USALAX Way-Early 2026 Division I Men's Rankings:

[Zack80]

As we are back on the Way-Early thread.
I would mention that the addition of several nice midfield transfers to Penn State, strengthens my positioning Penn State at #5 in my premature rankings.

For Maryland last year, Spanos and Erksa got opponent's top 2 defensemen. Meanwhile at Yale, Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons were probably the focus of opponent's defense and got their opponent's top 2 defensemen. Next spring, Maryland's opponents can only cover 2 of the 4 with their top 2 defensemen.

 

[wgdsr]

As we are back on the Way-Early thread.
I would mention that the addition of several nice midfield transfers to Penn State, strengthens my positioning Penn State at #5 in my premature rankings.

For Maryland last year, Spanos and Erksa got opponent's top 2 defensemen. Meanwhile at Yale, Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons were probably the focus of opponent's defense and got their opponent's top 2 defensemen. Next spring, Maryland's opponents can only cover 2 of the 4 with their top 2 defensemen.

a situation here where it's tough to know how it'll shake out, as you have 4 guys for 3 spots, and then maybe a couple others peaking in, too. gun to my head, if i had to choose 1 that's 100% for att, it's spanos.

more interesting conjecture as that's all a tossup is what with middie lines? with 1 guy being odd man out, have to think they'll be doing the top 6 guys getting vast majority of run, going to be a big battle for that. or it may be a 1st line with some +1 or +2 guy(s) rotation? they do some of that with schultz late in the year?

 

[nocohalo]

I don't think anyone is worried about the Yale transfers enough to consider putting their top defenseman on them.

 

[Zack80]

a situation here where it's tough to know how it'll shake out, as you have 4 guys for 3 spots, and then maybe a couple others peaking in, too. gun to my head, if i had to choose 1 that's 100% for att, it's spanos.

more interesting conjecture as that's all a tossup is what with middie lines? with 1 guy being odd man out, have to think they'll be doing the top 6 guys getting vast majority of run, going to be a big battle for that. or it may be a 1st line with some +1 or +2 guy(s) rotation? they do some of that with schultz late in the year?

Leo Johnson is the only lefty among the 4 so that seems like a given too. So one is probably left with Erksa or Lyons playing midfield. Tillman does seem to like to have speed at the X, but in the end, I think Erksa's speed will be a better fit on the midfield. Also, there would be something to keeping an attackman who scored 62 goals 3 seasons ago, Lyons, near to the goal.

 

[nyclax]

erksa has not improved at all since his promising freshman year. he turns it over way too much and makes a lot of bad decisions to be playing full time on attack...he should run out of the box and be a situational dodger...take advantage of his speed without putting the ball in his stick too often.

 

[wgdsr]

Leo Johnson is the only lefty among the 4 so that seems like a given too. So one is probably left with Erksa or Lyons playing midfield. Tillman does seem to like to have speed at the X, but in the end, I think Erksa's speed will be a better fit on the midfield. Also, there would be something to keeping an attackman who scored 62 goals 3 seasons ago, Lyons, near to the goal.

if he's the only lefty in contention, maybe it's as simple as that. erksa or lyons. moving your leading 2x or 2nd scorer for a transfer his senior year is a rough look, could go any way, though. also could have several guys getting pieces of each position.

again, my initial reaction would be it'll be a top 6 more frequently, and a supplemental 2nd line. then moving guys around the formation. maybe ford is a precursor for higgins redshirting and then a reset in 2027.

 

[Zack80]

if he's the only lefty in contention, maybe it's as simple as that. erksa or lyons. moving your leading 2x or 2nd scorer for a transfer his senior year is a rough look, could go any way, though. also could have several guys getting pieces of each position.

again, my initial reaction would be it'll be a top 6 more frequently, and a supplemental 2nd line. then moving guys around the formation. maybe ford is a precursor for higgins redshirting and then a reset in 2027.

Rs freshman Johnny Gardiner, who was a pretty good recruit appears to be the #2 lefty attackman. Leo Johnson is a 5th year, was ILs #3 recruit in 2021, averaged 4.1 ppg in 2023 and 3.5 ppg last year, so it looks unlikely that Gardiner would beat him out.

 

[Zack80]

The Terps already have a 2026 roster up. The Terps are usually sort of late on this.

