2025 Preseason Top 20 Lookahead

[nyclax]

osu stupidly signed myers to an extension a few years ago that takes him to 2027. even a school with money that ostensibly cares about lacrosse is not in the habit of firing lax coaches with multiple years left on their deal...if he enters the final year of that deal without any improvement they will prob get rid of him, but not before then...

 

[Powellfan]

I would probably put OSU a little higher, maybe like #15. OSU did have trouble scoring last year, but they do bring back their top 5 scorers,, I believe. These 5 scored from 24pt to 30pts, and give OSU a nice group to build on.

A lot of the top scorers have moved on in the Big Ten like: Angelus, Degnon, Knobloch, Scott, TJ Malone, Boehm, Malever, Maltz, J.Koras, ...

I guess I don't see it. I'll give you credit for predicting Penn State's rise last year, so perhaps you are onto something. That said, I think sometimes we are fooled into thinking that just because a team returns a lot of starters from one year to the next, they are bound to improve. That isn't always the case, and the OSU offense was really bad last year. They also lose a very good defender in Marcus Hudgins, and their FOGO in Tommy Burke. And maybe I've been nyclax-pilled, but I don't trust their coaching. Their transfer strategy the last few years just feels incredibly random. If it weren't for Rutgers, I think the Buckeyes would be the team known for being overly reliant on the transfer portal, to their own determent.

Stevens said that both Lavalle and Carroll were gone from Penn, but I'm almost positive they are coming back (both would have been no-brainer PLL picks). Have to imagine they shoot up the rankings if that is taken into consideration.

 

[nyclax]

carroll and lavelle are both back for penn...not sure what the point of stevens' exercise is if he's going to get big stuff like that wrong...

penn should be stingy on D again but i still question if they will have enough offense to win the ivy especially with cornell and princeton projected to be better...

stevens has army gtown mich towson psu in his next batch, which means the top 10 is likely some combination of ND, maryland, cuse, hop, denver, uva, duke, yale, cornell, princeton...

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[wgdsr]

osu stupidly signed myers to an extension a few years ago that takes him to 2027. even a school with money that ostensibly cares about lacrosse is not in the habit of firing lax coaches with multiple years left on their deal...if he enters the final year of that deal without any improvement they will prob get rid of him, but not before then...

sure, but that extension is kind of the point. they signed 4 other coaches at that time, 3 to extensions on their current contract (fball, bball, and m hockey). 1 to a new contract, w bball. all of them had much better track records.

w bball got a 4 year deal. hockey a 2 year extension only taking him out to 2026. bball coach they fired and ate 4 years out to 2028 (granted, revenue sports are a different animal). point is, it's not like they have some longstanding tradition of giving 5 year deals.

they made the tournament that spring (imo, in the most egregious at large inclusion ever) before being bounced in 1st game.

they hadn't made the tourn in 5 years, and record... was not great. that 5 years earlier, the made the title game. but they lost, not sure you get the same honeymoon given what happened next.

so contract is up, they sneak in, and he gets 5 years? maybe he was more than just the point man on raising dough for the stadium, but that's just amazing timing and leniency for him. he must have horseshoes growing out of his ass. or tosu is "whatever" on lacrosse.

 

[Zack80]

I guess I don't see it. I'll give you credit for predicting Penn State's rise last year, so perhaps you are onto something. That said, I think sometimes we are fooled into thinking that just because a team returns a lot of starters from one year to the next, they are bound to improve. That isn't always the case, and the OSU offense was really bad last year. They also lose a very good defender in Marcus Hudgins, and their FOGO in Tommy Burke. And maybe I've been nyclax-pilled, but I don't trust their coaching. Their transfer strategy the last few years just feels incredibly random. If it weren't for Rutgers, I think the Buckeyes would be the team known for being overly reliant on the transfer portal, to their own determent.

Stevens said that both Lavalle and Carroll were gone from Penn, but I'm almost positive they are coming back (both would have been no-brainer PLL picks). Have to imagine they shoot up the rankings if that is taken into consideration.

