Maryland
Saint James’ Trevor Owens signs to play lacrosse for University of Maryland
Two years ago, during Maryland’s NCAA championship season in men’s lacrosse, “I think I went to every home game there was,” said Saint James senior Trevor Owens.
Starting in 2025, Owens will have an even better view of the Terrapins.
Owens, a Herald-Mail All-Washington County first-team honoree as a junior long-stick midfielder last year, signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday inside Alumni Hall to join Maryland’s storied program.
“Ever since I was little, it was a dream to play for Maryland,” said Owens, a three-sport standout for the Saints who lives with his family in Boonsboro. “It almost doesn’t feel real, like I’m still sleeping.
“I never thought I’d get to this point. I knew I was good at lacrosse, but I thought I wouldn’t get the looks I wanted. Being able to finalize it and knowing I’m going to be a Terp is a great feeling.”
Boys lacrosse: The 2023 All-Washington County high school teams
Discovering the fastest sport on two feet
Owens played other sports before discovering lacrosse after his family moved to Smithsburg before fifth grade: “It’s kind of a hotbed there,” he said. “After playing club for a couple of years, I realized I want to play lacrosse in college, so I continued to keep training in lacrosse.”
Owens soon traded in a short stick for a long stick: “I was so confused as to what to do with it,” he said. But he quickly found his calling as a two-way threat in midfield.
“My game involves a lot of offense, so being able to go from defense straight to offense, it opens up the game a lot more and makes it more enjoyable,” he said.
Marching in for the Saints
Owens arrived at Saint James and was part of the varsity lacrosse team immediately as a freshman.
“I came in and we probably had six guys who had actually played lacrosse before on the varsity team,” Owens said. “Our numbers were low, only half the students were on campus that year (2021). We only won one game that first season and only played like five games, all (Mid-Atlantic Conference) games.”
The Saints didn’t stay down for long. Saint James posted an 11-4 record in 2022 and went 11-6 last year, when Owens earned all-county first-team honors after producing 19 goals, nine assists, 62 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers.
Ranking the top 30 county boys athletes: Where did Trevor Owens rank in 2023?
“We finally got a team of kids together whose main sport is lacrosse, so after that our record slowly started increasing,” Owens said. “Being able to play every day here, I’ve gotten a lot better playing the higher competition. We’re playing schools like Bullis and Georgetown Prep. Being able to play against a high level of competition made it so I could get to this point.”
“It’s been a pleasure to watch how hard he has worked to achieve what I think he’s always set out to be: A Division 1 athlete,” said Saints lacrosse coach John Tucker.
Owens’ defense in particular stands out. At 6-foot-6, he covers a lot of ground with his legs and wingspan, which his long stick only accentuates.
“He has a lot of range. In terms of coverage, he can handle most people he plays against,” Tucker said. “I think playing basketball has helped him a lot in getting a feel for rotations and positioning his body. … He can cover a lot of ground, obviously, being so long. He has the ability to take two steps and be in the right spot.”
Good on the gridiron, too
Lacrosse isn’t the only sport Owens has excelled at during his time at Saint James.
Last fall, in his final year on the Saints’ football team, Owens blossomed as a defensive end and tight end. He was the Washington County defensive player of the year, finishing the season with 82 tackles, including 29 for losses and nine sacks, with three forced fumbles, two interceptions, two blocked punts and a fumble recovery. He also made the all-county first team on offense as a tight end, with 25 catches for 388 yards and five touchdowns.
“I was pretty good when I was little, and then when I picked up lacrosse, all my focus went to lacrosse,” Owens said. “These past couple years on the football team, we’ve had a lot of good players and I haven’t really been that noticeable until recently when I was a lot more noticeable. That’s when I actually started thinking about maybe playing football in college.
“I wanted to maybe play football and lacrosse at the same school and maybe get the best of both worlds. There wasn’t too many opportunities where colleges wanted me to play both.”
“There’s not a lot of athletes who could play Division 1 in three sports,” Tucker said. “The basketball coach (Kevin Breslin) believes he could be D1 in basketball if he wanted to be.”
