With the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse fall ball season wrapping up here in the coming weeks at the, let’s get caught up on some of the major changes since the end of last season.
Delaware was a quarterfinalist in 2022 and brings back the vast majority of its minutes. Defender Owen Grant is one of my favorite players to watch and should be a PLL draft pick when the dust settles.
Loyola is a tricky read having graduated LSM Ryan McNulty, FOGO Bailey Savio, goalie Sam Shafer and scorers Aidan Olmstead and Kevin Lindley. Their success in 2021 was followed by a sub par 2022 campaign. Coach Charley Toomey is navigating through a plethora of fall injuries.
Everybody has injuries. Most are minor, all are concerning and a few are long term. College teams must learn to balance intensity with sensibility. Lacrosse is a violent game played amongst athletes who’ve never been as big, fast, and explosive as they are now. Add to that single sport overuse injuries and you have a perfect storm.
The strength of the Greyhound roster will be the attack where they return Joey Kamish and Evan James along with Davis Lindsey. Midfielder Adam Poitras was their most effective dodger from the lefty wing and played well for Team Canada during the U21 World Games in Ireland.
Johns Hopkins has hit rock bottom and now there is only forward trajectory. Peter Milliman has gone 11-18 in two seasons and is the first JHU coach to suffer back-to-back losing seasons since 1952 and 1953. Throw in the 2–4 record during the 2020 pandemic season and this is undoubtedly the worst stretch in Blue Jay lacrosse history.
Milliman added OC John Crawley and volunteer Brian Kelly to his staff. Both moves being widely received as positives. The fan base is understandably restless and the schedule is challenging. The Jays (RPI 20) picked up an impact transfer at the LSM spot with Georgetown graduate Alex Mazzone. He’s the best player on their roster. The freshman and junior classes will be relied upon heavily. Garrett Degnon and Jacob Angelus are proven commodities. Jonathan Peshko and Brendan Grimes must become more consistent contributors for a team that was on the wrong side of every meaningful statistical category in 2020 and 2021.
Virginia looks loaded and the rest of Division 1 lacrosse should take note. The additions of Thomas McConvey and Truitt Sunderland bolster an already lethal offense led by Connor Shellenberger. Scoring goals isn’t the issue in Charlottesville with Xander Dickson and Griffin Schutz complimenting Shelly. Coach Lars Tiffany was my guest this week on the Quintessential Podcast. UVA’s main question mark exists at the SSDM position. Their defensive personnel and LSMs have PLL length and range unlike any collegiate defensive position group I’ve ever seen.
Harvard went 8-5 while .500 in the Ivy League with a young team before being blasted from the NCAA tournament 19-9 by Rutgers looking like they didn’t belong. They’ll be improved in 2023 with 75% of the group returning. The Sam King to Hayden Cheek combo is money.
Maryland’s biggest concern is at the SSDM position where four eventual pros graduated. The Terrapin’s 2022 shorties were the best unit in nation; by a wide margin in my estimation. New faces could put stress on the poles and goalie. Luckily for Head Coach John Tillman, he has Ajax Zappitello and Brett Makar to clean up any impending mess. Maryland hung tough in two scrimmages against Team USA, losing 5-4 and 8-5 which I find to be extremely impressive. I don’t worry about the offense as there is ample amount of firepower even after an injury to Eric Malever and the departure of OC Bob Benson to Providence. The Terps will drop a tad closer to the pack after a historic 2022 season but remain the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse franchise to beat.
At Yale, Matt Brandau and others had to withdraw from school this semester to preserve eligibility. So Yale was a partial product this fall. The Bulldogs defense was subpar last spring, never gelling and in constant support of SSDMs who were repeatedly torched. Matt Brandau, Leo Johnson, Chris Lyons, Thomas Bragg, and Brad Sharp along with Patrick Hackler playing a two-way role means Yale will score big. Coach Andy Shay was a guest on the podcast earlier this fall and discussed all things Eli. The Ivy League is once again overflowing with talent.
Princeton graduated lefty Chris Brown, defender George Baughan, LSM Andrew Song, and goalie Erik Peters. A small but elite group of tone setters. This year, Coach Matt Madalon will rely on Alex Slusher, Coulter Macksey, Sam English, Alexander Vardaro, and Jake Stevens. The Tigers aren’t deep but they are dangerous and international travelers after a fall trip to Spain, leaving the day after a Friday night scrimmage against Ohio State that was evenly matched.
