Powellfan
Renowned lacrosse analyst
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As we put a cap on the 2022 college lacrosse season, the next step is to look forward to the 2023 lacrosse season. It's really early to do so and a lot will change before the first face-off next Spring. But what else is there to do? I can't remember a season that looks so incredibly wide open, at least as of now. Given that coaches will change schools and the transfer market hasn't come close to closing, teams will rise and fall all over the rankings. This is my best guess, I'm sure I will miss some teams and I might be wrong about some players coming back and some leaving. If you know about a player, please point it out!
1. Georgetown - my confidence level about this pick is not super high at all. This team is coming off a huge first round upset to Delaware. But the talent is undeniable. Dordevic, Bundy, Bowen, Minicus, Hess, Reilly, Haley. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of guys. They do have to replace their starting short stick defensive midfielders as well as the best goalie this past year and a very good defender. And they also have to incorporate a lot of transfers, which isn't easy. Lastly, this team hasn't "been there before" so it's hard for me to imagine them in the final four, let alone the best team in the country. But as of this writing I think they have the most talent. The Big East on the whole next year looks pretty weak, not sure if that helps or hurts the Hoyas.
2. Virginia - probably a pick not a lot of people agree with. But they only have to replace one (very good) player in Matt Moore and already are bringing in Thomas McConvey from UVM. They also bring in a very good recruiting class. I just don't see a lot of holes for the Cavs and I think they make it a lot further in last year's tournament if they don't face UMD when they do. The one thing hanging over this teams head is the potential departure of assistant coach Sean Kirwan. If he leaves I would have to drop the Cavs.
3. Cornell - what a tourny run from the Big Red. Not only that they return a ton of talent next year, CJ Kirst should be a Tewaarton candidate, Michael Long, Gavin Adler, Hugh Kelleher. But they do have a big departure in John Piatelli, and unlike UVA, no obvious replacement candidate.
4. Maryland - A really hard team to judge right now because they lose a TON of talent (DeMaio, Wisnauskis, all four SSDMs, Donville, Khan), but they also bring back a ton of talent (Weirman, Makar, Zappatelo, McAnaney, Long, Murphy, Maltz, Malever). They also haven't really touched the transfer portal. If any team can shoot up these rankings its the Terps.
5. Yale - returns almost everyone on offense including all three starting attackmen (two of which were freshmen last year). Their defense wasn't great last season and lose their stalwart in Chris Fake. They had some weird performances last year (losing to Penn State, going to overtime with UMass), but talent wise they are very good.
6. Notre Dame - The Irish lose their starting close defense (but brings in a big transfer in Chris Conlin) and probably their best midfielder in Jackaboice. Still they return everyone else on offense and if there is any team that plays good defense no matter the personnel its Notre Dame. They took too long last year to come together and play to their potential.
7. Penn - This is where things start to get difficult. The Quakers return the best midfielder in the country in Sam Handley and some other nice offensive pieces. Not sure if they have to replace Burkinshaw in goal. None of their players have entered the portal so assume most will be coming back.
8. Princeton - The Tigers had a great year last year making it all the way to the final four. They bring back a lot of really good players including their leading scorers 2 - 7. Slusher and English combined for 104 points. But they do lose Chris Brown who led the team in scoring with 72 and their best defender in George Baughan (and maybe their starting goalie).
9. Harvard - The Crimson were very young last year, three of their top four scorers were freshmen last year. They do lose second leading scorer Austin Madronic and their goalie Kyle Mullin.
10. BU - I believe the Terriers bring back six of their highest scorers next year, and they put up a lot of points. The Patriot League on a whole looks to be way down next year with Army, Lehigh and Loyola losing a ton of players.
11. Duke - The Devils had a rough season last year despite their talent. O'Neil returns as a junior and he'll still have Williams and MacAdory to play with. They do have to find a right hander for their attack line as they lose both Robinson and Lulley. Also a big hole is in cage where they lose Adler. They don't bring in their typical high powered recruiting class.
12. Delaware - The Blue Hens had a huge win over the Hoyas in the tournament. They also bring back a ton of talent including their three leading scorers who combined for 207 points. They also bring back sure fire PLL draft pick Owen Grant.
13. Ohio State - They should get back Jack Myers and Colby Smith but I believe they lose Jackson Reid. They also need to replace their very good FOGO. They return one of the best young defenders in Bobby Van Burren.
