Dukes Have the Early Edge in WPIAL Recruiting

One of the things I like to watch with recruiting is how schools perform in their local area- particularly when it’s a contested zone. Southwestern Pennsylvania, also known as Section 7 or the WPIAL, is one of the most hotly contested and talent rich areas in the NEC’s footprint. Robert Morris, Duquesne, and Mercyhurst all love to scout for talent in the area and tend to sign impact players each cycle.

There’s also an old adage that local schools have an advantage with local players. This is fortunately very true. Not everyone is focused on the biggest name as much as they are on staying close to home. It’s also true that familiarity assists with recruiting- sure, Kent State might be FBS, but if you’ve grown up following the Dukes or the Colonials, are you really more impressed by a MAC school than a school you’ve seen locally have success? For lots of NEC schools, keeping players with MAC offers is part of the normal cycle of recruiting and it shouldn’t ever be a shock when an NEC school beats a MAC school for a commitment- it happens every cycle.

Last season, first year impact players from the WPIAL included Ryan Petras (Bethel Park), WR, Duquesne, who won our Rookie of the Year honors as well as the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Camden Lewis (South Allegheny) was also an early impact player for Mercyhurst. The highly touted TE scored a touchdown as a freshman and should see more action as his career develops. Defensively, DB Arison Walker (Aliquippa) was a standout for Saint Francis and has entered the transfer portal due to the situation there. We’ll hope to see more of him in the NEC.

This year, the first two WPIAL recruits off of the board are for the Dukes, and both look like they have potential to be impact players.

Santino LaMolinare, OL, Bethel Park

LaMolinare is one of the top rated recruits in Western PA and received opportunities at plenty of schools in the region. He played OT at Class 5A Bethel Park with current Duke Ryan Petras. Duquesne was actually his 10th offer, with schools like Rhode Island, Towson, New Hampshire, Richmond, Stony Brook, Albany, Lafayette, and Bucknell also requesting his services. Ohio also showed interest.

But if you’re a Dukes fan, you really love that he had an opportunity at Robert Morris as well and chose the other hometown school. RMU and Duquesne often spar for the same local prospects, and since it’s become clear that LeMolinare wanted to stay home, the implicarton here is that the Dukes won a one-on-one battle with the Colonials.

Duquesne tends to be deep on the offensive line and has been experienced, so LaMolinare may not see action in his first season. But like another local Duke, Zae-Mear Correll (WR, Clairton, Class of 2025), you should expect to see him on the field as a key contributor in the future.

Will Martin, LB, Seton LaSalle

When we wrote about Martin’s commitment, we had a pretty funny anecdote from the scene and one that probably doesn’t happen every day. The Duquesne coaches were arguing while giving out the offer for if Martin would play offense or defense for the Dukes! He was incredibly valuable for both sides as he led the Rebels, especially in the WPIAL Championship Game.

Martin lined up as a Wildcat QB in a package the Rebels called “Psycho” and ran in 3 TDs to win 21-14 over Steel Valley.

Do the math here. 3 TDs. Rebels won 21-14. The Psycho was the offense.

Martin had offers from MAC schools including Toledo and Eastern Michigan, but committed on the spot when he got the Duquesne offer. The commitment surprised the coaches, but obviously in a very good way. Martin choosing the Dukes was one of the key wins in the early signing period for any NEC school.

It’s not that it’s rare for an NEC player to have MAC offers. The timing of this one was special, though, as those MAC offers came in and Martin considered them. But when the Dukes came calling, Martin committed on the spot.

There’s recruiting wins, and there’s WINS. The way Martin chose the Dukes? That’s a WIN.

We’ll continue to provide recruiting analysis for the NEC schools as the offseason rolls on as part of the usual magazine prep.