Quint Kessenich breaks down the latest Top 20 rankings as the 2025 college lacrosse season takes shape. With early-season results shaking up the landscape, this week’s list highlights key performances, rising contenders, and teams looking to find their rhythm.
20) Delaware
Hens beat Utah 13-12 in dramatic fashion in Salt Lake City. In his first game, Bennett Parmer scored four goals, including the game-winner with under a minute to play. It was the first ranked win for Delaware since May 5, 2022, at #2 Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament first round. Hens host St. John’s this weekend.
19) Towson
An 11-10 loss to neighbor Johns Hopkins at home on a Tuesday night was a missed opportunity. Towson played like a team in its first game—with six failed clears and 21 turnovers. I was impressed with their grit and willingness to play for 60 minutes after trailing 8-4. Ronan Fitzpatrick, who went (4,2) in a scrimmage against Bucknell, shot 5 for 9. Mikey Weishaar (shot 2 of 8) was easy to pick out on the streaming feed. Towson will have to come up with creative ways to free up the talented playmaker. The Tigers are in Syracuse on February 10 for some Monday Madness.
18) Providence
The Friars (2-0) used a 6-2 fourth quarter to top Rhode Island rival Bryant 15-12 on Saturday. Ryan Bell (1,6) and Parker Kennedy (3,0) paced the offense. Bell moved into second place on the Friars’ all-time scoring list with 185 points (52 goals, 133 assists). Stone Evans scored his first career goal, and goalie Dan Donahue recorded 15 saves. Big game alert as the Friars host Harvard on Saturday in the Chowder Pot.
17) Georgetown
Thirty-four shots. Just 12 on goal, and only six went in. The Hoyas dominated possession early against Hopkins yet trailed 6-3 at halftime. An 11-6 setback should yield upgrades to the transition defense. On offense, the Swamp Dogs lack dodgers and lefties and will have to find solutions to win a seventh consecutive Big East title. Defender Ty Banks was a bright spot. Hoyas turn their attention to Penn this week in what has been a terrific series.
16) Michigan
The Big Ten is having a February to forget, with Ohio State, Rutgers, and Michigan all non-conference losers. A lopsided defeat in Chapel Hill was a wake-up call for Big Blue. UM didn’t handle defensive pressure well and was sloppy with the ball (unforced or weak turnovers). Shot selection was an issue. Michigan’s defense never looked comfortable chasing Owen Daly and his UNC teammates around. Developing an identity on both sides of the ball will take time in Ann Arbor. UM plays Hobart next.
15) Harvard
Crimson debut on February 15 at Providence. The only time you speak when playing chess is to say checkmate.
14) Denver
The Pios took care of business at Air Force in Colorado Springs, winning 14-8 to extend their series lead to (26-3) all-time against the Falcons. Pios shot 9 of 16 in the first half as AF didn’t make a save until the third quarter. Marek Tzagournis scored three times, and Mic Kelly—very much a PLL prospect—was once again impactful. Mountain powerhouses Utah and Denver play Saturday in Peter Barton Stadium.
13) Army
A 6-0 first quarter silenced UMass in the Cadets’ 16-9 road win in Amherst. Jackson Eicher had seven points, and Army took 55 shots. Evan Plunkett’s brother, Hill, went (2,2) in his debut. The righty freshman from Roswell, GA, spent a year at Army Prep. Rutgers visits West Point on Saturday. The Patriot League feels wide open.
12) Duke
The Devils handled Jacksonville 14-9. Jack Pappendick and Luke Grayum had three goals apiece. A five-goal run at 9-7 put the game away. Goalie Buck Cunningham relieved Patrick Jameison at halftime. Blue Devils meet St. Joe’s this weekend.
11) UNC
A 15-6 dominating win over Michigan is a step in the right direction for a Carolina team looking to win its way into the Top Ten. Owen Duffy and Dom Pietramala had four goals apiece. Transfer goalie Michael Gianforcaro (Princeton) made 12 saves, and transfer SSDM Andrew O’Berry (Harvard) had four ground balls and three caused turnovers. UNC and Stony Brook play on Friday night at 6 p.m. on ACCNx.
Football coach Bill Belichick has been recruiting two-sport athletes, similar to the model he witnessed growing up at the Naval Academy when the Midshipmen were dominant on the lacrosse field using football players in the late 1960s. Belichick is a positive development for Tar Heel lacrosse.
10) Penn
The Quakers were (9-6) in 2024, playing the nation’s most challenging non-conference schedule. They lost to GT, UNC, St. Joe’s, Yale, and Princeton twice. In those setbacks, the offense averaged 9.2 goals per game. They fell in the Ivy League final to Princeton in Ithaca and did not make the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 slate is aggressive, with non-Ivy games against GT, Albany, Delaware, UNC, Duke, Nova, St. Joe’s, and Notre Dame. That’s amazing.
9) Maryland
The Terps needed OT to take down a pesky Loyola squad on Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore. That’s not exactly what I was expecting. Good for Loyola, who effectively zoned the first midfield line and harassed the second group with a man-to-man scheme. Bad for Maryland. An 8-7 ugly final featured just two Terp goals through 45 minutes.
In the end, Maryland had 31 shots with 19 on goal, but 18 turnovers aren’t superb metrics. Eric Spanos scored four of the eight goals. The bench contributed (0,0). This result is a red flag. Loyola, coming off a loss to Georgetown, was (7-8) in 2024 and graduated 80% of its offense. They play nine freshmen in the two-deep. Not sure where the Terps belong. We find out soon. “Be the Best” hosts Syracuse on Saturday.