In a normal season, I would agree with, but this year it is almost like teams are losing two classes with all the 5th years finishing up too. So it means other teams don't have a large group of established players.

OSU loses Hudgins but gets Van Buren back from injury. Burke had a .545 F0 pct. They also lose Snyder and a number of ssdms. OSU also brings in a 5-star midfield recruit in Liam White - the only 5-star offensive recruit outside of UMd in the Big Ten and a pair of solid transfers in Shane O'Leary M and Mason Bregman A from UMass.

So Myers is going to have to rebuild the defense a bit, but he does have Bobby Van Buren and Cullen Brown to build around with Big Tasty in goal. Myers has a good group of players on the offense, most of them seniors or 5th years.

While OSU had a tough year last year, 6-9, and did get beaten badly by Michigan in the Big Ten tmt, OSU lost its last 3 regular season games: 7-8 to Maryland, 10-11 ot Hopkins, and 12-13 to Michigan.

Hard to see OSU's reliance on the transfer portal being detrimental from where I sit. Myers needed to get some guys. Recruiting seems to be more the problem at OSU.

Myers' tougher season might be 2026 where he loses most of his offensive players. Liam White will be in his sophomore year, and OSU brings in a top attack recruit in Khalif Hocker. Myers does have a few other good offensive recruits in the 2026 class. Still I think he will have to hit the transfer portal next summer to fill out the offense.

 

[nyclax]

osu has the second least talented roster in the big ten, ahead of only rutgers...sometimes you can exceed your talent with good coaching, but osu doesnt have that either...i have a really hard time seeing how they will finish better than 4th this year..i think maryland and hop are in a tier to themselves..i guess i could see osu finishing ahead of either mich or psu, but not both

 

[Zack80]

osu has the second least talented roster in the big ten, ahead of only rutgers...sometimes you can exceed your talent with good coaching, but osu doesnt have that either...i have a really hard time seeing how they will finish better than 4th this year..i think maryland and hop are in a tier to themselves..i guess i could see osu finishing ahead of either mich or psu, but not both

It can be hard to measure talent.

I think PSU actually lost less than Hopkins or Maryland, so I don't really see much basis for your assessment.

 

[DoctahLexus]

It can be hard to measure talent.

I think PSU actually lost less than Hopkins or Maryland, so I don't really see much basis for your assessment.

Think putting PSU in with those two teams is fair

 

[nyclax]

It can be hard to measure talent.

I think PSU actually lost less than Hopkins or Maryland, so I don't really see much basis for your assessment.

team that failed to get out of the first round now loses by far their best player in tj malone...also didnt do nearly as much in the transfer portal as the other two...still no answers on faceoffs...terps and hop have more talent coming in. "who loses more" is a simplistic way of looking at it and very debateable anyways with them losing malone, posey, haus, costin, morin, sickler...terps and hops did better plugging holes with the portal

the bull case for psu is that fracyon is the best goalie in the conference and lehman looks promising as the future centerpiece of the offense alongside traynor...but thats a bit thin

if you think osu has as much talent as these other teams i would love to hear your basis for that assessment

 

[Gettysbrg10]

Has Barstool Jordie ever followed up on his prognostication that every single 'Cuse starter was headed to the portal and all lax funds were being reallocated to the gender studies department?

 

[Zack80]

Sickler? 1 goal, 6 gbs?

team that failed to get out of the first round now loses by far their best player in tj malone...also didnt do nearly as much in the transfer portal as the other two...still no answers on faceoffs...terps and hop have more talent coming in. "who loses more" is a simplistic way of looking at it and very debateable anyways with them losing malone, posey, haus, costin, morin, sickler...terps and hops did better plugging holes with the portal

the bull case for psu is that fracyon is the best goalie in the conference and lehman looks promising as the future centerpiece of the offense alongside traynor...but thats a bit thin

if you think osu has as much talent as these other teams i would love to hear your basis for that assessment

? Sickler 1g, 6 gbs.
Another positive for PSU is that most of their defense returns. I imagine Pup Buono will be back in the mix. Will Pedan and Ethan Long are nice players. Liam Matthews put up a few points in the OJLL this summer. Their freshman class looks pretty good, Lucca DiBartolomeo was looking pretty good at LSM over the summer and Reid Gills is one of the better face-off recruits.

