(Inside Lacrosse Photo: Tommy Ryan)

By: Matt Kinear

The first weekend post-Sept. 1 brought more than a dozen men’s DI commitments in the Class of 2026.

As of Monday, several of the other top recruits are expected to announce their decisions imminently. For example, Joe Ligas, the No. 6 overall recruit, committed to Notre Dame on Monday morning while this article was being written — continuing a dominant recruiting stretch for the Irish. More on Ligas' and the other commitments expected Monday in a subsequent post.

Virginia on Sunday landed the top goalie in the class and currently the lone 5-star at the position in Hunter Mezzatesta (Yorktown, N.Y.). Mezzatesta was well-known prior to the summer because of he mostly played up with the ‘25s. A big, vocal leader with quick hands, he had a knack for making difficult saves look routine. Virginia has a freshman and sophomore on its 2025 roster who figure to be in the mix by the time Mezzatesta arrives in Charlottesville, and has a commitment from No. 36-ranked ’25 Patrick Biese (Culver, Ind.).

He joins Josh Logan (Episcopal, Texas), a 4-star midfielder who also committed Sunday to the Cavs.

Another one of the biggest themes early on has been Harvard’s success out of the gates. Brian Burke’s dream was to go to Harvard, so the 5-star defender ranked No. 17 made his verbal without much hesitation. This weekend, two more ranked players joined the Crimson's list of verbals with LSM Michael Brennan (Loomis Chaffee, Conn.) also bolstering the Crimson between the lines. Michael McColgan, IL’s No. 58-ranked player out of Culver (Ind.), is an interesting prospect. A huge stock-rising guy this summer, McColgan is also the quarterback of the Culver football team; he passed for 357 yards, went 18-of-27, threw four touchdowns and had a 65-yard run for a touchdown days ago.

Also this weekend, Syracuse got its first 4-star Nick Rayfield, a Marcellus (N.Y.) product that earned a 90 evaluation score this summer.

More from the Sept. 7-8 weekend:

• Maryland’s success with ’26 midfielders continued with Dylan Harrigan out of St. Anthony’s (N.Y.).
• Matteo Moran (Saint Andrew’s, Fla.) is a big pickup for Lafayette. The Florida middie is a solid, 6-foot-3 prospect.
• Several face-off guys made choices. Alex Gregoloff (Hough, N.C.) chose Jacksonville, while Leo Barbagallo (Hotchkiss, Conn.) chose Brown.
• Michigan got two 4-stars Sunday in Brody Waxer (Syosset, N.Y.) and Shep Boyd (Chatham, N.J.).
• Princeton landed its second 4-star — this one from the school just down the road. Lawrenceville (N.J.) midfielder Adam Ponting, the No. 24 -ranked player in the class, made his commitment to the Tigers.