Eight from McCallie sign for lacrosse

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Eight McCallie School lacrosse players signed letters of intent Thursday to play for NCAA schools next year, making 17 since 2009 with three underclassmen already committed for the future and another senior expected to pick among three Division II universities next week.

Another senior, Ryan McRae, is headed to play for Division III member Birmingham-Southern.

Tyler Wilks and All-American goalie Tate Boyce signed Thursday with Providence College, while Braiden Davis signed with Vermont, Drew Lokacs with Boston University, Jake Adams with Jacksonville, Paul Silverblatt with Bellarmine, Blake Center with Furman and Zach Stephenson with Young Harris.

"Every one of these kids had other offers, and all of them are very good students," said McCallie coach Troy Kemp.

Boyce, a boarding student from Charlotte, was the first McCallie player to commit as a sophomore. He also was recruited by Denver, Cornell, Dartmouth, Hofstra and Brown, but like Wilks he praised Providence's coaches and recently upgraded facilities. Wilks, a boarder from Atlanta, looked also at Michigan, Furman and High Point.

Davis is from Canada, so he liked Vermont's location as well as its program. He committed in October 2013 and also considered Rutgers, Marquette and Albany.

Adams, a Huntsville resident, got Division I attention despite backing up Boyce for the Blue Tornado, and he was recruited by the Naval Academy, Canisius and Tampa. Adams, who got recruiters' attention in club play and "could be the No. 1 goalie anywhere else," Kemp noted, praised Jacksonville's coaching staff as well as its climate.

Silverblatt, a local day student who also stars in football for McCallie, looked at Richmond but was attracted to Louisville, where Bellarmine is located, as a "great city" and the school's "intimate setting" and coaching staff.

Lukacs, a big player with exceptional speed, according to Kemp, also looked at Richmond, Dartmouth, Penn, Tufts and Middlebury. The Davidson, N.C., resident is a long stick midfielder and "a monster, as strong as an ox and as fast as the wind," Kemp said.

Stephenson is an Inside Lacrosse magazine face-off competition winner who passed up Division I offers, including from Drexel, to go to Young Harris. He's an Atlanta resident who loves the northeastern Georgia school's location and beauty. He also considered Towson and Jacksonville.

Center was a relatively late commitment who picked Furman and its national team coach, Richie Meade, over Colgate, Dartmouth and West Point. He's an attack man who likely will move to midfield as McCallie tries to get one step past last spring's state runner-up finish in the signees' final season.

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