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When just about everyone else has seen their clubs expand on both a regional and national level, Chris Roy has stayed the course with Leading Edge.
The NLF’s founding member from New Jersey, Leading Edge hasn’t changed its model even though many others add multiple teams per age group and/or expand their brand nationally. There’s nothing wrong with that model for others, but Roy feels strongly that staying true to Leading Edge’s model is crucial to everything that the club stands for. That means one team per age group and nothing more.
On an average Leading Edge team, there might be a player or two that’s from outside of New Jersey. The bulk of the team is and always will be comprised of the Garden State’s best. It’s not for everyone and it’s not designed to be for everyone. Roy prides himself on the fact that his teams always play at the best events and seek out the best competition. That doesn’t always mean bringing home championships every weekend, nor is it supposed to. It’s designed to elevate everyone’s game and have them competing with and against the best at every event.
Leading Edge’s Results Speak for Themselves
Tough to argue with the results. The club has more than 500 all-time commitments and is one of the country’s leaders in class of 2027 commitments with 19 off of its ’27 team. That’s a great number for anyone two months in to recruiting. It’s downright bananas for a club with one team per age group.
“It’s a tribute to all of the people that are involved in making the players the best versions of themselves,” Roy said. “Our one-team model really helps us focus on the development of each of our players. We have great players, families and coaches, and our brand resonates with college coaches based off of the success that we’ve had over many, many years of doing what we do. That’s training and developing our players.”
“Our guys have gone on to the next level and produced year after year after year,” Roy said. “We’ve had at least one college All-American every year since 2011. Leading Edge guys have gone on to the next level and been very good. This 2027 group is good group with very good players who are big, athletic, smart and strong players. I think that college coaches have seen the athletes that we have and they like them so much that we’re fortunate enough to have the commits that we’ve have had to date.”
19 ’27 Commits and Counting
Four Leading Edge players – all ranked in the top 50 of the NLF’s class of 2027 rankings – chose ACC schools. Three are headed to the Big Ten and three are slotted for the Patriot League. The Ivy League, Big East, A10 and CAA are all slotted to get two Leading Edge players, while one is ticketed for the MAAC. It’s an impressive show of force across the board.
Jagger Zemachson is the highest-rated player in Duke‘s class as the No. 5 overall player in the grade. The 6-2, 190-pound LSM’s recruitment featured a who’s who of schools he opted for John Danowski‘s powerhouse program in Durham. Zemachson was a stalwart on a Seton Hall Prep team that exorcised its postseason demons by winning the Kirst Cup this spring. He then shined for Leading Edge throughout the summer. Zemachson pointed to one game this summer that helped set the stage for why Leading Edge is doing so well on the recruiting trail, even if the team lost that game.
The Best Competition
“We played the Crabs at the NLF National Championships. It was a great game with two great programs and NLF founding members,” Zemachson said. “I usually try not to pay attention to the college coaches on the sideline but when there are as many as there were that day, you notice them. It felt like half the country was watching that game. The game didn’t go our way, but it just gave me a next level of confidence.”
“A lot of the credit for the 19 commitments has to go to Coach Roy for how he sets us up for success,” Zemachson added. “He puts us in games and events where we’re playing the best teams in the country. Win or lose, it’s setting us up for success because of who we’re playing and it helped everybody so much. To have 19 guys committed as a regional team is unbelievable and it’s awesome to be a part of it. Being able to share the experiences with the guys I love and seeing them be so successful makes me so happy.”
Iron Sharpens Iron
Kane Quenault is the No. 2 faceoff midfielder in the class and the No. 47 overall prospect. He lines up on the other side of the Seton Hall Prep-Delbarton rivalry and will continue to be Zemachson’s rival in college when he gets to Notre Dame. Quenault’s been through the meat grinder that is Leading Edge’s schedule many times over. He knows that dominating a hapless opponent might yield temporary gratification, but it’s got nothing on competing against an elite opponent and then coming out on top.
“We go to the best events and we play the best teams. You can’t really hide from anybody going against the best kids,” Quenault said. “It’s definitely a lot better feeling when you’re going against the top guys. When I go against guys that aren’t as good and I go, like, 90 percent, it doesn’t feel as good as maybe going 65 percent against top-notch commits. A lot of that is on Coach Roy because he’s known as one of the best recruiting coaches in the country. It’s crazy to see all of our guys committing. Seeing them complete their dreams of playing Division I lacrosse is an awesome feeling, and the fact that we get to do it together is even better.”
As good as it gets.
Leading Edge Class of 2027 Commitments
Pierce Bolger, A, Delbarton (N.J.) – Brown
Alex Coakley, SSDM, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) – Georgetown
NLF No. 24 Sean Currie, D, Lawrenceville (N.J.) – Virginia
Cole DeNick, D, Kingsway (N.J.) – Rutgers
Joe Egan, SSDM, Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) – Rutgers
Lawson Fagan, A, Mountain Lakes (N.J.) – Dartmouth
Will Hayes, G, Hun (N.J.) – Rutgers
Jack Hendricks, A, St. Augustine Prep (N.J.) – Delaware
Nick Homer, A, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (N.J.) – Hobart
Colin Kochanowicz, M, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (N.J.) – Bucknell
Adrien Kosinski, M, Hill School (Pa.) – Fairfield
Zach MacDougall, M, St. Joseph Metuchen (N.J.) – Quinnipiac
Carson Meredith, G, Hill School (Pa.) – Dartmouth
Ty Plotts, LSM, Mountain Lakes (N.J.) – St. John’s
NLF No. 47 Kane Quenault, FO/M, Delbarton (N.J.) – Notre Dame
Harrison Rekemeier, M, Westfield (N.J.) – Hobart
Derek Sabel, M, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) – Navy
NLF No. 10 Luke St. Pierre, D, Lawrenceville (N.J.) – North Carolina
NLF No. 5 Jagger Zemachson, LSM, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) – Duke
Jonah Ziv, A, Taft (Conn.) – Colgate