Preseason Predictions
1. Denison
2. Kenyon
3. Ohio Wesleyan
4. Wooster
5. Oberlin
6. Wittenberg
7. Depauw
8. Wabash
9. Hiram
Denison – In the 2023 campaign Denison finished 17-4 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Their lone conference lost came to Kenyon in early April with a score of 13-14. Denison was able to revenge that lose when it mattered most in the NCAC tournament championship game where they took down Kenyon 14-13 in a NCAC classic. This win punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament where they beat Illinois Wesleyan in the second round and ultimately fell to Lynchburg in the third round of the tournament. Denison has dominated the NCAC where they have at least shared 9 championships over the course of the last 12 seasons. They are looking to add to that list and claim another title and win out and take home the NCAC tournament trophy once again. Some big names who will be helping that happen in 2024 are Luke Fisher 94 points, Tommy Quinson 55 points, Nate Kay 50 points, Jack Hines 33 points, and Clyde Bresnahan 33 points. Stopping NCAC teams from putting up points this season will be Brooks Crowley 33 GBs 21 CTs and Owen O’Niell 32 GBs 18 CTs. On the defensive side of the ball it looks like Denison will need to do a little rebuilding but have plenty of depth in younger players that were on the roster last year who could fill into spots that are needed. Grant Larson and Colin MacLean are back at the x for Denison who were a dynamic duo last year and created a ton of opportunity for Denison throughout the season. Larson won 70% of his faceoffs and taking a total of 342 and MacLean won 74% on 208 attempts. Denison is used to playing in May and making trips to the NCAA tournament, and to get ready for those trips you need to schedule early season games against the best. Denison doesn’t shy away this season starting with #3 RIT 2/17, Baldwin Wallce 2/28, #7 Washington & Lee 3/3, #9 Lynchburg 3/10, John Carroll 3/20, and #11 York 3/29. This is definitely the type of schedule you want to see for Denison as they look to run back another NCAC tournament. While I expect their to be extremely tight competition I think Denison has the pieces to control their own destiny in 2024.
Kenyon – Kenyon is coming off a monster 2023 season last year. The Owls went 15-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play. While Denison claimed the NCAC tournament title there was a 3 way tie for the regular season title and Kenyon was apart of that. The Owls found themselves in the NCAC tournament championship games where they fell 13-14 against #13 Denison. The performance was strong enough to land them at large bid into the NCAA tournament. The season unfortunately ended against #20 Stevens 11-20 in the NCAA tournament. 2024 will be another year that Kenyon looks to get over the hump and take home the NCAC tournament title. As we know Denison has been running the league the last few years but Kenyon has caught up and has a chance to bring that title home. Outside of losing their top point leader from a season ago Kenyon is returning a loaded offense in 2024. At the helm will be David Chintala 67 points, Rollins Heath 42 points, Gavin Gumucio 36 points, Colin McCarthy 24 points, Rowan Goldin 23 points, and Chase MacCartee 22 points. On the defensive side of the ball the Owls will look to pick up where they left off last season. Looking to lead the team this year will be Josh Temple 20 GBs 13 CTs, Jackson Rudo 12 GBs 8 CTs, Jake Donaldson-Reid 13 GBs 7 CTs, and Joe Sikora 19 GBs 7 CTs. The owls return Thomas Nelson at the faceoff X who was one of the top specialists in the country a season ago, winning 73% of his faceoffs. Nelson gives the owls a huge advantage and will look to be an X factor this season in bringing home the NCAC tournament title. Between the pipes the Owls will also have Adam Hall returning who is coming off a season where he posted a 56% save percentage. The Owls have set up a solid out of conference play for themselves early in the season to get them ready for NCAC play. Key games to keep an eye on are 2/21 Baldwin Wallace, 3/2 Centre, 3/6 Dickinson, 3/9 Franklin & Marshall, and 3/16 Grove City. These games should post as great competition and challenges for the Owls. These games will definitely help get them ready for the NCAC action and can help boost them to run the table and put themselves in a position to bring home the NCAC tournament title.