2022 Men's Lacrosse Roster - University of Maryland Athletics

The official 2022 Men's Lacrosse Roster for the University of Maryland Terrapins

umterps.com

Penn State, who are often one of the earlier teams to post a roster, have their roster up:

2026 Men's Lacrosse

2026 Men's Lacrosse

gopsusports.com

 

[Zack80]

North Carolina 2026 roster:

2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster - University of North Carolina Athletics

The official 2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster for the North Carolina Heels

goheels.com

Flipping over to the UNC football roster, I don't see Merrill on it, but freshman Jermaine Anderson is on it.

 

[Zack80]

Virginia has their 2026 roster up

Men's Lacrosse

The Official Athletic Site of the Virginia Cavaliers, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of Virginia Cavaliers Men’s Lacrosse on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, schedule and rosters.

virginiasports.com

The 3 transfers are on it Jake Marek (G, AF), Michael Meredith (D, Jacksonville), and Aiden Murname (D, Colgate). Meredith is just a sophomore so he has 3 more years. I remember Meredith looking pretty good for Boys' Latin.

 

[Powellfan]

Hopkins roster. And according to LAX Mouse the turncoat (kidding LM!), their schedule is coming out tomorrow. Should be a road game for the Orange.

2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster - Johns Hopkins University Athletics

The official 2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster for the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays

hopkinssports.com

 

[Hawknate144]

so even though Sam English graduated we still have a Brother vs Brother in the Hopkins game with Ted and Chuck Rawson, not really the stars the Englishes were, but still

 

[Lax Mouse]

Hopkins roster. And according to LAX Mouse the turncoat (kidding LM!), their schedule is coming out tomorrow. Should be a road game for the Orange.

2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster - Johns Hopkins University Athletics

The official 2026 Men's Lacrosse Roster for the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays

hopkinssports.com

The game has been early-mid March the last few years, I expect more of the same. Would rather late March in the hopes of slightly warmer weather, but always a game I have circled on my calendar regardless! Should be a good one this year.

 

[Lax Mouse]

so even though Sam English graduated we still have a Brother vs Brother in the Hopkins game with Ted and Chuck Rawson, not really the stars the Englishes were, but still

Chuck carved out a nice role for himself on the second midfield line last year for the Jays. I'd think he's in line to get more action this year. I have high hopes for his brother at Cuse - seems like the type of player that'll thrive in this offense.

 

[Hawknate144]

agreed

 

[Zack80]

Hopkins top recruit Dash Lamitie is there at #99, and top offensive recruit Ollie Nolting is on the roster too.
I sort of wonder if Hopkins is going to get enough offense this spring. Matt Collison is certainly very good.
It looks like they lost their top FOman (Callahan) and top defenseman (Smith) too.

 

[Hawknate144]

yeah smith was like 16th overall in the PLL i think

 

[JeremyCuse]

Hopkins top recruit Dash Lamitie is there at #99, and top offensive recruit Ollie Nolting is on the roster too.
I sort of wonder if Hopkins is going to get enough offense this spring. Matt Collison is certainly very good.
It looks like they lost their top FOman (Callahan) and top defenseman (Smith) too.

Iler Rawson and English are gonna be enormous for Hop this year. They really need them to play well or it's likely to be a struggle. I know a few of there fans are high on Nolting to.

 

[Lax Mouse]

Hopkins top recruit Dash Lamitie is there at #99, and top offensive recruit Ollie Nolting is on the roster too.
I sort of wonder if Hopkins is going to get enough offense this spring. Matt Collison is certainly very good.
It looks like they lost their top FOman (Callahan) and top defenseman (Smith) too.

Hop is in an interesting spot this year, and I feel like projecting how this year goes for them is difficult. Could range from missing the playoffs completely to a quarterfinal run (I'd be a bit shocked if they made it farther than that, but here's to hoping). All depends on how some players are able to take a leap.

Offense should be interesting. They have their knowns in Collison, Chauvette, & English, but a bevy of players who have shown flashes but need to show consistency across a whole season (Iler of course, but also Rawson, Chick, and Ayers). There's also a top 100 recruit in Sorichetti that's barely seen the field. A number of freshman got runs last year and looked okay in limited action (Crogan & Burke) but their more highly touted offensive freshmen were redshirted or didn't see the field (Gregorek & McCleary). Nolting should provide a boost - there's been a lot of hype - but there are a few other intriguing freshmen as well. Lots of speed - size is a bit limited beyond Collison.

