2027s Stock to Buy: East Coast Standouts + a Midwest Gem

As the Spring 2026 high school season gets underway, there are many talented players to keep an eye on. More than four months after September 1, many of the top prospects in the Class of 2027 have already verbally committed—but this is where we get to talk about players' ceilings and long-term upside.  When I talk about “buying stock” in a player, these are the athletes whose games have room to grow, whose trajectories are pointing upwards. These current juniors have two full high school seasons left to make a major jump and prove they are continuing to develop at an exponential rate.    The Prime Time product is made for the spotlight. Ebling has a straight alpha mentality when she wants to get to the rack. What is fascinating about Elbing is that she can attack her matchups all over the field. Looking ahead to the college level, where she is verbally committed to play at Notre Dame, she can be utilized at attack or as an offensive midfielder coming out of the box. She is an explosive and aggressive dodger who loves to re-dodge when she knows she has a good matchup. What makes her elite is her ability to understand how to draw a slide to her advantage. She will attack the defense strategically, allowing her teammates to get involved in scoring goals. Ebling thrives in an open or motion set with creativity. She gets the defense to rotate, allowing her offense to score. The attacker tends to initiate her dodges high and wide, so defenses need to slide early; otherwise, she will make you pay with her laser-like shot. Her lethal change of speed and direction continues to develop with two more high school seasons to go.     Maryland picked up an entertaining two-way midfielder who will stay close to home. When you watch Cratin, you immediately think of athleticism—she creates explosive plays between the 30s and will shred through the defense whether off the clear, off the draw, or off a caused turnover. If Cratin gets the ball with open real estate in front of her, it's over—her team is going to score. On the offensive end, she attacks her defenders aggressively, going right at them and getting downhill. Her hard shots are located exceptionally well on the goal, and she has a nice on-the-run shot. On defense, her anticipation allows her to intercept passes effectively.     Callaway is one of the most aggressive defenders out there. She invites players to dodge on her because she knows she will shut them down. The Richmond commit gets extremely low when playing defense and watches the offensive players' hips. Callaway reminds me of basketball when a player slaps the ground and plays super aggressive defense, and the team goes crazy for them. She knows she's a dawg. She can and will guard the other team's No. 1 option. The Sacred Heart Greenwich defender is reliable on the clear and has amazing footwork. She loves to pick up ground balls, and her head immediately goes up looking to get the ball up and out.     Gates is a true attacker and plays on the goalie's right side or back at “X.” She loves to shoot, getting her hands extended away from her body, showing off her impressive shot. The Upstate N.Y. attacker does a lot of her damage when left alone on an island, 1v1. She can execute in the two-man game. When she's paired with the right person, not many defenders are going to stop the two-man game. Gates is dangerous when she has space to dodge and likes to go right at her defender. She is an extremely twitchy and shifty dodger. Gates works really well in open sets, and thrives in the club circuit and showcase environment where players get to show off their creative bag.      Hamo has the ability to take over games by herself; she's that dominant. This is an extremely tough and strong lacrosse player who can bully her way to the goal when dodging. She has a cannon of a shot and an impressive on-the-run shot. Hamo is extremely athletic and loves to take it herself to the goal. At the next level, Princeton can use her as an attacker or midfielder. As she continues to develop, working on her left hand and her vision as a feeder will make her more dangerous and versatile as a player. Hamo lives in Kansas but attends school at Santa Margarita Catholic in California.

As the Spring 2026 high school season gets underway, there are many talented players to keep an eye on. More than four months after September 1, many of the top prospects in the Class of 2027 have already verbally committed—but this is where we get to talk about players' ceilings and long-term upside. When I talk about “buying stock” in a player, these are the athletes whose games have room to grow, whose trajectories are pointing upwards. These current juniors have two full high school seasons left to make a major jump and prove they are continuing to develop at an exponential rate.