Ohio Wesleyan – Ohio Wesleyan coming off a strong 12-5 season overall in 2023, and also went 7-1 in conference play rounding out the 3 way tie for regular season champs of the NCAC. Unfortunately the 2023 season came to an end in the NCAC tournament against Kenyo with a 10-12 loss. The goal in 2024 for Ohio Wesleyan is going to be once again be the sole champions of the NCAC and make an NCAA tournament run. The last time Ohio Wesleyan won the NCAC tournament was 2015 and the last time they made the NCAA tournament was in 2018 when they made it to the quarterfinals. That is the level of lacrosse this team expects to play each and every year. If they are going to get back to that and once again hold the NCAC title these guys are going to be making big plays. Will Siegenthaler 50 points, Spence Amacher 46 points, Garrett Smith 33 points, Brady Hunt 25 points, Joey Wiseman 25 points, Xander Craven 24 points, and Carson Geier 21 points. A really good state for this Ohio Wesleyan team is that they are returning all their offensive play makers from last season and are loaded with younger players which should be a huge advantage over the next several seasons. On the other side of the field it is a very similar look and will be returning a strong cast that made a huge impact last year. Keep an eye on Wes Silver 61 GBs 25 CTs, Trey Weber 26 GBs 13 CTs, Christian Wolter 19 GBs 11 CTs, Jackson Hamman 7 GBs 8 CTs, Aidan Ross 22 GBs 7 CTs, and John Cervieri 13 GBs 6 CTs. At the Faceoff X Noah Citek will be back digging out ground balls and pushing transition for Ohio Wesleyan. Ohio Wesleyan is setting the tone early in the season to help get them ready to make push this season and games against Grove City 2/17, Christopher Newport 2/25, St. Vincent 3/6, John Carroll 3/9, and Hampden Sydney 3/16 will help them set that tone. Keep an eye on this Ohio Wesleyan team in 2024, they will definitely be a sneaky team and you can not take them lightly as they have NCAC championship aspirations and have the young guns ready to make dream a reality.
Wooster - The Wooster boys were buzzin in 2023 and will be keeping that buzz rolling into 2024. Last season Wooster finished with a 13-4 overall record and went 4-4 in conference play. Wooster had a huge turnaround season where in 2022 they went 6-10 and in 2023 winning more than double that amount. Wooster is looking to build off that huge season last year and make a dent in the NCAC play and hang with the big guns at the top of the conference. Great news for Wooster this season is they are returning all 10 of the top 10 point leaders from a season ago which will be vital for this team if they are going to take down Ohio Wesleyan, Kenyon, or Denison this season. The returning cast for Wooster are Vinny DiLeo 70 points, Lane Kellogg 65 points, Colton Beaudoin 34 points, Rory Zahren 32 points, Will Fink 28 points, Ben Byars 17 points, Austin Jourde 15 points, Luke Budd 13 points, Charlie Ballou 12 points, and Casey Steffen 12 points. Interesting thing about that last guy is that he plays defense and was an absolute force last season and will be back terrorizing NCAC teams all season long. In addition to Steffen contributing points he put up 82 GBs 86 CTs. Other key guys holding it down on defense with Steffen will be Anderson Macdonald 30 GBs 13 CTs, Oliver Snow 17 GBs 10 CTs, and Bill Holtzer 10 GBs 8 CTs. At the faceoff X Jimmy Fisher and Rory Zahren will be back and in goal Paul Chandler makes a return after posting a 57% save percentage last year. Looking at the roster Wooster appears to be in a good position to compete with top of the NCAC conference this year. These games will help them get prepared and dialed in for NCAC action. St. Vincent 2/24, John Carroll 3/2, Ithaca 3/13, and Cabrini 3/16. Excited to see what this Wooster team has in store for 2024. Make sure to stay tuned as we follow them this season.
Oberlin - Oberlin went 8-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play making it a perfect .500 season. This was enough to for Oberlin to find themselves in the NCAC tournament. They faced off against Denison in the first around of the tournament where they fell 18-6. Looking into 2024 Oberlin will once again look to compete within the NCAC and make a run to the NCAC tournament. No doubt that the NCAC will be stacked with competition in 2024. If Oberlin is going take a step in conference play you will be hearing a lot from the following guys on the offensive side. Jacob Starcke 56 points, Solomon Brennan 33 points, Niko Maheras 30 points, and Sam Ryu 19 points. On the defensive side of the ball Oberlin will be looking to fill the gap on a few seniors from a season ago but watch out of Jonas Taylor-Lillquist 34 GBs 31 CTs, Charlie Goodhue 4GBs 6 CTs along with some young players stepping up in 2024. While Oberlin will have some gaps to fill this season they start the season with Chatham 2/17. After Chatham Oberlin will have a solid line up to get them ready for NCAC action. Games against Trine 2/24, Hope 2/28, Adrian 3/2, Elmhurst 3/9, St. Vincent 3/13, Albion 3/16, and Sewanee 3/25. I think Oberlin will find themselves competing for the 4/5 spot this season and most likely landing in the 5 spot at the end of the season.
Wittenberg – Wittenberg found themselves with a 7-8 overall record and a 4-4 conference record come the end of the season. Wittenberg posted an upset win over Wooster last season which marked the high point of the season. Wittenberg will look to have a few more upset wins this season and help them improve on that 4-4 conference record which was also a gridlock within conference play last season. Wittenberg had a nice improvement last season from the prior year. As they look to continue to upward momentum, like many teams in the NCAC they have a lot of key guys returning which should help them big time in 2024. On the offensive side in 2024 look out for Dillion McKeigue 43 points, Kyle Gould 33 points, Nathan Brown 33 points, Nichalos Langenderfer 18 points, Holton Boehmer 14 points, Kody Gould 13 points, Zach Busby 13 points, and Connor Matthews 11 points. On defense Wittenberg will be led by Tommy Kipfer 30 GBs 17 CTs, Henry Coyle 13 GBs 10 CTs, Justin Katona 15 GBs 13 CTs, Andrew Barnes 14 GBs 7, CTs, Noah Gfell 10 GBs 4 CTs, and Tripp Salowich 24GBs 4 CTs. Wittenberg has 4 solid early season games to help get them ready to see what kind of damage they can create in NCAC action. The season starts with St. Vincent 3/2, Chatham 3/5, Emmanuel 3/8, and Marietta 3/16 before jumping straight into conference play. Wittenberg returning a lot of young impact players from a season ago, it will be interesting to see this team will be able to put together in the 2024 campaign and how much off season work these guys were grinding through. We will find out soon enough!