FO, they're replacing Callahan but bring in an exciting recruit in Swinnie and perhaps Hobot builds of his showing from last year, which showed some typical first year growing pains.

SSDM and Goalie seem in a good place, but depth at LSM and defense beyond Kilrain should be an adventure. They have a high upside freshman in Sorenson and the often buried Brown (much to folks disbelief over at fanlax).

Lots of time between now and March (or whenever these two teams play), but I have to say that on paper, this seems like a team that this year's Syracuse squad should run past. Not sure if the defense will have become cohesive enough by that point in the season to be effective combatting what this Cuse offense is capable of. Cuse has enough strong defensive personnel to lock down the Jay's top options and should have a clear edge at the FO. A hot goalie or lack of discipline could give Hopkins an opening, but one would think that being a veteran laden team, Cuse will be able to prevent either of those factors from being an issue.

But again, lots of time before then, and anything could change!

 

[Powellfan]

Hop is in an interesting spot this year, and I feel like projecting how this year goes for them is difficult. Could range from missing the playoffs completely to a quarterfinal run (I'd be a bit shocked if they made it farther than that, but here's to hoping). All depends on how some players are able to take a leap.

Offense should be interesting. They have their knowns in Collison, Chauvette, & English, but a bevy of players who have shown flashes but need to show consistency across a whole season (Iler of course, but also Rawson, Chick, and Ayers). There's also a top 100 recruit in Sorichetti that's barely seen the field. A number of freshman got runs last year and looked okay in limited action (Crogan & Burke) but their more highly touted offensive freshmen were redshirted or didn't see the field (Gregorek & McCleary). Nolting should provide a boost - there's been a lot of hype - but there are a few other intriguing freshmen as well. Lots of speed - size is a bit limited beyond Collison.

FO, they're replacing Callahan but bring in an exciting recruit in Swinnie and perhaps Hobot builds of his showing from last year, which showed some typical first year growing pains.

SSDM and Goalie seem in a good place, but depth at LSM and defense beyond Kilrain should be an adventure. They have a high upside freshman in Sorenson and the often buried Brown (much to folks disbelief over at fanlax).

Lots of time between now and March (or whenever these two teams play), but I have to say that on paper, this seems like a team that this year's Syracuse squad should run past. Not sure if the defense will have become cohesive enough by that point in the season to be effective combatting what this Cuse offense is capable of. Cuse has enough strong defensive personnel to lock down the Jay's top options and should have a clear edge at the FO. A hot goalie or lack of discipline could give Hopkins an opening, but one would think that being a veteran laden team, Cuse will be able to prevent either of those factors from being an issue.

But again, lots of time before then, and anything could change!

I've got Hopkins down to finish something like 7-6. I might be completely off, but I don't really trust their offense, and I think their very good FOGO last year covered up a lot of issues. Callahan was 60% last year with Hobot following him at just 24% (just 29 face-offs, but still). Swinnie could be a surprise, but it could really go downhill fast if they can't win face-offs. They never seemed to figure out the offense without Melendez. Iller looked good when the Orange played them, but your asking him to take quite a leap (22 points in 10 games last year). Maybe they get a boost in goal with the freshman Lamite, but it just feels like a lot of maybes and hopefullys with this team.

I dunno, for all the talk of the Syracuse coaches being bad-mouthed on the recruiting trail (not sure if that is true, but it came up), wouldn't Hopkins be pretty vulnerable to that? Missed the playoffs and underperformed pretty mightily (ranked 8th preseason), never been to a Final Four, coaching changes most years ... I don't know, how safe is Milliman? I'm kind of surprised it wasn't used against them more on the recruiting trail.

 

[nyclax]

I've got Hopkins down to finish something like 7-6. I might be completely off, but I don't really trust their offense, and I think their very good FOGO last year covered up a lot of issues. Callahan was 60% last year with Hobot following him at just 24% (just 29 face-offs, but still). Swinnie could be a surprise, but it could really go downhill fast if they can't win face-offs. They never seemed to figure out the offense without Melendez. Iller looked good when the Orange played them, but your asking him to take quite a leap (22 points in 10 games last year). Maybe they get a boost in goal with the freshman Lamite, but it just feels like a lot of maybes and hopefullys with this team.