The Terps offensive portal pickups are from Fairfield, Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Salisbury - which looks pretty much like the kind of players OSU will be playing - so let's not be two-faced here. I hope they do well for the Terps, but how well they plug holes remains to be seen.

 

[nyclax]

Sickler? 1 goal, 6 gbs?

? Sickler 1g, 6 gbs.
Another positive for PSU is that most of their defense returns. I imagine Pup Buono will be back in the mix. Will Pedan and Ethan Long are nice players. Liam Matthews put up a few points in the OJLL this summer. Their freshman class looks pretty good, Lucca DiBartolomeo was looking pretty good at LSM over the summer and Reid Gills is one of the better face-off recruits.

The Terps offensive portal pickups are from Fairfield, Binghamton, Stony Brook, and Salisbury - which looks pretty much like the kind of players OSU will be playing - so let's not be two-faced here. I hope they do well for the Terps, but how well they plug holes remains to be seen.

sickler is a d-mid

most of their defense returns except their best cover guy, best lsm (sam sweeney) and top 2 d-mids. it's in line with what other teams are losing..

"liam matthews put up a few points in the ojll this summer" is not serious analysis...

freshman class looks fine but again we are comparing to maryland and hopkins which have more talent coming in and the updated recruiting rankings whenever they come out will show as much

 

[Zack80]

sickler is a d-mid

most of their defense returns except their best cover guy, best lsm (sam sweeney) and top 2 d-mids. it's in line with what other teams are losing..

"liam matthews put up a few points in the ojll this summer" is not serious analysis...

freshman class looks fine but again we are comparing to maryland and hopkins which have more talent coming in and the updated recruiting rankings whenever they come out will show as much

They return there HM All-American defenseman, Alex Ross.. Along with Costin and Parnham on close D. They get their 2nd LSM O'Connor back, and Pup Buono returns from injury and a top recruit in Lucca DiBartolomeo to cover LSM. Losing Haus hurts, but who doesn't lose some ssdms. Defense looks solid to me, if they can avoid injuries.

Maryland's recruiting class looks a step better than either. Right now, PSU's recruiting class looks better than Hopkins. Updated? - well, we'll see.

 

[Zack80]

In the end, I am not sure Hopkins is so loaded offensive. They lose there 2 big scorers Angelus and Degnon, along with Peshko and Grimes. So they bring back Collison, who was a 3
3rd team AA, but only scored 33 pts. Melendez dropped to 27 points last year. Bauer, if he is back, scored 24 pts. The transfer Hackler had 22 points.
Hopkins scorers over 20:
Collison 33, Melendez 27, Bauer 24, Hackler 22 (at Yale)
OSU scorers over 20:
Mariner 30, McKenna 30, Shean 28, Mathews 26, Mayer 24, Bregman 35 (at UMass), O'Leary 34 (at UMass), Donnery 59 (at Quinnipiac), Turner 44 (at Hofstra)

I imagine people are expecting sophomores like Chauvette and Ayers to step up.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Stevens thinks we're in the Top 5.

But what does he know, right.

 

[JeremyCuse]

We've been noting it since the beginning of last season but man Hopkins, Duke and Maryland lost a metric ton to graduation.

 

[Zack80]

We've been noting it since the beginning of last season but man Hopkins, Duke and Maryland lost a metric ton to graduation.

With Boyden not returning at UVa that is 3 of their top 4 scorers gone.

