Up and Comers: 2029 Mid-Atlantic Names to Know

The tide will soon turn in recruiting cycles. As the Class of 2028 settles into their future collegiate destinations through verbal commitments, the Class of 2029 is ready to claim the recruiting spotlight as their junior years begin. For programs looking to get a head start on their 2029 big boards, here are a handful of the top names from across the Mid-Atlantic set to be highly prized recruits a year from now.    NXT and Agnes Irwin have a special one in Hadley Zweiback. A three-sport varsity athlete as a freshman, she was one of only two freshmen to start every game on the lacrosse team. Zweiback is a two-way midfielder with a lethal outside shot. She loves to rip it from range when she gets space, but she is just as confident setting a hard pick and floating inside the eight-meter arc to find a quick-stick shot off the feed. Her field awareness and feel for the game are exceptional and a ton of fun to watch in real time. An accomplished basketball player, you can see the translation between the two sports in her game. One of her greatest strengths is her ambidexterity, and watching her rip a lefty on the run from the 12-meter fan for the first time, I was convinced she was left-handed. She is just that comfortable and confident with both hands.     One of only two 2029s selected to the U.S. Girls' U17 Youth National Team, there is a lot to like about the game of Long Island's Juliet Diorio. A high-motor two-way midfielder, Diorio plays with every ounce of the toughness and grittiness her region is known for. She is at her best in open space, possessing the speed and change of direction that make her slippery to contain in transition. Diorio makes a living around the draw circle, using her straight-line speed and strong frame to get to loose balls and box out her assignment. Plenty capable on the offensive end in settled play, she prefers to use her quickness to get downhill and attack the cage. Diorio is a key player for the top-ranked 2029 club in Team 91 Long Island and is a name expected to draw major Division I interest next September.     Another year in which Maryvale Prep will have one of the class's top prospects, Maura Finkel is a special one. A tall, pure attacker, cracking the Maryvale Prep varsity squad as a freshman should tell you a lot about her game and what one of the nation's best programs thinks of her. Finkel is a scorer, a lethal one at that. She is a smooth operator, capable of working both above and below GLE. Her tall, strong frame, comparable to that of a collegiate athlete, allows her to bulldoze through contact and consistently get her hands free to fire on the run. She's the prototypical tall, athletic, and dangerous scorer, one primed for a breakout season as Maryvale next season. With the Maryvale Prep to Maryland pipeline as established as any in lacrosse, the Terps could look to add yet another home-run backyard prospect in Maura Finkel next September.     A two-way midfielder from Vienna, Virginia, Joanie Hirst has a lot of flair and pop in her game. She is a spark plug offensively, with quick feet and a lethal set of dodges in her back pocket. She can get to and score from all parts of the field and can add some flair with a BTB or over the shoulder when the moment calls for it. It is especially fun to watch her on defense in transition. She hunts down back checks and has become nearly automatic at taking back possession on the come-from-behind. She does a nice job of swiping away from the body when an opponent's stick is out of the sphere and keeping it clean in the process. When she is chasing down an opponent from behind, you can almost guarantee she will come up with it and head the other way in a hurry. Hirst is a player with an extraordinarily high ceiling.     A pure scoring attacker who can also dominate on the draw, Alex Trethewey is a dynamic prospect who will likely find herself high on the board of top Division I programs next year. A member of the McDonogh varsity team as a freshman, Trethewey earned a handful of varsity starts her first year, racking up 29 draw controls in select opportunities. A towering presence, she often uses her length to win possession over the top via the self draw. She is lethal on the offensive end and can score in bunches in settled play. Trethewey possesses the clutch gene and is a player often called upon to deliver in tight games. Give her a runway on the ISO and watch her put together an offensive masterclass. She has the strength, frame, footwork, and finishing ability to simply overpower her matchup 1v1.

The tide will soon turn in recruiting cycles. As the Class of 2028 settles into their future collegiate destinations through verbal commitments, the Class of 2029 is ready to claim the recruiting spotlight as their junior years begin. For programs looking to get a head start on their 2029 big boards, here are a handful of the top names from across the Mid-Atlantic set to be highly prized recruits a year from now.