8) Penn State
The Nittany Lions’ defense has been stingy in wins against Colgate and in Sunday’s 15-5 road victory at Villanova. Matt Traynor and Kyle Lehman form a very potent 1-2 punch. Goalie Jack Fracyon was 67% on the icy surface. Princeton and Penn State meet on Saturday in a good one.
7) Johns Hopkins
The Jays avoided Tuesday turmoil by hanging on to win 11-10 at Towson. Up 6-2, 8-4, and 9-7, they couldn’t easily escape into the night. Brooks English, finally healthy, had four points, and Hunter Chauvette continues to dazzle with his sidewinding lefty release. The biggest goal of the game was put in by FOGO Logan Callahan.
On Saturday, Georgetown earned the early FO advantage. But JHU shot 6 for 11 in the first 30 minutes, while Georgetown only connected on 3 of 24. The 11-6 victory, the third in a week, was a positive outing for goalie Luke Staudt and midfielder Matt Collison. The pep band never sounded better. Snow drifts with pellets sat in the west end zone as ice skaters circled endlessly on the temporary rink in the parking lot.
Hopkins is riding more aggressively in 2025. After the clearing meltdown in the 2024 quarterfinal loss to Virginia, they’ve dedicated more time to that facet. The settled offensive sets feature wicked two-man games, with crisp passing, slips, and cuts, so Towson elected to back off and play zone defense.
The Blue Jay zone offense will ultimately improve—they have high-IQ players with sharp sticks and enough outside bombers to open up the crease. But I do wonder long term, when playing legit Top 10 defenses like Virginia and Notre Dame—can the Jays draw slides? Can they get to the goal for themselves? Outside of Collison, who can consistently beat their man?
This is why they’ll rely heavily on two-man games, which is fine. I also wonder if they have a true X attackman. And will JHU get any real production from the third attack spot? And defensively, how long can they continue to switch on all picks and show little care for matchups? How does that look against Spallina, Millon, and Duffy?
“We Want More” visits Loyola on Saturday (ESPN+). The Greyhounds, like DU and GT, have all sorts of new faces in the lineup. How’s Loyola going to score against Johns Hopkins?
Jury is out on what these three wins will mean come May. Certainly beats losing. We will see. Middleweight champs for now. Can the Jays run with the big boys? Don’t know yet. Hopkins has a full week of practice beginning on Monday to clean up the mistakes of three games. Improvement is most critical in February and March.
6) Princeton
FOGO Andrew McMeekin may be one of the most important players in the country because he can create scoring chances and also protect the defense. McMeekin went 55% at the dot last spring with eight goals—the second-most for a FOGO nationally.
The Ivy champs are coming off an (11-5) season with losses to Maryland (twice), Duke, Cornell, and Brown, in which the Tiger defense gave up an average of 14.8 goals per loss. That defense parted with defender Pace Billings and goalie Michael Gianforcaro to the grad transfer portal. The offense is loaded.
Tigers begin with Penn State in a critical Ivy-Big Ten showdown.
5) Virginia
A 19-9 opening day win over Colgate featured six goals from Truit Sunderland. Thirty-nine degrees and raining didn’t deter 1,923 fans from banging on the Klöckner aluminum bleachers. Griffin Schutz and Jack Walshe recorded hat tricks. LSM Ben Wayer went (2,1) on seven shots with nine ground balls and two caused turnovers. That’s a full day’s work.
The relentless tempo was sparked by 56 UVA ground balls. Goalies Kyle Morris and Matt Nunes split halves. The starting defense of George Fulton, Griffin Kology, and John Schroter, along with LSM Wayer, forms an intimidating back line. UVA hosts Richmond on Saturday. ESPN+. Chris Cotter and I have the call.
4) Yale
The Ivies don’t get started until February 15. The Bulldogs play Nova, Army, Penn State, and Denver before Ivy League lacrosse action.
3) Cornell
The goalie position is critical for Cornell this spring. Big Red’s 2024 losses: Denver (17), Penn State (20), Penn (11), ND (18), Penn (13)—goals against in parentheses. Cornell tangles with Lehigh (0-2) to kick off its season.
2) Syracuse
#HHH led 10-1 at halftime in a 13-5 win over Vermont on Friday night. Orange shooting was muffled by Catamount goalie Ryan Daly. SU shot just 7 for its last 37. Looks like both Joey Spallina and Owen Hiltz lost about 15 pounds. Spallina had 10 points.
FOGO depth may become an issue. SU appears to be stronger at close defense with transfer Michael Grace and a healthy Riley Figuerias. The SSDM group is also upgraded. Lots to like here. SU is a solid #2 right now in my book. Spots #4 through #12 are interchangeable until we have more data and tape.
SU defender Billy Dwan III was my guest last week on the Quintessential Podcast. Syracuse squares off with Towson on Monday at 5 p.m. (ACCNx), and Otto is at Maryland on Saturday.
1) Notre Dame
Rudy’s lacrosse opener is against Cleveland State on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The Irish, a clear-cut #1, are (36-3) since the midway point of 2022.
Q-Tips
Utah, Richmond, Villanova, UAlbany, Stony Brook, Sacred Heart, Navy, and Fairfield are in the next bunch.
Congrats to UMass-Lowell for their first win in over 1,014 calendar days.
High Point coach John Crawley picks up his first D1 victory.
And a salute to Iona for logging their first D1 win against Hampton on Sunday.
Quint Kessenich covers lacrosse for the ESPN family of networks and writes for LaxAllStars. Please support our sponsors and share the poll with your friends.