 

[nyclax]

In the end, I am not sure Hopkins is so loaded offensive. They lose there 2 big scorers Angelus and Degnon, along with Peshko and Grimes. So they bring back Collison, who was a 3
3rd team AA, but only scored 33 pts. Melendez dropped to 27 points last year. Bauer, if he is back, scored 24 pts. The transfer Hackler had 22 points.
Hopkins scorers over 20:
Collison 33, Melendez 27, Bauer 24, Hackler 22 (at Yale)
OSU scorers over 20:
Mariner 30, McKenna 30, Shean 28, Mathews 26, Mayer 24, Bregman 35 (at UMass), O'Leary 34 (at UMass), Donnery 59 (at Quinnipiac), Turner 44 (at Hofstra)

I imagine people are expecting sophomores like Chauvette and Ayers to step up.

i dont know if this is directed at me but i never said they are loaded offensively. in fact i dont think anyone is saying that so you are arguing against no one...their strength last year and again this year will be on the defensive end...

typically when a mediocre offensive team loses a lot of scoring it's not necessarily the end of the world...we will see with them...they did a better job shoring up holes with the transfer portal than most...i believe they get english back from injury as well...

i think u are sandbagging just a tad with maryland lol...another team that wasnt great on offense so more likely to get better than worse there...the big loss is wierman but they make the final four almost every year and were runner ups last year so putting them outside the top 5 is harsh...

 

[JeremyCuse]

With Boyden not returning at UVa that is 3 of their top 4 scorers gone.

YEs UVA doesn't lose the volume that other teams due but they lost their top 3 overall players which is a lot for any team and that's before Boyden decided to not return. They do return a lot of young pieces and add another really good recruiting class plus the Bryant transfer. I think the difference with UVA is their question marks are more on defense and who will be the O qb where Hop and Maryland have overall O questions marks and Duke has questions pretty much everywhere.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Call me crazy with their defense, but Yale might be a sliiight dark horse for me. Lose Brandau but get back two seriously talented guys in Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons. Most of their other offensive pieces return and they had a couple promising freshman. I know their D is in a permanent state of busted but their O could go off in a similar way to Cornell if Lyons and Johnson come back healthy. 136 points between them in 2023. Ivy defense seems permanently soft and pathetic, but the offenses of Princeton Yale and Cornell are all quite good and may have another gear. They will need to show it to make a serious move in the playoffs though. Dont hate having the three of them in the top 10 but Princeton in the top 5 may be a little high.

 

[DoctahLexus]

YEs UVA doesn't lose the volume that other teams due but they lost their top 3 overall players which is a lot for any team and that's before Boyden decided to not return. They do return a lot of young pieces and add another really good recruiting class plus the Bryant transfer. I think the difference with UVA is their question marks are more on defense and who will be the O qb where Hop and Maryland have overall O questions marks and Duke has questions pretty much everywhere.

I think Hops main question mark will be ssdm since they lose at least the top 3 at that spot and the Yale guys are far from a guaranteed success as a reload. O might stay afloat since Bauer and Melendez are returning and they have a couple promising younger guys. But their O also struggled to put up serious numbers as the season went on. Will they soak the loss of Crawley and will Melendez actually start to look good off the dodge again. Probably the two biggest question marks for their O. Think the D will take a hit due to the ssdm spot. Overall they are probably in better shape than Duke and MD.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I think Hops main question mark will be ssdm since they lose at least the top 3 at that spot and the Yale guys are far from a guaranteed success as a reload. O might stay afloat since Bauer and Melendez are returning and they have a couple promising younger guys. But their O also struggled to put up serious numbers as the season went on. Will they soak the loss of Crawley and will Melendez actually start to look good off the dodge again. Probably the two biggest question marks for their O. Think the D will take a hit due to the ssdm spot. Overall they are probably in better shape than Duke and MD.

Hop did bring in two transfer SSDMs including Hackler. Probably not the depth they had last year but they should be decent there.

 

[FloridaCuse]

So he thinks the Top 5 are (in alphabetical order):

Cornell
Notre Dame
Princeton
Syracuse
Virginia