The high school governing body in the state has released the full list of pre-season seeds for this spring. See the full document here, but here’s the important part:
Division-1
- Brother Rice
- Forest Hills Northern
- Clarkston
- UD Jesuit
- South Lyon
- Detroit Catholic Central
- Holt
- Brighton
Division-2
- Forest Hills Central
- Cranbrook
- Detroit Country Day
- East Grand Rapids
- Notre Dame Prep
- Warren De La Salle
- Haslett-Williamston
- Okemos
It’ll be interesting to see if Forest Hills Northern – now a solo team, instead of combined with Forest Hills Eastern – can live up to that No. 2 seed in Division-1.
Unlike previous seasons, as far as I can find in the release, there was no announcement of the state finals location. Last year’s choice of East Grand Rapids was controversial, but the event went off without a hitch (albeit with some grousing from the East side of the state).
Based on the pre-season criteria, the committee got it right. However, the rankings will change quite a bit by the end of the regular season.
In D1, Rice will be first, but #2-#5 are pretty much a toss-up between DCC, UDJ, Clarkston, and FHN. I expect #5-#8 to be between SL, Brighton, and Holt.
In D2, I would expect Cranbrook to move into the #1 slot with #2-#4 a real fight between DCD, FHC, and EGR. I think DLS will move up to #5 with the other three pre-season seeds fighting for #6-#8.
As has been the case the past few years, an up-and-coming team could very well crack the Top 8, but I don’t expect any Final Four surprises this year.
I could see the Finals alternating between the east and west sides every year, but I’d be a bit surprised to see the west side host it for multiple years in a row.
Addendum: In D1, a former power such as AA Pioneer or Birmingham could also get back into the Top 8. Likewise, at least one of the pre-season ranked teams could easily fall out of the Top 8.
Kinda Surprised to see NDP ranked so high.They do have a great program and a lot of history but they were so senior heavy last year with Beauregard, and most of their close defense leaving, they are going to have a lot of holes to fill.
All things considered, this should be an exciting year of high school lacrosse, as more and more schools offer lacrosse and the talent pool gets deeper, I’m really looking forward to watching some great games this year.