14. Syracuse - I really didn't expect to be ranking Syracuse this high, but looking at the competition the Orange should be well positioned going into next season. Hiltz returns and joins his former high school teammate Alex Simmons. Of course the big news for the Orange is the welcoming of the country's number one recruit and recruiting class. The Orange should be very young and a lot will depend on who is facing off for them next year, but I think this ranking is fair.
15. Richmond - The Spiders look well positioned next season but are going to miss their leading and fourth leading scorer. But they have some good talent coming back including Dalton Young, Lance Madonna as well as their starting goalie and fogo.
16. Rutgers - The Scarlett Knights bring back some good players with Knobloch, Scott and Sprock returns from injury, but they lose a ton on defense starting with their goalie and some other offensive pieces (including Bartolo). Have to imagine they'll be active in the portal but who they bring in remains to be seen.
17. Jacksonville - Can Galloway breakthrough to the playoffs? He losses his top scorer in Waldbaum and fourth with Jack Dolan but he gets two attackmen who combined for 130 points - and adds a big transfer in Dylan Watson to the mix. He does lose his starting goalie which will hurt.
18. St Joe's - a lot depends on who they can bring back eligibility wise - I don't think they lose any of their top four scorers who all scored more than 50 points (two are listed as seniors though they aren't in the transfer portal to my knowledge). And of course they should bring back Zach Cole who is a face-off machine.
19. Navy - The Midshipmen bring back their two highest scorers in Skanliak and Swanson who combined for 86 points. Can Xavier Arline make a bigger impact? He had only 8 points last year. Feels like there has been a lot of hype surrounding Navy when it comes to recruiting the last few years, does it start to pay off in 2023?
20. Utah - The western most team in college lacrosse last year was incredibly young, five of their top six scorers were sophomores last year and the long senior should have eligibility for next year. They seem to have hired the right guy in McMinn. Should definitely be a team to watch next year.
If you are still reading, thanks for humoring me. I am no expert (just look at my pick'em record) but this is a fun exercise. Please feel free to point out where I am wrong and share your own opinions. Other lacrosse writes much smarter than me will have their picks out soon I am sure. It should be interesting to look back on this list in the fall when most transfers have picked a new school to see how much of it has changed. I looked at a lot of blue blood programs that just didn't make the cut (Denver, UNC, Hopkins). That said, being part of the preseason top 20 doesn't guarantee much - UNC, Loyola and Lehigh were numbers 7-9 in Quint's list in February. Cornell wasn't ranked anywhere. So just keep in mind that the only guarantee in this is that it will be wrong!
1. Georgetown - my confidence level about this pick is not super high at all. This team is coming off a huge first round upset to Delaware. But the talent is undeniable. Dordevic, Bundy, Bowen, Minicus, Hess, Reilly, Haley. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of guys. They do have to replace their starting short stick defensive midfielders as well as the best goalie this past year and a very good defender. And they also have to incorporate a lot of transfers, which isn't easy. Lastly, this team hasn't "been there before" so it's hard for me to imagine them in the final four, let alone the best team in the country. But as of this writing I think they have the most talent. The Big East on the whole next year looks pretty weak, not sure if that helps or hurts the Hoyas.
2. Virginia - probably a pick not a lot of people agree with. But they only have to replace one (very good) player in Matt Moore and already are bringing in Thomas McConvey from UVM. They also bring in a very good recruiting class. I just don't see a lot of holes for the Cavs and I think they make it a lot further in last year's tournament if they don't face UMD when they do. The one thing hanging over this teams head is the potential departure of assistant coach Sean Kirwan. If he leaves I would have to drop the Cavs.
3. Cornell - what a tourny run from the Big Red. Not only that they return a ton of talent next year, CJ Kirst should be a Tewaarton candidate, Michael Long, Gavin Adler, Hugh Kelleher. But they do have a big departure in John Piatelli, and unlike UVA, no obvious replacement candidate.
4. Maryland - A really hard team to judge right now because they lose a TON of talent (DeMaio, Wisnauskis, all four SSDMs, Donville, Khan), but they also bring back a ton of talent (Weirman, Makar, Zappatelo, McAnaney, Long, Murphy, Maltz, Malever). They also haven't really touched the transfer portal. If any team can shoot up these rankings its the Terps.
5. Yale - returns almost everyone on offense including all three starting attackmen (two of which were freshmen last year). Their defense wasn't great last season and lose their stalwart in Chris Fake. They had some weird performances last year (losing to Penn State, going to overtime with UMass), but talent wise they are very good.
