Latish Kinsler spends his fall Saturdays wherever the recruitments of his clients take him.
As President of Football for LifeStyle Sports Agency, that often means places like Columbus, College Station, Ann Arbor, South Bend, Oxford or Nashville.
On Saturday, it meant Amherst.
Kinsler made the trip to UMass with four 2028 prospects from St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, N.J.; defensive backs Adrian and Amiir Woodward, defensive tackle Jayden Beckley and edge Aaren Cirino.
All four already have significant Power 4 interest.
The Woodward twins have been national recruits since before entering high school, with offers from schools like Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, Oregon, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Michigan among many others.
Beckley’s offer list includes Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M and Tennessee, among others, while Cirino has offers from Penn State, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others.
The Minutemen’s fast start to 2026 is already generating increased interest from higher-level prospects.
“It shows that UMass is moving in the right direction,” Kinsler said of the presence of his group on campus last weekend. “Twelve months has made a huge difference.”
Kinsler isn’t unfamiliar with UMass or head coach Joe Harasymiak. He has known Harasymiak since Harasymiak’s days at Rutgers and already represents two players on the Minutemen roster, freshman wide receiver David Moore Jr. and defensive lineman Zakar Morris.
Bringing four prospects with the recruiting profiles of the St. Peter’s Prep group to Amherst was significant.
Kinsler’s involvement with his clients goes well beyond negotiating deals or discussing finances. He makes it a point to be involved in their recruitments and help them evaluate the people and programs they’re considering.
One of the most important things he looks for is leadership from the head coach.
“When I’m talking to my athletes about picking the school, it’s picking the school that the head coach is a leader of young men,” Kinsler said. “I definitely see that in him.”
The four St. Peter’s Prep prospects demonstrated their own level of interest just by making the trip.
They had played rival Bergen Catholic the night before, a game that carried additional significance because Beckley and the Woodward twins previously attended Bergen Catholic. After the loss, all four got up the next morning and made the trip to Amherst with Kinsler.
Kinsler appreciated that.
“They could have easily called me and said, ‘No, we’re not going to come. We’re sore, we’re tired,’ whatever the case is,” he said.
What they saw was a UMass program that improved to 3-0 with a 36-14 victory over Stonehill.
The St. Peter’s Prep group was part of a larger collection of prospects in Amherst on Saturday that also included top Massachusetts prospects DJ Graham, Jayden McGuffie and Luke Richardson. Harasymiak has noticed a difference in the type of recruits willing to make those trips as the Minutemen have started winning.
“It’s definitely better to recruit off winning,” Harasymiak said Monday. “Especially from the state of Mass, I think in New England, we’ve had a bunch of good guys up here that probably honestly wouldn’t have taken a trip a year ago.”
The victories have made some of those initial conversations easier.
“It’s a little bit easier to go to some games,” Harasymiak said. “Wear the logo, you always got to be proud of that, but I think that’s becoming more noticeable that we’re off to a hot start. So we got to keep that rolling.”
There is another part of the pitch UMass can make beyond its record. Harasymiak pointed to the contributions the Minutemen are already getting from younger players, including true freshman David Chiavegato, who blocked a punt against Stonehill.
“You’re seeing the freshmen like Chiavegato come in here and do what they got to do,” Harasymiak said.
Kinsler certainly sees that and now more than ever, early playing time could be a factor that helps a school like UMass become more attractive to prospects who may have Power-4 offers.
“It’s imperative for players to play early,” said Kinsler, pointing to the new 5 For 5 rules that eliminate the benefit of redshirting. “We need to play.”
That’s one reason Kinsler isn’t dismissing UMass as an option for prospects who already have offers from programs with more established national profiles.
“You just never know in this landscape what the future holds,” he said. “We’re going to continue the communication. Each athlete will continue communication. I know the Woodward twins have seemed to be national recruits since eighth grade going into ninth grade, but you just never know.”
Kinsler came away from his own time in Amherst with a better understanding of what UMass can offer. He liked the campus and described it as a peaceful, safe place where an athlete could have a quality college experience.
More importantly for UMass, he left thinking about other clients who could make sense for the Minutemen.
“After viewing, sitting down, getting a true feeling, there will be other guys. I have tons of guys, dozens of players that I feel fit UMass.”
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