The National #1 Ranked Recruit, Colin “Mac” Christmas, Picks Duke

By Lacrosse Playground and Sirius Lacrosse Top-66

Six Feet Four Inches.  Two Hundred Pounds.  4.0 Student.  Well-spoken gentleman.  Fast.  Great hands and skills.  Point Guard quickness. 

Meet Mac Christmas, the #1 Recruit in the country, a future All-American long-stick middie for Duke’s Men’s lacrosse team.

Duke got its guy…

Mac is joining #1 ranked 2023 midfielder Benn Johnston (#3 over-all), and a slew of other top ranked recruits, in what is shaping up to be a world-beater of a recruiting class for Duke.

Duke is no stranger to landing #1 recruits.  Duke landed the #1 2020, Brennan O’Neill.  The following year they landed #1 2021, Andrew McAdorey.  And now they have the #1 2023.  Duke’s prowess on the recruiting trail is part of the formula they hope to build on, in order to return to the top of the collegiate lacrosse world. 

Duke has won three national titles; in 2010, 2013, and 2014, all under Coach Danowski.  They lost in the final game to Yale to 2018 and to Hopkins in 2007 and 2005.  In the modern era, they are a perennial power lacrosse school.  They have room on their trophy shelves and are looking build on their winning traditions.

An early season favorite capture the title in 2021, having landed Michael Sowers from the transfer portal and returning a tremendously talented, and deep, senior class:  an astonishing 14 grad-students and 12 seniors, Duke was hammered by rival Maryland 14-5 in the national semi-final.  A season that fell well short of expectations; 4-2 in the ACC and 14-3 overall and a Memorial Day weekend ending with an early flight home.

Duke in 2022, will do what Duke does- reload, teach, build, win. Coach Danowski does things his way.  He starts with the fundamentals and crafts a winning formula.  That formula, starts with great recruiting: All-American defenders, game-changing midfielders, and offensive juggernauts.

This year’s keystone recruit was Georgetown Prep star, a high school junior, Colin “Mac” Christmas. 

LPG caught up with Mac’s Georgetown Prep Coach, Scott Urick who is entering is 6th season as Head Coach, to learn what Mac is like when he’s not dominating the opposition.

“Mac is simply a great kid.  Funny, humble, approachable.  I typically seek him out before practice to have a chat- he’s that charismatic and such a pleasure to be around. Mac and this group of juniors will certainly help Georgetown Prep in our quest to be among the nation’s elite programs.”

Mac is fantastic in the classroom too according to Urick and represents the Jesuit School’s philosophy of “Men for Others” as well as anyone.  One of coach’s best lacrosse-memories of Mac was an individual play at the end of last year’s Landon game.  Having surrendered a 5 goal lead on Landon’s home field, Mac intercepted a pass, turned on the jets, and buried a step down for the game winner.

Mac’s Club Coach, Matt Rienzo, at the DC Dogs feels the same way, “Mac is an impressive young man and student-athlete.  He is an incredible student and obviously one heck of a player.  He has a unique blend of maturity beyond his years mixed with a subtle, funny personality that makes him a joy to coach and a lot of fun to be around.”

** LPG’s Top-66 quote from coach Urick:  “Mac is just pleasant and checks all the boxes.His sense of joy and commitment to school and lacrosse will carry him a long way especially at a place like Duke.”

MEET MAC CHRISTMAS:

Q:  What was it about Duke that put it over the top?
MC: I loved the players that I met when I visited, I’m excited to learn from them and compete with them.

Q:  Who are you most excited to play with?
MC: I have spent many years trying to guard Benn Johnston and Tomas Delgado, so I’m really excited to finally play with them.  I am also pumped to play with Brennan O’Neill.

Q:  What coach did you bond with the most during the recruiting process?
MC:  I met a lot of great coaches who were incredibly kind to me during my process.  I really enjoyed spending time and talking about lacrosse with coach Caputo.

Q:  What college opponent is already circled in your mind (why?)
MC:  I’m pumped to play all the ACC teams in their historic stadiums.

Q:  Who do you want to thank for helping you along the way?
MC:  I want to thank my momma and dad for spending the countless hours to allow me to have fun and compete.  I also want to thank my coaches Rienzo, Olan, Urick, and Horning who taught me everything I know and pushed me to be my best.  

Q:  Kyrie Irving? Grant Hill? Or Zion W? 
MC:  Kyrie Irving because I love his Uncle Drew videos and watching him play.

Q:  The Q Shaq.  Have you been yet?  If so what is your go to?
MC:  I have not been yet, but I love ribs so I will definitely be a big customer.

Q:  What song/music are you going to give to Coach Danowski for his play list?
MC:  I’m gonna try to get Changes by Tupac on his playlist.

If you cant control and dominate the middle of the field, you cant win.  College teams need to be able to transition, stop the opponent’s big-rig middies, match feet with the shifty ones, be great on team D, and have a chemistry built on trust, grounded in talent.  Mac Christmas fits this mold. 

Duke got its guy.

“Got love for my brother
But we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin’ changes
Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers
And that’s how it’s supposed to be…
I’d love to go back to when we played as kids
But things change, and that’s the way it is”
-Tupac

Lacrosse Playground

In 2009, Adam O’Neill, Harry Alford and Thomas Alford launched Lacrosse Playground as the preeminent site for lacrosse gearheads. For years Lacrosse Playground provided lacrosse fans with tutorials and tips on how to string a lacrosse head, up-close looks at the gear the top players used and sneak peeks at equipment and uniforms before they were released. More than 10 years and millions of visits later, Lacrosse Playground has relaunched with a focus on storytelling. Our mission is to provide comprehensive coverage of the latest lacrosse news, share insights into the sports betting and fantasy lacrosse world and showcase the lifestyles and personalities of the sport of lacrosse through articles, videos and podcasts.

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