The Big Red marched to the NCAA final, capitalizing on the softest bracket alignment in tournament history. Wins over Ohio State, Delaware, and Rutgers paved a path to Memorial Day (RPI’s 14, 18 and 5). To their credit, Cornell kept improving and answering the bell. In fact, I kind of fell in love with them on the way to Hartford. Now they’ll have a more formidable team with stars like CJ Kirst, Hugh Kelleher, Gavin Adler, and Jack Follows.
North Carolina lost four of their last five games in 2022 and said goodbye to Chris Gray. Between injuries and inexperience, I think it’s prudent to temper expectations. Goalie Collin Krieg is vastly underrated, he’s stood tall in the face of constant pressure. The same can be said for LSM Matt Wright, an elite competitor. Who’s going to score? Sophomore Dewey Egan, speedster Lance Tillman, or transfers Logan McGovern and Sean Goldsmith? My money is on the transfers as the leading candidates. Freshman Dom Pietramala will redshirt. Freshman James Matan, who I like a lot, didn’t play in the fall scrimmage because of an injury.
Duke keeps a low profile during the fall. They didn’t make the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse tournament in 2022. Lefty scorer Brennan O’Neill, Dyson Williams, defender Kenny Brower, defender Tyler Carpenter, shorty Jake Caputo, and FOGO Jake Naso form the nucleus. Andrew McAdorey was a catalyst in year one from the midfield. Tommy Shelling transfers in from Lehigh and may put up big stats. Duke (11-6) needs to upgrade its midfield, defense, and riding. Will their record equate to the talent level? They play Queens on Saturday in Durham.
Syracuse (4-10) benefits from a highly rated freshman class including attackman Joey Spallina, attackman Finn Thomson, shorty Riley Figueiras, defender (injured) Billy Dwan, and defender Jimmy McCool. Like Johns Hopkins, the Orange are trying to elevate from a deep funk. It’ll take time. Lefty Owen Hiltz is back on the field and Head Coach Gary Gait added transfers Alex Simmons from Denver and Cole Kirst from Lehigh.
That begs the question. Who gets back to the NCAA Division 1 Lacrosse Championship Weekend first? SU or JHU?
St. Joe’s went 14-4 and a perfect 7-0 in the NEC in 2022. They proved to be legit. With Levi Anderson, Matt Bohmer, and Carter Page returning, even bigger achievements are feasible. FOGO Zach Cole is a pro prospect and Goalie Robbie Seeley is now seasoned. This is the mid-major to keep an eye on.
Georgetown played only 18 team members in their first round home loss to Delaware in 2022. Depth was sold separately. The Hoyas (15-2) won the summer transfer portal with the additions of Tucker Dordevic, goalie Danny Hincks, attackmen Jacob Kelly, and Nicky Solomon. The schedule was upgraded in 2022. Georgetown has as much high level talent as anybody with Graham Bundy Jr., Declan McDermott, Dylan Hess, and Will Bowen. The Swamp Dogs have no excuses in 2023.
Ohio State will miss Jackson Reid and Justin Inacio, two long-time program contributors who latched onto PLL rosters. The Buckeyes have been aggressive in the portal landing Army defenseman Marcus Hudgins, attackman Kyle Lewis from Lynchburg, and Maryland LSM Justin Sherrer. The star of the show is Jack Myers, a do-it-all old school styled ball carrier from X or the wing. He was terrific in 2022. If Sophomores Bobby Van Buren (D) and Ari Allen (M) take that next step to greatness, Ohio State will contend for the Big Ten title. Coach Nick Myers played Robert Morris and Princeton this fall. Ed Shean had a big night against the Tigers.
This spring season welcomes realignment. The Atlantic Sun features Air Force, Bellarmine, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Jacksonville, Lindenwood, Mercer, Queens, Robert Morris, and Utah.
The Atlantic-10 features Richmond, Saint Joseph’s, St. Bonaventure, and UMass with Fairfield, High Point, and Hobart as affiliate members.
The CAA added Hampton, Monmouth, and Stony Brook.
SoCon lacrosse is dead.
The MAAC includes Canisius, LIU, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Siena, VMI, and Wagner.
The America East consists of Binghamton, Bryant, Merrimack, NJIT, UAlbany, UMass Lowell, UMBC and Vermont.
There are eight new head D1 coaches in 2023.
| St. John’s | Justin Turri | |
| Providence | Bobby Benson | |
| UMass Lowell | Drew Kelleher | |
| NJIT | Eric Wolf | |
| Bryant | Brad Ross | |
| Manhattan | John Odierna | |
| LIU | Jordan Levine | |
| Mercer | Ryan Danehy |
