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Luke St. Pierre fell in love with North Carolina from pretty much the second he stepped on campus.
The Leading Edge 2027 and Lawrenceville defenseman was a priority recruit for the Tar Heels on Sept. 1. He was immediately invited to the UNC vs. TCU season-opening football game in prime time as Carolina made an aggressive early move in its 2027 recruiting. Once he got to campus, it was basically a done deal that the five-star prospect would call Chapel Hill his future home.
“Right when I arrived, I knew that it would be home for the next four years,” St. Pierre said. “I could just tell that the team was a very tight-knit group. I wanted to be a part of that and win national championships with them. UNC is an absolutely different place. Academically, it’s a top-notch school and the lacrosse program is also top-notch. They take care of every single kid on the team. I knew that no school could compare to that.”
St. Pierre Sets Off Leading Edge
Commit Avalanche
St. Pierre was the first Leading Edge ’27 to commit. He’s since been joined by nine others, giving the team one of the most impressive early commitment list of any club in the country. St. Pierre is only the second Leading Edge alum to pledge to the Tar Heels after ’17 Kevin Gill (Morristown-Beard). A sophomore starter for the Big Red, St. Pierre is a five-star prospect to both the National Lacrosse Federation and Inside Lacrosse.
St. Pierre loved the atmosphere of the football game, especially being on the field before the game and being a part of the raucous atmosphere in the stadium. But there was more to it than that. He saw an opportunity to join one of the premier lacrosse programs in the country, one that could compete for a national championship every year with him donning Carolina blue. That wasn’t lost on the 6-2, 190-pound lockdown defender.
“I worked my butt off to get there and I felt like I belonged,” St. Pierre said. “The kids there wanted to make each other better. I wanted to be a part of that. I knew from the second that (UNC head coach Coach (Joe) Breschi talked to me that Carolina would be my place to win games and national championships.”
Balancing His All-Around Game
St. Pierre was initially a part of a stacked Leading Edge 2026 team when he attended Don Bosco Prep before joining the ’27s after transferring to Lawrenceville. He was the Ironmen’s top cover man, routinely focused on dominating his 1v1 matchup. Suiting up for the Big Red helped him blossom as an off-ball defender, giving him the best of both worlds. That helped set him toward being one of the top ’27 defenders. He cemented that reputation with a lights-out summer for what was arguably the top defensive group in the country.
“Lawrenceville completely changed my game because I had to learn a lot of playing off-ball and playing team defense,” St. Pierre said. “I used to worry more about winning my 1v1 matchup. That, plus my time with Leading Edge, really helped. Coach (Chris) Roy and Coach (Erik) Dluhy helped my game so much with everything that they taught me.”
Tar Heels Land An Eraser
It doesn’t come as a surprise to Roy that St. Pierre was so highly sought-after. He’s watched St. Pierre erase many top scoring threats. There’s no doubt in Roy’s mind that St. Pierre will be able to seamlessly carry his game over to the ACC after two more years with the Big Red.
“Luke is one of the elite defensemen in the country for good reason,” Roy said. “He has prototypical size, excellent footwork, a good stick and an advanced understanding of off-ball defense. We always play an extremely rigorous schedule at Leading Edge, and Luke has thrived with that. He seeks out the toughest matchups because he’s so confident in his ability. I think that Coach Breschi found his next lockdown defenseman and I can’t wait to see Luke thrive at the next level at an elite program in Carolina.”