I dunno, for all the talk of the Syracuse coaches being bad-mouthed on the recruiting trail (not sure if that is true, but it came up), wouldn't Hopkins be pretty vulnerable to that? Missed the playoffs and underperformed pretty mightily (ranked 8th preseason), never been to a Final Four, coaching changes most years ... I don't know, how safe is Milliman? I'm kind of surprised it wasn't used against them more on the recruiting trail.

recruits dont care that much about coaches job security. breschi is a dead man walking and just recruited one of the best classes of all time lol

 

[wgdsr]

recruits dont care that much about coaches job security. breschi is a dead man walking and just recruited one of the best classes of all time lol

seven 5*s?!?! i'd say THE best if we're talking about @ this point. ymmv on the strength of the entire 2027 class.

 

[Lax Mouse]

I've got Hopkins down to finish something like 7-6. I might be completely off, but I don't really trust their offense, and I think their very good FOGO last year covered up a lot of issues. Callahan was 60% last year with Hobot following him at just 24% (just 29 face-offs, but still). Swinnie could be a surprise, but it could really go downhill fast if they can't win face-offs. They never seemed to figure out the offense without Melendez. Iller looked good when the Orange played them, but your asking him to take quite a leap (22 points in 10 games last year). Maybe they get a boost in goal with the freshman Lamite, but it just feels like a lot of maybes and hopefullys with this team.

I dunno, for all the talk of the Syracuse coaches being bad-mouthed on the recruiting trail (not sure if that is true, but it came up), wouldn't Hopkins be pretty vulnerable to that? Missed the playoffs and underperformed pretty mightily (ranked 8th preseason), never been to a Final Four, coaching changes most years ... I don't know, how safe is Milliman? I'm kind of surprised it wasn't used against them more on the recruiting trail.

I actually feel more confident and optimistic about their offense (you can quote this several months from now if/when I'm proven wrong). They spent too long tinkering with their lineup last Spring and it affected chemistry (along with Melendez's injury). They also really tried to push some senior players who meant a lot and gave a lot to the program but just never quite provided the consistent spark. I have a feeling last year's experiements will pay off more this year as players build off their exposure from last season and that hopefully some of the new freshmen will provide a boost. This may all be wishful thinking of course. I don't think it's an offense that'll blow the doors off and be scoring 12+ a game, but it strikes me as a methodical and opportunistic group.

Where I see the true warning flags are on defense, and as you pointed out a disparity at the FO could really tilt the field. I'm not yet confident they'll win many shootouts (and may never be). Kilrain is a special player but gone is the physicality and leadership of Smith. Who's the enforcer? Can Kilrain become the communicator? Sorenson showed flashes over the summer but it's a tall task to play lights out as a freshman against this schedule. There are a couple former 4* recruits and transfers but not many of them have taken the field on Homewood before during live action. Maybe this is the year Brown finally gets the nod, but it might take a while for this unit to find themselves.

Realistically, I feel Hop has to finish non-con 5-3 or better (ideally with at least 1 ACC win) and go at least 3-2 in conference to be considered for an at-large spot, both of which will tough asks with this schedule and with this roster. Your 7-6 prediction seems slightly generous to me at the moment - I'll go with 6-7 and hope that I'm being an idiot.

I think Cuse has the clear advantage here for the time being. I feel like the attack line in particular should dominate this matchup.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

3. Syracuse​

• 2025: 13-6, NCAA Semifinalist
• Biggest Losses: Owen Hiltz, Sam English, Carter Rice
• Biggest returners: Joey Spallina, Michael Leo, Riley Figueiras, Billy Dwan III, John Mullen, Jimmy McCool, Luke Rhoa, Finn Thomson, Trey Deere, Payton Anderson
• Top Incoming Freshmen: Bogue Hahn (McDonogh, Md.), Joe Filardi (Half Hollow Hills, N.Y.), Jayden Kittleberger (Salisbury, Conn.)
• Portal: Dante Bowen, Ohio State

This could be the season you’ve been waiting for, Orange fans.

The class that was supposed to turn around Syracuse lacrosse — the one that got it back to Championships Weekend for the first time since 2013 — enters its senior year. From missing the NCAA Tournament to losing in the Quarterfinals to losing in the Semifinals, the only step left is winning on Championship Weekend.