a significant coup. Webb is already one of the cleanest technicians at the X in his class — his clamp-to-rake transition is automatic — and he projects to compete for starts as early as his freshman year. Syracuse has had mixed success developing faceoff specialists in recent years, so Webb gives them an opportunity to fix that. Big pickup for the Orange. Congrats to Marcus.
February D1 Lacrosse Recruiting Roundup: The Bigger Picture
The 2027 class is shaping up to be one of the more geographically diverse in recent memory, with strong commits coming out of traditional hotbeds like Long Island, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England. Additionally, there are legitimate prospects from the Southeast and Midwest. The sport’s footprint keeps expanding and the recruiting maps are changing. Programs that have historically relied on geographic monopolies are going to feel that pressure more acutely over the next few years.
Congrats to all the commits this month. The grind from here — spring ball, summer showcases, senior year — is real. Enjoy the moment.