Cavaliers Now

Virginia Lacrosse Picks Up Commitments From Three More Top 100 Recruits

Matt Newton

Virginia men's lacrosse added commitments from three of the Top 100 prospects in the recruiting class of 2026.
Virginia men's lacrosse added commitments from three of the Top 100 prospects in the recruiting class of 2026. / Evan Freeman/John Balsamo/James Whitehorse/IG

Things have gotten back to their normal levels of remarkable on the recruiting trail for Lars Tiffany and the Virginia men's lacrosse program. After a slow start, the Cavaliers came on strong in the second half of September and now boast the nation's third-ranked recruiting class for the class of 2026. In the last week, UVA secured commitments from three four-star prospects who are each ranked in the Inside Lacrosse Top 100 for the class of 2026, though one of those recruits is reclassifying and will not be a part of Virginia's 2026 class.

Let's begin with that reclassifying player. John Balsamo, a 5'11" attackman out of Chaminade High School in New York, announced his commitment to Virginia on Friday. He is rated a four-star prospect by Inside Lacrosse, which has him ranked as the No. 91 overall recruit in the class of 2026 and 23rd overall attackman, but according to his social media post, Balsamo will be reclassifying back to the class of 2027 and arriving at Virginia in the fall of that year. John Balsamo is the younger brother of current Virginia midfielder Charles Balsamo, who transferred to UVA from Duke this summer.

Balsamo was one of two commitments Virginia picked up on Friday, joining four-star long-pole Evan Freeman. A 6'3", 200-pound defenseman out of The Taft School in Connecticut, Freeman is ranked the No. 65 overall prospect in the class of 2026 by Inside Lacrosse and the 12th-ranked defenseman.

Finally, the Cavaliers landed a commitment from four-star attackman James Whitehorse, a 6'2" playmaker out Salisbury School in Connecticut, on Monday. Whitehorse is the No. 92 overall recruit in the Inside Lacrosse Top 100 and the 24th-ranked attackman.

Virginia now has the third-ranked recruiting class in the country for 2026, trailing only No. 2 Duke and No. 1 Notre Dame. UVA's class is made up of four five-stars, five four-stars (excluding Balsamo), and one three-star.

Here is Virginia's 2026 lacrosse recruiting class:

Hunter Mezzatesta
Position: Goalie
High School: Yorktown High School (NY)
IL Rating: Five-Star
IL Ranking: No. 8

Lucas Garcia
Position: Attack
High School: Brunswick School (CT)
IL Rating: Five-Star
IL Ranking: No. 9

Ethan Bramoff
Position: LSM
High School: St. Anthony's High School (NY)
IL Rating: Five-Star
IL Ranking: No. 14

Tuck Gilbane
Position: Attack
High School: Noble & Greenough School (MA)
IL Rating: Five-Star
IL Ranking: No. 20

Dylan Casillo
Position: Midfield
High School: Belmont Hill School (MA)
IL Rating: Five-Star
IL Ranking: No. 28

Evan Freeman
Position: Defense
High School: The Taft School (CT)
IL Rating: Four-Star
IL Ranking: No. 65

Josh Logan
Position: Midfield
High School: Episcopal School of Dallas (TX)
IL Rating: Four-Star
IL Ranking: No. 75

James Whitehorse
Position: Attack
High School: Salisbury School (CT)
IL Rating: Four-Star
IL Ranking: No. 92

Brian McCaffery
Position: Faceoff
High School: Allentown High School (NJ)
IL Rating: Four-Star
IL Ranking: No. 95

Tanner Olrich
Position: Midfield
High School: St. Ignatius College Preparatory (CA)
IL Rating: Three-Star

Published
Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.