Depauw – in their 2023 campaign depauw went 7-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. 2023 was a big improvement overall for Depauw and were able to secure 5 additional wins last season. Depauw will be looking to improve their standing in conference play and find themselves closer to playing in the NCAC tournament come the end of the season. Keep and eye on Henry White for Depauw this season, he is coming off a 60 point season and should put together another big season and will be a huge part of this team competing in conference play. Also keep an eye on Jack Flynn 41 points, Connor Gibson 38 points, Beckett Tasker 27 points, Eli Federman 27 points, and Colin Kilpatrick 21 points. Depauw returns an experienced defense lead by Matthew Garrigan 58 GBs 49 CTs, Russ Nelson 34 GBs 33 CTs, Nick Weyhmueller 42 GBs 33 CTs, and Nick Wehbe 23 GBs 17 CTs. Depauw is loaded with out of conference games to start the season in 2024. The season starts with Thomas More 2/11, Milwaukee School of Engineering 2/17, Kalamazoo 2/25, North Central 3/2, Anderson 3/6, Trine 3/9, Illinois Institute of Tech 3/16, Hanover 3/20, and Delaware Valley 3/27. These games should set Depauw up nicely to begin their season. Once they get into NCAC play it is up to them to see where they land, I expect this team to be somewhere in the neighborhood of the number7 in the conference.
Wabash – Wabash is coming off a program record season last year. Wabash went 7-9 overall and 1-7 in conference. The overall record was a huge improvement from the 2022 season where they went 4-12. Wabash will look to build out another positive season in 2024. Looking at the beginning of their schedule they have some challenges but I do think they can put together a nice run of games. Starting with Earlham 2/14, Muskingum 2/17, Anderson 2/21, Alma 2/28, Husson 3/5, Virginia Wesleyan 3/8, Hanover 3/16, and Augustana 3/26. This schedule should get Wabash ready to compete in the NCAC as this stretch has game that will prove to be easy wins, competitive games, and challenging games which is everything you need to build a better team for conference play. This season on offense Wabash will be led by Quinn Fitzgerald 64 points, Artie Rogers 42 points, Jake Pippen 41 points, Sam Santiago 21 points, Josh Taylor 18 points, and Evan Stonis 12 points. On defense Wabash is returning a strong cast in Bryce Poling 24 GBs 17 CTs, Jack Bohrer 13 GBs 6 CTs, Lucas Cunningham 36 GBs 20 CTs, and Brigham McGill 7GBs 2 CTs. Between the Pipes Braeden Cooper is back looking to hold things down for Wabash. Wabash is in the position this season to produce another positive season and continue moving this program forward. Coach Chris Burke has done a nice job at the helm in his first two seasons and I expect he will continue to help push this program to the next level Keep and eye on Wabash I wouldn’t be surprised to seem them improve their NCAC standings in 2024.
Hiram – News in the off season for Hiram is that they have hired a new coach! Jason Griffith was named the 3rd head coach in school history back In January. Most recently Griffith was head coach at Shaker Heights High School, where he won the greater Cleveland Conference Coach of the Year award twice. Excite to see what Coach Griffith can do at Hiram in 2024 and beyond. Last season Hiram went 5-12 overall and 0-8 in conference play. Hiram has lost some fire power on offense during the off season due to graduations but they are returning their top two point leaders from last season in Noah Pilgram 45 points, and Ambrose Coliluori 35 points. Keep an eye this season on Micky Morgan 15 points, Trey Carter 12 points, Trevor Nordstrom 11 points, and Aaron Gardner 10 points. These guys will have their numbers called a lot this season to help fill the missing gaps. On Defense Gray Perry 66 GBs 26 CTs, Ethan Bitong 29 GBs 19 CTs, Ryan Haffey 21 GBs 16 CTs, and Bricen Jones are back and looking to make a bigger impact to help this Hiram team. Hiram starts the season with Bethany 2/21, Franciscan 2/24, La Roche 2/28, Mount St. Joseph 3/2, Brevard 3/5, Pfeiffer 3/6, and Heidelberg 3/13. With a new head coach and a cast of younger players playing big roles, maybe that’s exactly what this Hiram team needed to boost their conference standings and remain competitive in the NCAC.