The Faceoff Factory joined the boys at the Nike Boys Philly Showcase to work with and evaluate some of the top faceoff athletes on the East Coast. Michael Santos, Director of College Recruiting for the Faceoff Factory was on site this weekend for the Showcase.

He trained and evaluated the face-off athletes all day long. Below you will find the players that stood out to the Faceoff Factory crew.

Faceoff Factory Player Standouts

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Grady Weaver | California High School | UNRL National  - ‘24

Grady was one of my favorites to watch all day. Using an array of exits, Weaver was able to dominate mostly out the front. He showed that he is a well rounded player by dishing out a few assists. I expect this young man to be off the board very soon. Grady’s hand speed was arguably the best at this weekend’s Philly showcase. I would love to see Grady continue to develop his second move at the dot.

Michael Gaffney | Chatfield High School | 3d Colorado - ‘24

The King of the X! It started Friday night at our practice session. Gaffney was extremely coachable and made it to Friday’s final draw competition. Saturday, he flat out dominated kids during the games. As a very strong technician, the Colorado native was seamlessly untouchable. Cruising to the finals in the King of the X event, he was able to beat both Cody and Montagano in the final. He then was selected to the All Star game where he had a great performance. I would love to see Michael to continue to develop his frame and get a little stronger. But I expect this young man to get off the board soon.

Daniel Curran | Lansdale Catholic High School | Team 11 - ‘24

Showing off exceptionally fast hands, Curran relied heavily on a quick in and out plunger. Curran demonstrated all sorts of different exits. What impressed me the most was his ability to exit at all 360 degrees. The kid from Pennsylvania showed that he was one of the best players at the event. I would love to see him continue to develop in the weight room.

Hayden Cody | Roxbury Latin | Fighting Clams - ‘25

Hayden was arguably the best ‘25 at the event alongside Chase Squires. I watched him in his first game of the day where he faced off at a 100% clip. He also added on a goal and assist. He finished off the day, facing off at over 90%. Cody showed a ton of toughness and good technical skills throughout the day. Cody made it to the final three in the Kind of the X and finished third. The young man capped off his day with an All Star game selection where he was a rockstar.

Cisco Celotto | Staples High School | Eclipse - ‘24

Cisco reminded a lot of an old school midfielder. He showed that he can do a lot more than face off. Whether it was countering his opponent, running down a loose ball, or making a play in transition, this young man was off the charts. Cisco has a great second move if he gets into a tie up and is able to understand the situation that he is in. I would love to see this young man continue to develop his frame and push himself a little bit more in the weight room. I expect many schools to be reaching out to this man in the next few months. 

Jack Montagano | St. John the Baptist | LI Express - ‘24

The Long Island native did exceptionally well this past Saturday. Showing off an array of different exits, the thing that stood out most to me was his resilience to never give up on the play and hustle every second he was out on the field. Jack made it to the final three at our King of the X and finished second overall in the tournament. A lot of college coaches' heads were turning when they were watching Jack. I would love to see him continue to develop his middie skills and overall play outside of the X. 

Charles Quinn | Western Reserve Academy | Fusion West - ‘25 

The young man from Canada was one of my favorite players to watch all weekend. He showed that he spends a lot of time playing box by using scrappiness and competitiveness at the face off. Don’t call him a FOGO, Charles would pull it out at times, re-dodge and go one on one with his defender. Quinn’s big frame helped him muscle a lot of his opponents off the ball. I would love to see develop his technical skills at the Face Off X.

Chase Squires | Barrington High School | Platelli - ‘25

Chase impressed starting Friday night by winning the Championship at our practice session. The Rhode Island product had the fastest hands at the event. Him and Cody were the two best ‘25s at the event. Relying heavily on a very speedy power clamp, Chase showed that he is not just a FOGO, but he can actually make plays as well. I expect this young man to catch a lot of college coaches' eyes in the next few months. I would love to see Chase continue to focus on his frame.

Brayden Lasensky | Salesianum | Team Ten - ‘25

As part of a tag team with Squires on team 16, these two were fun to watch all day. Brayden is an incredible athlete and it showed as he was flying around the field making plays. Brayden comes from a program with historically great Faceoff guys and he belongs in that club. Relying heavily on his technical skills, he showed off an array of exits and moves that would keep his opponents on their toes. I would love to see Brayden develop his play outside of the dot and once he does that, I expect a ton of coaches to be after this young man.

Alex Chambers | Marple Newtown | NXT - ‘24

Chambers has a knack for balling out the Philly showcase. This is my second time watching this young man at this event, and once again he continued to impress. Chambers’ big frame and power clamp helped him dominate throughout the weekend. The thing that stood out to me the most this weekend was his coachability. He was able to listen to his coaches and players to execute their solid advice. I would love to see Alex continue to develop outside of the circle and push his stick work.

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