All-County Football Defense: Saint James’ Trevor Owens leads the 2023 team
All-County Football Offense: Owens makes the first team as a tight end
A recruiting whirlwind
Owens originally thought he had his future planned in the fall of 2022, when early in his junior season he verbally committed to play lacrosse at Jacksonville, another strong Division 1 program.
“Jacksonville really stood out to me,” Owens said of that time. “After taking a trip down there, I committed early. I fell in love down there with the warm weather and I felt pretty much at home.”
But he started to have second thoughts as his senior year got rolling.
“I knew Jacksonville was a far flight, a far drive, and my parents like to go to every game, so I was thinking for their sake as well, I don’t know if I can be that far from home,” Owens said. “I went for my official visit and thought, ‘I don’t know if I can deal with this hot weather.’ It was a hot day down there, and there’s something about the snow, I don’t think I could lose that. I might as well stay in Maryland.”
Owens let the November signing day pass without putting pen to paper for Jacksonville. That weekend, he visited Towson, a Division 1 program that would let Owens play both lacrosse and football. Then everything unexpectedly changed.
“On my way back home (from Towson), I got a text from Coach Tillman,” Owens said.
That’s Maryland head lacrosse coach John Tillman. Since taking over the Terrapins prior to the 2011 season, Maryland has won two national titles (2017 and 2022) and reached the national semifinals nine times.
“When I got that text from Coach Tillman, it was like I was in a dream, like I was still sleeping,” Owens said. “I took my visit and I don’t even think I needed a visit, I just knew this was the spot I wanted to be.”
In the modern era of college football, the recruiting cycle is a relentless 24/7 arms race where the standing still is the same as falling behind. While most programs are still flirting with 2027 targets, Mike Locksley is playing chess. By securing 20 “Hard Commits” for the 2027 cycle, Maryland has effectively built the skeleton of an entire class before some sophomores have even picked up their varsity letters.
Currently sitting at No. 37 in the national rankings, the Terrapins are signaling a massive shift in roster construction. This isn’t just about early-cycle momentum. It’s about a calculated, high-volume strategy designed to raise the program’s floor. The “Shell” is being fortified from the inside out, and the data suggests a staff that is more organized than ever.
Maryland’s 2027 recruiting class is already one of the most fascinating early builds in the Big Ten cycle, a 20‑man foundation built on receiver depth, national reach, trench size, and two legitimate blue‑chip cornerstones. But even with all that momentum, the class is still incomplete. The next phase of Maryland’s board, July through August, will determine whether this group becomes simply “solid” or truly transformational.
Below is a full breakdown of what’s missing, why it matters, and how it fits into the broader identity Maryland is constructing.
No. 1: WR/ATH: One More Game‑Breaker to Complete the Takeover
Maryland has already executed one of the boldest position‑group strategies in the country with six wide receivers in a single class. It’s a volume play designed for the transfer‑portal era, ensuring the Terps always have explosive depth regardless of attrition. Even with Myles McAfee (four-star), Davion Vanderbilt (three-star), Kyren Caldwell (three-star), Anthony Henderson (three-star), Alex Fontenot (three-star), and Mason McClure (three-star), the staff still wants one more finishing piece, a true matchup‑breaker.
Why? Because the Big Ten is becoming a “basketball‑on‑grass” league. Locksley wants a room where any of the top four receivers can win a game. The final WR/ATH spot is about securing a player with elite burst or positional versatility, someone who can line up inside, outside, or in the backfield and tilt the field. This isn’t about quantity anymore. It’s about finding the one athlete who raises the ceiling of the entire group.
No. 2: Defensive Back Flexibility: A Hybrid Safety/Nickel
Kenaz Sullivan, the class headliner, gives Maryland a legitimate CB1 with national credibility, but the modern Big Ten requires more than boundary corners. Maryland still needs a hybrid safety/nickel defender who can cover slot receivers, fill alleys, and disguise coverages.
Maryland already holds four defensive back commitments, but none fully match the “Swiss Army knife” profile the staff is targeting, a hybrid safety‑nickel who can cover in space, trigger downhill, and disguise looks. That role has become essential as Big Ten offenses lean heavily on motion, spread formations increasingly require a third coverage‑capable defender, and Maryland’s own scheme thrives on versatility and post‑snap deception. Adding a flexible nickel defender would round out the secondary and give the Terps the adaptability needed to counter the conference’s evolving offensive trends.
