We started the week by telling you about the first rising sophomore commitment from a player from the tristate region – Jake Fox of the Trinity-Pawling School in New York’s Hudson Valley. The attackman verballed to Johns Hopkins.

We ended the week with more on the news we told you about Thursday night – the first commitment by a rising sophomore who’s a tristate resident. (Fox is from Orleans, Ontario.)

It comes from Brian Willetts.

As first reported on Twitter.com/joe_lombardi, the Smithtown East standout verbally committed to North Carolina.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound attackman, a starter on varsity as a freshman, performed well at both Jake Reed and the Long Island Showcase.

A righty, Willetts is a dodger with a strong shot who is a relentless rider. The athletic Willetts also plays football and basketball.

Now, here’s a Q&A with Brian on his commitment.

What were the main factors in your decision?
The size of the school, location and a good business program were main factors. Of course, the potential to win a national championship was important to me.

What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I considered all the schools in the ACC. It was between Maryland and North Carolina in the end.

What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
I have a big frame with a lot of power. My athleticism and coordination is shown by the way I play. I have a very aggressive style always looking to dodge quickly to the cage.

What schools were you in contact with after the Long Island Showcase last month?
North Carolina, Ohio State, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Penn State and Michigan

Who have been some of the biggest influences on you during your development as a player?
Last summer was the turning point for me in lacrosse. I played on varsity for my high school team, Smithtown East. Coach  Lambert had the confidence in me to start me on varsity as a freshman. He taught me a lot and gave me the opportunity to compete at that level.

In addition, I played for Coach Jack Moran, a year up , on the LI Express 2014 team.  I respect his knowledge of the game and appreciate everything he taught me. The confidence these coaches had in me gave me a ton of confidence on the field.

* For more info on Brian, check out his player profile by clicking here.

 Have a recruiting commitment to report? Email us at info@laxlessons.com.

LAXLESSONS Links

Recruiting coverage

* Updated recruiting review and commitment rundown (for classes of 2013, ’14 and ’15)

* Class of 2012 commitment rundown

* Recruit profile archive

* For a list of committed players with their profiles up, click here.

* To get your profile up, click here.

Connect with us

* Follow LaxLessons on Twitter by clicking here.

* Become a Fan of LaxLessons on Facebook now by clicking here.

Get in the game

* You can subscribe to LaxLessons.com’s playbook, featuring animated drills and plays for your team, by clicking here. 

Cast your vote in our latest poll

To vote, go to the right panel of this page. Then, scroll past the “New Comments” and “Popular” tabs and click on “Poll.” You will then see the poll questions and can cast your vote from the multiples choices, or, write in your choice if it’s not one of the choices.

Posted In: Recruiting Rundown, Section 11

If you liked this article, please take this time to share it with your Facebook friends using the Facebook button (see Facebook post button to the left) or retweet it using Twitter (see retweet button to the left). You may also want to follow us or subscribe to the site to stay up-to-date with this article. If you'd rather follow us from your Facebook account, join our Facebook fan page.

One Response to “Willetts’ verbal to UNC marks first rising sophomore commit by a tristate resident”

  1. 495 Lax says:

    UNC got a good one. Good size and skills with tremendous upside.

Leave a Reply