We've just about reached the end of the 2025 high school recruiting cycle.
As I've written multiple times, this was one of the more stacked New England classes in recent years, chock full of star power and college-level depth across all six states. The next level took notice, recruiting and adding impact players through the end of the school year. But which colleges made their mark with this class?
We can use our 2025 commitments database to find out. Our database includes 35 Division 1 commits who are either from New England or attended a New England area school this past year, and more than 125 college-bound athletes. Though it does not reflect every college program who was interested in the region's talent, we can see who won the trust and commitments in this recruiting go-round.
Here are four takeaways from our list of commits.
Which high-majors landed top prospects?
Let's consider "high-majors" to be the traditional Power 4 conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and SEC) in addition to the Big East.
Seven New England players committed to this level. They're headlined by Kaelyn Carroll (Tabor/Dedham, Mass.), the 18th-ranked national prospect in the class, who is headed to Kentucky and the SEC.
THE BIG DECISION:Â Carroll discusses her Kentucky commitment and faith in coach Kenny Brooks
Syracuse landed two marquee names in Jasmyn Cooper (our NEPSAC Class AAA Player of the Year at Nobles) and Camdyn Nelson (our Class B Player of the Year at St. Luke's). As we'll see, it's fairly uncommon for Division 1 programs to bring in multiple high school freshmen from New England in the same class. For Syracuse to add two, and two of the best, is a sign of the Orange's pull as a program right now.
Providence also scored two area stars in forwards Olivia Rodrigues (Tabor/Dennis Port, Mass.) and Ashley Dinges (Nobles/Haverhill, Mass.). This continues the Friars' heavy presence in local recruiting under third-year head coach Erin Batth. Batth also brought in one of the 2024 class' best in Orlagh Gormley (Dexter Southfield/Quincy, Mass.), now a sophomore.
The Big East will also welcome Natalia Hall-Rosa (Rivers/Randolph, Mass.) to Seton Hall. Ava Black (Tabor/Auburn, N.H.) joins Vanderbilt and the ACC.
Which Division 1 conferences looked to New England?
Nine mid-major conferences will add at least one area prospect.
The Patriot League recruited the most total players with six. Five different schools secured a commitment: Holy Cross (Brianna McDermott and Megan Roche), Boston University (Kate Allard), Bucknell (Kaila Richards), Lafayette (Maddison Krug) and Navy (Grace Minihane).
Right behind the Patriot League are the Ivies; five different schools added one player apiece. Those are Brown (Charlotte Adams-Lopez), Columbia (Alicia Mitchell), Dartmouth (Emma Olausson), Penn (Kate Lipatova) and Princeton (Grace O'Sullivan).
The Atlantic 10 landed four commits in total (to St. Bonaventure, George Washington, Fordham and La Salle), as did the Northeast Conference. America East only added three players, with two (Bailey Breen and Mackenzie Mori) attending Maine (Tyanna Medina will play at UMass Lowell). That's somewhat surprising to me given the locality of the conference. The CAA added two players and so did the MAAC, though those two MAAC programs were Connecticut schools in Fairfield (Christina Pham) and Quinnipiac (Aniyah Neal).
The conferences mentioned so far are typical fixtures in the region's recruiting battles. Only two mid-major players are leaving these Northeast and Mid-Atlantic leagues. Madison Oliver (Norwell/Norwell, Mass.) recently chose James Madison (Sun Belt) and Cheyenne Brand (Greens Farms/West Haven, Conn.) will play at High Point (Big South).
Did local Division 1 schools have success?
Largely, yes. Aforementioned Providence, Holy Cross, BU, Brown, Dartmouth, Maine, UMass Lowell, Fairfield and Quinnipiac brought in local talent. Stonehill recruited two players in Narissa Smith (Rivers/Attleboro, Mass.) and Ella Pelletier (Oxford Hills/South Paris, Maine). Northeastern added Lindsey Lemay (Tilton/Barrington, R.I.). That's 11 of the 22 New England Division 1 programs.
However, recruiting classes are small; missing out this year doesn't mean a school isn't having luck in the region. Merrimack, for example, will have at least four New England natives on the roster next year (the Warriors have also already secured two 2026 commitments). Other schools who did not add a local high school recruit but do have at least one local talent in the program: UConn, Harvard, UMass, Rhode Island, Vermont, Central Connecticut State, UNH and Sacred Heart. Yale does not have a New England native, but Ke'iara Odume (Syracuse, N.Y.) played at Loomis Chaffee.
The only school with no New England ties expected on its 2025-26 roster: Boston College.
Which Division 2 and Division 3 schools had the edge?
Plenty of New England schools in Divisions 2 and 3 lean on the local talent. They'll often find hidden gems that help them shine on a national level. Just look at Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine), who earned WBCA Division 2 Coaches' All-American status while helping Bentley reach the Elite Eight this past winter. Sydney Jones (Brookline, Mass.) earned the same recognition at Bowdoin in Division 3. Lyric Grumblatt (Manchester, N.H.) wrapped up her Rivier career by finished third in the country in Division 3 with 26.3 points per game.
Bentley is backing up its Elite Eight run by adding Ava Orlando (Notre Dame Hingham/Westwood, Mass.), one of our All-MIAA First Team members last winter, along with Elliana Scalabrine (Newman/Dover, Mass.) and Kate Cimador (Fairfield Ludlowe/Fairfield, Conn.). Smith, which has finished runner-up in the Div. 3 tournament for two straight years, typically looks more nationwide, but still brought in two New England natives. Emily Knowles (West Hartford, Conn.) scored 1,899 career points at Conard, and she'll be joining with Ella Andrews (Dexter Southfield/Brookline, Mass.).
It's more common to see Div. 2 and Div. 3 programs recruiting multiple New Englanders in a single class. Who is hitting the 2025 group especially hard? Babson has announced five incoming recruits, all from the region, including All-MIAA Second Team member Alyssa Hopps (Quincy/Quincy, Mass.). Franklin Pierce added an All-MIAA member in Hijjah Allen-Paisley (Cathedral/Boston, Mass.) as part of five local incoming freshmen.
Keep an eye on where this class' top Div. 2 and Div. 3 players are headed. There's a good chance some program-changing additions will surface in the next four years.
