It’s not unusual in lacrosse for top high school freshmen to commit to the best college lacrosse schools in the nation. Massachusetts players are no exception.
Two of the best players in eastern Massachusetts — BC High junior defender Will Bowen and Dover-Sherborn senior attackman Bailey Laidman — made their commitments as freshmen.
Both will be heading to North Carolina in the next two years to play for the Tar Heels, a revered lacrosse program coming off the 2016 national championship.
“[Bowen] grew a lot during his first season playing varsity,’’ said Eagles coach Steve Lydon. “He had already made his commitment [to UNC] and I’ve seen it happen where guys commit early and maybe underperform that expectation, but he came in and was an impact guy for us.
“Right off the bat he had a bit of maturity about him and he had the physical skills to go with it,’’ continued Lydon, who first coached Bowen on a seventh-grade club team.
Bowen caused 77 turnovers in his sophomore season as BC High made it to the Division 1 title game and fell to Lincoln-Sudbury.
“One-on-one defense has always been a focal point but as I’ve grown I’ve started to learn about the team-oriented part of defense,’’ said Bowen. “Playing with a bunch of great players and being able to make kids better has been great [at BC High] and I’ve come to realize that’s how you can compete for state championships.’’
His future college teammate, Laidman, is looking to lead his Raiders to a threepeat in Division 3.
“I think it’s in the back of everyone’s minds,’’ Laidman said. “We’ve been there before, but we have to get through the regular season before worrying about the championship.’’
Laidman, who started playing lacrosse in first grade, was recruited by Denver, Johns Hopkins, and Syracuse in the winter of his freshman season, and he said that process started when he was playing for his club team. He didn’t want to play too close to home.
“It was always a dream of mine,’’ he said. “My [club] coach told me to start expecting that in eighth grade. I started getting letters and talked to coaches after that.’’
“He was committed to UNC before he played a minute for me,’’ said Dover-Sherborn coach Brian McLaughlin. “He’s a tremendous player and elevates every practice and makes every player better. He’s his own toughest critic and expects every shot to be perfect. He puts so much pressure on himself to be the best, I don’t have to do it for him.’’
Laidman scored 55 goals in his junior season.
“He’s gotten more accurate with his shooting, he shoots harder, his passing has improved,’’ said McLaughlin. “His skills with the stick, he does funny things. I’ll look over to a group and he’s balancing the ball on the side. I think he lives with the stick in his hand.’’
“I talked to Will last season after a game and once at a committed weekend,’’ Laidman said of Bowen. “He’s a fantastic player, I’m excited to play with him.’’
For Bowen, his Eagles are seeking that championship at the Division 1 level.
“We’re very hungry,’’ Bowen said. “Just to get a glimpse of that and to see L-S run out on the field after that [championship] game, the desire is definitely present throughout the locker room this year. It’s pushed everyone throughout the offseason and it will carry over into the season.’’
Marisa Ingemi can be reached at marisa.ingemi@globe.com. Correspondent Nate Weitzer contributed to this story.