6. Notre Dame - The Irish lose their starting close defense (but brings in a big transfer in Chris Conlin) and probably their best midfielder in Jackaboice. Still they return everyone else on offense and if there is any team that plays good defense no matter the personnel its Notre Dame. They took too long last year to come together and play to their potential.
7. Penn - This is where things start to get difficult. The Quakers return the best midfielder in the country in Sam Handley and some other nice offensive pieces. Not sure if they have to replace Burkinshaw in goal. None of their players have entered the portal so assume most will be coming back.
8. Princeton - The Tigers had a great year last year making it all the way to the final four. They bring back a lot of really good players including their leading scorers 2 - 7. Slusher and English combined for 104 points. But they do lose Chris Brown who led the team in scoring with 72 and their best defender in George Baughan (and maybe their starting goalie).
9. Harvard - The Crimson were very young last year, three of their top four scorers were freshmen last year. They do lose second leading scorer Austin Madronic and their goalie Kyle Mullin.
10. BU - I believe the Terriers bring back six of their highest scorers next year, and they put up a lot of points. The Patriot League on a whole looks to be way down next year with Army, Lehigh and Loyola losing a ton of players.
11. Duke - The Devils had a rough season last year despite their talent. O'Neil returns as a junior and he'll still have Williams and MacAdory to play with. They do have to find a right hander for their attack line as they lose both Robinson and Lulley. Also a big hole is in cage where they lose Adler. They don't bring in their typical high powered recruiting class.
12. Delaware - The Blue Hens had a huge win over the Hoyas in the tournament. They also bring back a ton of talent including their three leading scorers who combined for 207 points. They also bring back sure fire PLL draft pick Owen Grant.
13. Ohio State - They should get back Jack Myers and Colby Smith but I believe they lose Jackson Reid. They also need to replace their very good FOGO. They return one of the best young defenders in Bobby Van Burren.
14. Syracuse - I really didn't expect to be ranking Syracuse this high, but looking at the competition the Orange should be well positioned going into next season. Hiltz returns and joins his former high school teammate Alex Simmons. Of course the big news for the Orange is the welcoming of the country's number one recruit and recruiting class. The Orange should be very young and a lot will depend on who is facing off for them next year, but I think this ranking is fair.
15. Richmond - The Spiders look well positioned next season but are going to miss their leading and fourth leading scorer. But they have some good talent coming back including Dalton Young, Lance Madonna as well as their starting goalie and fogo.
16. Rutgers - The Scarlett Knights bring back some good players with Knobloch, Scott and Sprock returns from injury, but they lose a ton on defense starting with their goalie and some other offensive pieces (including Bartolo). Have to imagine they'll be active in the portal but who they bring in remains to be seen.
17. Jacksonville - Can Galloway breakthrough to the playoffs? He losses his top scorer in Waldbaum and fourth with Jack Dolan but he gets two attackmen who combined for 130 points - and adds a big transfer in Dylan Watson to the mix. He does lose his starting goalie which will hurt.
18. St Joe's - a lot depends on who they can bring back eligibility wise - I don't think they lose any of their top four scorers who all scored more than 50 points (two are listed as seniors though they aren't in the transfer portal to my knowledge). And of course they should bring back Zach Cole who is a face-off machine.
19. Navy - The Midshipmen bring back their two highest scorers in Skanliak and Swanson who combined for 86 points. Can Xavier Arline make a bigger impact? He had only 8 points last year. Feels like there has been a lot of hype surrounding Navy when it comes to recruiting the last few years, does it start to pay off in 2023?
20. Utah - The western most team in college lacrosse last year was incredibly young, five of their top six scorers were sophomores last year and the long senior should have eligibility for next year. They seem to have hired the right guy in McMinn. Should definitely be a team to watch next year.
If you are still reading, thanks for humoring me. I am no expert (just look at my pick'em record) but this is a fun exercise. Please feel free to point out where I am wrong and share your own opinions. Other lacrosse writes much smarter than me will have their picks out soon I am sure. It should be interesting to look back on this list in the fall when most transfers have picked a new school to see how much of it has changed. I looked at a lot of blue blood programs that just didn't make the cut (Denver, UNC, Hopkins). That said, being part of the preseason top 20 doesn't guarantee much - UNC, Loyola and Lehigh were numbers 7-9 in Quint's list in February. Cornell wasn't ranked anywhere. So just keep in mind that the only guarantee in this is that it will be wrong!