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Fall Nuggets 

2025 will be unlike any season we’ve ever experienced. Here are some nuggets from fall ball: 

Virginia

Virginia Transfers Charlie Balsamo (Duke) and Johnny Hackett (Bryant) got their first taste of Cavalier lacrosse in an alumni scrimmage. Hackett is a lefty midfielder from Bryant who put up 23 goals and 24 assists last spring. The Winnetka, Illinois native is not your typical alley dodging ACC middy, fun to watch, reminds me of a Peet Poillon clone. Google him. 57 flavors, Pittsburgh’s finest. 

You’re going to miss me when I’m gone. Connor is gone and he’s not coming back   How is Lars Tiffany going to deal with the departures of Connor Shellenberger and Payton Cormier?

You will see some first years on the two-deep in Charlottesville. 

Truitt Sunderland has raised his game following an injury in 2024 and a summertime of work and reflection. The time is now for Truitt to show up, do the work and ignore the critics. 

Hopkins

The Johns Hopkins Alumni game on October 5 was more impactful as a networking event and brotherhood builder than in evaluating the 2025 Jays. 10-2 final in a game featuring ten-minute running time quarters, was a Homewood debut in school colors for Loyola transfer goalie Luke Stoudt. Jimmy Ayers played attack. Jays released their 2025 game schedule which shockingly only features five home games. 

Maryland

Maryland held a red vs white scrimmage last Friday and the players had Saturday and Sunday off. It’s important that coaches grant the players some freedom during the fall to be college students. USC football visits College Park on October 19. The Terps will scrimmage St Joe’s and Lehigh this weekend in Philadelphia and finish the fall with Cornell on October 26. 

Maryland has six transfers – Noah Armitage, Bryce Ford, Zak Goomo, Jack Dowd, Matt Keegan and Luca Ward. Coach John Tillman did 4 weeks of skills, lifting and training to get guys acclimated. They begin their third week of 20 hours. 

Maryland has competitive position battles ongoing on the offensive side of the field. 

Freshmen endure failure and learn to adapt to the demanding D1 regimen. Club ball does not prepare the student athlete for the next level. The ratio of games to skills and teaching is out of whack during club participation. 

Yale

Yale is a dangerous team in 2025 if they can stay healthy. They scrimmaged North Carolina last weekend. The Bulldogs got through it unscathed but had a lot of guys out with ACL’s from last year. The projected starting defense and midfield didn’t play. Attackers Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson were back in action and will make Yale dangerous this spring in the loaded Ivy League. 

In the world of new developments, the Yale lacrosse program is partnering with the Wu Tsai Center at Yale. Under coach Andy Shay, this is a program that’s done wonderful work making their athletes bigger, stronger and faster. They have a championship banner to prove it. The goal of the new center is to improve and increase cognitive speed. That is to make faster decisions. Interesting cutting-edge stuff in New Haven. 

Georgetown

Georgetown plays Virginia this week at GT Prep. Notre Dame transfer Fulton Baymen is an interesting new face in the Swamp, probably more talented than fans realize after being injured and passed on the depth chart by pro level players in South Bend. 

The Hoyas look to rebuild in 2025 having lost their entire SSDM group, LsM plus playmakers Graham Bundy, Alex Vardaro and passer TJ Haley. Along with Denver, this lineup will change enormously. That would indicate that the Big East is wide open and perhaps regressing a tad in status for 2025.  

Albany

Albany heads west this week to the Seneca Nation in Salamanca to do a clinic on Saturday and then play Sacred Heart on Sunday. The Great Danes have three players from Salamanca currently with Amos Whitcomb, Mason Sanden and Tayoni Galante. This is fantastic community interaction. Albany has the pieces to make a run for a league championship and beyond. 

Notre Dame

The most critical and intense positional battle in Notre Dame is in the goal where the Irish look for an heir to Liam Entenmann. Liam won two NCAA titles going 48-14 over 62 starts and a whopping 3607 career minutes. Goalies Alex Zepf and Thomas Ricciardelli will audition for playing time this fall. 

Irish roster member Matt Jeffery is playing football along with Jordan Faison and Tyler Buchner. Scorer Jake Taylor is not with the squad this fall so we don’t get to see the spring version quite yet. ND is deep at midfield once again and Harvard transfer Greg Campisi will make an impact on the defensive end. 


QK will be in Boulder, CO for Kansas State at Colorado CFB on Saturday night at 10:15pm on ESPN.