Greetings and salutations, 11W. It’s been a long time since I last posted a lengthy, lacrosse focused bit on here. Lots of life changes led to the delay, but I’m going to pick things up as best I can. Ohio State’s men’s lacrosse team officially scrimmages another team on January 27", so time is running short. There’s a whole lot to get into, with coaching changes, personnel changes (heads up: this is a whole new team), and a much rougher schedule than is advisable with the unknowns on the roster and staff. First things, as always, first.

The coaching staff has gone through a massive shakeup (again). A lot of familiar Buckeye lacrosse faces are back in the WHAC this year. At offensive coordinator, Nick Myers hired Justin Tuma, who was the defensive coordinator at High Point the past few years. Tuma has a good track record at offensive coordinator at the DIII level, which hopefully translates well to the DI level. Stability would also be nice, after 3 changes at OC in 4 years.

Additionally, Andrew Vossler is back at Ohio State after some time at Colgate. The expansion of the paid lacrosse coaching staff enabled Myers to bring him back to Columbus. Vossler will be focusing on faceoffs and goalies, since Travis Crane remains the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Ohio State.

I have mixed feelings about these hires, for a variety of reasons. Positively, I think that Tuma is going to be an upgrade from day one at the offensive coordinator spot. Last year’s unit was so predictable, unathletic, and dull that there’s very little room for them to fall. Vossler is adequate, given his role, and is familiar with the program.

Negatively, not a lot of proven production is coming into the fold at the DI level. Tuma coached a defense that was marginal at best for the Panthers during his tenure in North Carolina. Colgate has clearly stagnated/regressed under a new regime, of which Vossler was a big part. Clearly a flat-out terrible hire wasn’t made, so that will limit the floor. With the personnel changes, however, we are unlikely to see an elite team on the field in 2024.

Ohio State swapped out right around half of its roster, losing the starting goalkeeper from 2023 (Skylar Wahlund), the most productive offensive player in the program’s history (Jack Myers), and just about every player to ever take a faceoff in the past 2 years.

That list also includes Colby Smith, Ohio State’s most productive goalscorer the past couple of seasons. Between Myers and Smith, a TON of shots are up for grabs. There are a ton of new faces, between the freshman signees and transfers. Some real talent is coming in, along with lower-level production at a significant level. As we have all seen, however, Siena and Manhattan don’t play the same lacrosse as that of Maryland or Virginia.

Eli Fisher headlines the transfer group as an outstanding defensive midfielder from Wagner. Kurt Bruun from Tufts is a very good under-the-radar addition who gives veteran, elite offensive depth from a Jumbos unit that played for a title last year.

Tommy Burke is an All-American faceoff man who will look to restart the great tradition of the mid-2010s at that spot. And many other pieces came in from the portal as well.

Headlining the freshman class is Caleb Fyock, who will look to compete for the starting goalkeeper gig from day one. Fyock is the highest-rated signee for Ohio State at a non-FOGO position in a long, long time, and will be counted on to stabilize the goalie spot long-term. Fyock is gigantic, and has exceptional hands. He should be a good one.

Keaton Zavitz is a name that had almost no buzz out of high school who Buckeye fans should keep an eye on. He was absolutely electric at the Hill Academy, and should provide a lot of sizzle on the offensive end. Canadian, talented, and a scoring machine, Zavitz could easily be a Jackson Reid-type player by the end of his career.

Garrett Haas is another freshman to be on the lookout for this season, as he joins the team after a two-year LDS mission in South Africa. Haas played at the same high school as the Magees in Texas, then transferred to Utah to finish out his career. Haas was special in both states. His game is really, really similar to Chris Gray at UNC on HS tape, though a long layoff means he probably could use a season to get settled back into the game. Long-term, however, Haas could very likely be a player that becomes the superstar dodger this program has been in desperate need of for ages.

There are obviously a ton of other names to know, but this is going to be a long post already, so let’s get into the position groups.
There was almost no real information to be gleaned from the fall, and OSU altered its FOIA request compliance for certain media, so predictions will be minimal this year, aside from opening day starters for each group.

Attack

This is probably the youngest group on the team, as only Kurt Bruun has at least 3 full years in college lacrosse. Bruun is also the most accomplished, after Tufts’ many long runs in the DIII playoffs. Bruun scored 100+ points last year as well. Things don’t always translate easily, but it’s hard to imagine a point where he wouldn’t be a frontrunner to start. Ed Shean, in his 3rd year with the program, is likely your other easily-named starter. Shean was the most threatening and efficient offensive player for Ohio State last year. Period.

Until the staff finally started to give him more shots, he was around a .620 shooting percentage. Obviously, that’s insane. Shean ended the year shooting .574. You just can’t get better than that. Anywhere. Shean’s your lead-pipe lock to start on opening day. The third slot is going to be tough.

Gannon Matthews, a transfer from Cleveland State, probably has the highest probability to start, given his production. He was the Vikings’ best player last year, and was the midfielder of the year in his conference. Jack McKenna, a behemoth at 6’6” and 240 pounds, scored in bunches for Fairfield. Matt Caputo is a natural lefty, and listed as an attackman after scoring 15 goals last year from midfield. Being left-handed matters a lot, even with Ohio State’s willingness to invert middies.

