Top Recruits Abbott, Waters Have Found Ways to Improve Through NTDP Combine

SPARKS, Md. — The next generation of U.S. Women’s National Team athletes are trying out during the USA Lacrosse National Team Development Program National Combine at USA Lacrosse headquarters this week.

Fifty-five of the top athletes from the class of 2026 and 2027 hit the turf to earn one of the 24 roster spots available for the Rivalry Challenge (Sept. 18-21) and the Brogden Cup (Oct. 24-26).

The group will compete against Team Canada and the Haudenosaunee during the Brogden Cup and will face Canada West and Canada East during the Rivalry Challenge. The former event will also include a sixes format.

A large portion of this week’s combine participants have either tried out or made a USA Select team before. One of the class of 2026’s highest-rated recruits, Stanford commit Olivia Abbott, sat on the sideline during the National Combine last year with a knee injury but said she still found ways to improve her game.

“I was able to see the patterns that were forming, the things that coaches were looking for and how some players applied it better than others,” Abbott said. “I just think it’s a very valuable experience every time I come.”

The U19 hopefuls participated in their first full-field scrimmage Wednesday morning, which Abbott said “was amazing.”

Stanford assistant coach Nicole Beardsley, who is helping the U.S. staff as an evaluator throughout the week, said the scrimmage was a great opportunity for midfielders to show their capabilities in the middle of the field.

“From an evaluation standpoint, it’s great,” Beardsley said. “Some players, they shine more in between the 30s and hustle, gritty plays, so just giving them the opportunity to showcase those skills.”

With the Rivalry Challenge incorporating a sixes format, Beardsley said the staff is looking for players that can play both ways.

“You don’t necessarily have to be a rock star at both; you do need to understand your strengths,” she said. “It's a fast game, so you have to be able to keep up with that play from a stick work standpoint and also just the ability to reset, because there’s no real stoppage.”

Many of the returning players from last year’s combine have also enjoyed developing relationships with their teammates.

Returning attacker Kylie Waters said she enjoys playing alongside and against a lot of her competition during the summer circuit while at the developmental program. Waters will take her talents to Clemson once she graduates from Milton (Ga.) High School next year.

“You hear a lot of comments like, ‘Oh my God, I hated playing against you, you were so hard to go up against 1-v-1,’” Beardsley said. “I say hate in the utmost form of respect. To bring them all into one space, one field, where not only do their relationships grow and build that appreciation, but also just can kind of push each other to a new level.”

As the players age and head to college soon, the thought of playing for the U.S. National Team and competing for a gold medal becomes more real. With a future gold medal on her mind, Waters said she “turned up the jets” during her offseason conditioning this summer.

“It’s just such a goal that I have,” Waters said. “I feel like playing lacrosse at the next, next level, not just the collegiate level, it can help you with the outside world. It shows that you have teamwork, that you can work with others [and] that you can push yourself.”