No 3: Edge/DL Upside: One More Pass‑Rush Body With Length
Maryland has addressed the interior with Jayden Agberodiola, a 6‑foot-3, 340‑pound space‑eater built for November football, and added versatility with Zeke Walkup and Levi Babin, but the class still lacks one more true pass‑rush body with length and twitch.
This is the missing ingredient for a Big Ten defense. A pass‑rusher who can consistently win one‑on‑one on third down, possesses the frame to grow into a 250‑plus‑pound edge, and complements the interior size Maryland has already secured. While the Terps have made clear strides under Brian Williams, climbing into the conference’s top tier requires more natural, high‑ceiling rushers who can change games in obvious passing situations. That final edge/DL spot is all about upside, landing a long, developmental athlete with the traits to eventually become a true difference‑maker.
No. 4: Offensive Line: The Most Important Remaining Need
This is the big one. Maryland has three offensive linemen committed, including Alabama tackle Caleb Canty, who brings true SEC‑level size and movement skills, but the staff knows the Big Ten is won in the trenches, and the offensive line remains the most important remaining priority. July camps will ultimately shape the board, yet the Terps still need a true left‑tackle frame, more interior depth, and higher‑rated linemen to raise the class’s per‑player average. The offensive line is where Maryland can make its biggest leap. The class has depth everywhere else, but now it needs quality and long‑term upside in the trenches to match.
More from Maryland On SI
Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI and follow us on Twitter.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
We’ll see a few afternoon and early evening scattered storms today followed by a drier end to the weekend. Highs today will reach the mid 80s with overnight lows in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
Mainly sunny and drier for the end of the weekend
Sunday is trending drier with lower humidity and a high near 85. Our temperaturs stay warm but comfortable on Monday with afternoon temperatures peaking the mid-80s. The chance of rain remains slim through much of next week.
Hot weather returns to Maryland by midweek
Temperatures start an upward trend beginning Tuesday. By midweek temperatures soar into the mid and upper 90s both Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Humidity won’t be as bad as the July 4th week but heat indices could still reach near or above 100° during the afternoon hours for a few days. Heat will gradually ease heading into next weekend.
MARYLAND (WBFF) — Art D’Amico remembers when a bushel of crabs cost about $35 in the mid-1970s. Today, the president of the Annapolis Anglers Club pays nearly $400 a bushel — a price he says has climbed by at least $150 in the past five years.
“Everything’s more expensive,” said D’Amico, who has been involved in Chesapeake Bay fishing and crabbing since 1973, adding that he’s never seen crab prices like this before.
The soaring cost reflects more than inflation. Watermen, seafood dealers and economists say higher operating costs, shifting markets and concern about Maryland’s blue crab population are pushing prices higher, making one of the state’s signature summer traditions more expensive. But many Marylanders are still buying crabs, even at record prices.
“It’s definitely not what we’re accustomed to this time of year as far as quantity and price,” said John Ecker, a managing partner of Conrad’s Crabs, which has four locations in Maryland. “I’ve been here for 19 years doing this and, yeah, they’re getting higher.”
Read the full story on The Baltimore Sun.
-
Arizona3 minutes agoCardinals Mailbag: Latest on Jacoby Brissett, Carson Beck, and Arizona’s QB Future
-
Arkansas10 minutes agoArkansas tips its hat to blues pioneer Larry “Totsie” Davis in England dedication
-
California13 minutes ago‘Explosive diarrhea’ parasite surfaces in California as health officials fear statewide surge
-
Colorado18 minutes agoThis Quiet Colorado Town Is An Underrated Gem For Nature Lovers
-
Connecticut25 minutes agoCar catches fire in Trumbull
-
Delaware28 minutes agoPower outage number tops 13,000 in Delaware County as storm hits
-
Florida33 minutes agoFlorida top-ranked signee selected in Round 4 of MLB draft
-
Georgia40 minutes ago3 Georgia baseball players taken in MLB Draft opening day
