Top Threat Championship: Underrated Uncommitted 2027s

Despite the class of 2028 being the talk of the town this summer, the uncommitted talent pool in the class of 2027 remains strong. Here are five of those uncommitted 2027s who had strong weekends at the Top Threat Championship in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.    Not your average uncommitted 2027. Misener has been betting on herself all season after an ACL tear kept her off the recruiting trail last year. College coaches should make no mistake — this is a high-level player who remains uncommitted from a Division I program due to injury alone. A nearly 6'0" draw specialist who can finish inside, Misener played with the 2028s this past weekend in one of the top brackets. She has a self draw that others are better off not even jumping for, and is a pure playmaker on the offensive end. Her dodges catch defenders off guard because she disguises her first step before exploding past them. She uses her height to keep her stick at uncheckable positions and scores in a variety of crafty ways at the cage. If you have not seen Misener dodge and facilitate, you will be shocked watching a nearly six-foot athlete move the way she does.     [player_tooltip player_id='75006' first='Riley' last='Powers'] is one of those players I was shocked to still find uncommitted, but after the weekend she had, that is not likely to stay that way for long. Powers looked every bit like a high-level goalie. She had a sequence where she pushed the clear out to the restraining line and delivered a strong pass down the sideline to set her team up in transition. She does a nice job shrugging off contact on the ride, and when her teammate had the ball knocked away moments later, Powers sprinted back to the cage in a near 1v1 situation and made a lunging save to her left, following it up moments later with a drop to stop a bouncer. Powers may be smaller in stature, but what she lacks in height she makes up for in agility.     College coaches still in need of a 2027 attacker should look no further than Wyckoff, New Jersey, and [player_tooltip player_id='75007' first='Grace' last='Nadler']. Nadler dominated the 2027 bracket this weekend. The right combination of tall and strong, she is often too much of a physical force for defenders to handle in the 1v1 game. She scored back to back goals by getting her shoulder low and bullying her way in from X, but she knows how to keep her feet moving and stay vertical to keep it clean and avoid the charge. It is less about brute force and more about displacing defenders with her physicality before they can establish position. But it was not just her offensive ability that stood out; she also displayed a high-level ability to shut down the transition game on the ride. Already a taller player, she plays even bigger and knows how to use the sideline as an extra defender.     A high-level midfielder who shockingly remains uncommitted, Lily Diaz had a strong showing at the Top Threat. Diaz, who hails from Yorktown Heights, New York, is a nimble, fleet-footed dodger who also excels in the draw circle. A versatile finisher who can get topside or beat defenders north-south, it was in the draw circle where some of her best work came this weekend. She found herself matched up against Ryan Leaman, a UNC commit, in the circle on Friday, and not only held her own but won a good number of draws against her. She can get up to win the self-draw and push the pace in transition, pull back to a teammate to slow it down, or push it wide to an open wing. She gets involved early and often after the draw.     A towering attacker with great footwork, Kaelin Watkins is tall and athletic, but more importantly, she knows how to use her height and athleticism to affect all parts of the game. Excellent on the ride, she stays between her assignment and the ball while reading the goalie's outlet options. She had a handful of interceptions and caused turnovers as a result of her quick timing to jump her assignment and get in front of the pass. Offensively, she operates primarily from the "X," where her height adds a layer that you do not often see from an attacker at this level. She is able to drop shots over the goalie off her crease roll from angles that would be a no-angle opportunity for most players.

Despite the class of 2028 being the talk of the town this summer, the uncommitted talent pool in the class of 2027 remains strong. Here are five of those uncommitted 2027s who had strong weekends at the Top Threat Championship in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.