One-hundred and forty high school players from thirteen different States and Canada competed at the inaugural Best In The West Lacrosse Recruiting Showcase last weekend. The common goal amongst them all? Get individually noticed by one of over thirty college lacrosse coaches in attendance.
Created and co-directed by Chris Rotelli, one of the most decorated players in NCAA Division I lacrosse history, the event was designed to offer an unprecedented opportunity to aspiring high school players West of the Mississippi. By Rotelli’s side throughout the inaugural event was famed NCAA lacrosse coach Dom Starsia serving as co-director. During “classroom” time, Starsia delivered the most genuine perspective a parent or lacrosse recruit could ever get.
Held at pristine Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Atherton, just outside of Palo Alto, California, this event featured a solid representation of the creme of the crop from the 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 age groups in the Western United States. Coaches in attendance represented programs from as far away as Massachusetts. Head coaches included Shawn Nadelen of Towson, Mike Pressler of Bryant, and Ryan Moran of UMBC, with many others from the NCAA DI, DII and MCLA DI ranks.
Overall, the talent on the field was impressive, providing each college coaches with a handful of recruits to follow over the next couple of seasons. We collaborated with ADVNC Lacrosse, Rotelli’s company, and the coaches to put together the lists below. Let us be the first to tell you: picking out the best of the best wasn’t easy. Congratulations to the following players who have been selected as 2018-19 and 2020-21 Best In West Lacrosse All Stars:
2018/19 Best In The West Lacrosse All Stars
Attack
Ryan Rogers, 2019 – Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, CA)
Jack Crockett, 2018 – Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, CA)
Drew Erickson, 2018 – San Ramon Valley (Danville, CA)
Jack Allender, 2019 – Santa Margarita Catholic (Mission Viejo, CA)
Midfield
Jack Goller, 2019 – Marin Catholic (San Rafael, CA)
Sam Parkinson, 2019 – St Ignatius (San Francisco, CA)
Joe Peterson, 2018 – Monte Vista (Danville, CA)
Trevor Peay, 2018 – St Margaret’s Episcopal (Orange County, CA)
Stuart Pollard, 2019 – St Margaret’s Episcopal (Orange County, CA)
Defense
Matt Solone, 2019 – Granite Bay (Roseville, CA)
Connor Flaherty, 2019 – St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA)
John Mills, 2019 – Menlo-Atherton (Palo Alto, CA)
Goalie
Anderson Marks, 2019 – Granite Bay
2020/21 Best In The West Lacrosse All Stars
Attack
Owen Gaffney, 2021 – Loyola (Los Angeles, CA)
Jonathon Kim, 2020 – Monte Vista (Danville, CA)
Patrick McIntosh, 2020 – Salisbury (Red Bluff, CA)
Midfield
Caleb Torres, 2020 – Pacific Grove (Monterey County, CA)
Jered Kenny, 2020 – San Ramon Valley (Danville, CA)
Holden Arnett-Zhang, 2020 – St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA)
Billy Barnds, 2021 – Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, CA)
Defense
Carter Turk, 2020 – Jesuit (Sacramento, CA)
Duke Reeder, 2021 – St. Ignatius (San Francisco, CA)
Paul Barton, 2021 – Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, CA)
Goalie
Spencer Wood, 2020 – St. Francis (Mountain View, CA)
Best In The West Lacrosse Instruction
Another impressive – and arguably the most important! – aspect of the Best In The West Recruiting Showcase was the hands-on instruction provided by college coaches. Two morning sessions over two days delivered positional coaching from some of the best minds in the game. These select photos from the instructional sessions provide a great look at what it was like to attend the event as a recruit:
Visit the ADVNC Lacrosse Facebook page to check out more event photos now. Stay tuned to BestInTheWestLax.com for more future updates on the 2018 recruiting showcase.