Garrett Haas may get in the mix, and might be the most talented newcomer, despite the layoff. It’s just a giant logjam at attack, so there’s plenty to be worked out.

I think, however, you go with proven production and start Matthews. It would be ludicrous not to. McKenna is listed as an attackman, but I bet he gets moved to running out of the box and taking on the shooting midfielder role. Colby Smith did that more than a few times, and executed well.

Opening day starters: Ed Shean, Kurt Bruun, Gannon Matthews.

Offensive Midfield

Unlike attack, midfield is pretty darn thin on proven, high-end production. Dillon Magee returns after scoring 12 goals as a freshman, the best showing for a new middie at Ohio State since Tre Leclaire. Now, Leclaire was an entirely different player and had different results, but there’s just not been a lot of scoring from freshmen in that spot.

Magee’s season was more than respectable, and he will look to improve in year 2. Obviously, I predict he will start. Ari Allen also returns this season after a rough sophomore campaign. Allen was hurt a lot of last year, and just didn’t have the chance to take another step in his development. He remains the most athletic player on the Ohio State roster, but still needs to upgrade his skills to be an elite midfielder.

Ohio State added Thomas Greenblatt and Brett Gladstone from the transfer portal. Greenblatt was productive for Binghamton last year, while Brett Gladstone very quietly committed from Grove City after scoring 65 points. Both produced at a significantly lower level of competition, but have plenty to prove in the Big Ten.

Ohio State returns very little else from last year’s squad at offensive midfield, but brings in a bevy of talent. Keaton Zavitz, previously mentioned, is likely to be a strong contender for early playing time. I think it’s doubtful he is a dodging option, but Zavitz is so skilled with the stick that he should be a 15-goal scorer easily.

Alex Dixon is another darkhorse candidate for playing time, as he has a tremendous shot with his feet set. Cayden Christopher, a native Ohioan, was extremely productive in high school, but did not play in a particularly strong conference. With a box background, Christopher is another player to watch out for in the rotation, though likely on the 2nd line.

Julian Targete was close to being a 5-star at one point in his recruitment, but never quite put it together at the high school level after the summer before his junior year. Targete is tall, but kind of wiry and will need to work on his game to make a serious impact this season. Top to bottom, this unit is very much a work in progress. There are plenty of options, but things will need to get figured out in a hurry for the Buckeyes to have a shot this season.

The most likely scenario, to me, is that some of the attackmen will shift in and out of midfield as the need arises. McKenna and Haas seem to be the most likely candidates there. But we will see.

Opening day starters: Dillon Magee, Ari Allen, Thomas Greenblatt.

Faceoff

Only Coleman Kraske returns from last year’s squad. Tommy Burke, fresh off four years at Vermont, is going to take the opening faceoff on opening day. Not much else to say here.

Opening day starter: Tommy Burke.

Defensive Midfield

Headlining this group is a dynamite portal addition, Eli Fisher. Fisher was an absolute stud at Wagner, will be the star of the much maligned (by me for a couple years) sled dog unit, and could very well be an All-American candidate. As an SSDM, Fisher will be a starter.

The other SSDM slot will likely go to Connor Cmiel, who is still not fluid enough in the hips to be elite, but is athletic. Trent DiCicco is going to start on the faceoff wing, but is much more of a transition player than a true shorty defender. Blake Eiland is probably the most likely breakout candidate here, as he is turning into a player very similar to Ryan Terefenko, just with a little more offensive polish.

He probably won’t start on the opening day, but Eiland could work his way there if things go well. Long-stick midfielder is likely going to Aiden Bodonyi.

Bodonyi is a freshman, but he is very, very talented. Aside from goalkeeper, LSM has been the least stable position in the program for years. Bodonyi should go a long way to stabilizing this position, and really it comes at the best possible time. Justin Sherrer was mediocre at best last year, and the only other rotational player from last year transferred back to New York. I would put serious money down on Bodonyi starting opening day.

Opening day starters: Eli Fisher, Connor Cmiel, Aiden Bodonyi.

Close Defense

From one of the least stable positions to the most stable, the defense is settled. Last year, Ohio

State started Bobby Van Buren, Marcus Hudgins, and Jacob Snyder just about every game. The only player who could possibly change this is Cullen Brown, who will enter his sophomore year facing a logjam in front of him. For 2024, at least.

Snyder, if I remember correctly, moved to LSM a little to try to help there, allowing Cullen Brown to see the field. I think Snyder moves back to close D for 2024 and his last ride.

Opening day starters: Bobby Van Buren, Marcus Hudgins, Jacob Snyder.

Goalkeeper

With last year’s starter out of eligibility, Ohio State has a wide open battle to start between the pipes. It pits Caleb Fyock, the jewel of the 2023 recruiting class, against Wagner transfer Danny Brady. Brady has a career save percentage of .542, despite playing for a Wagner team that is very poor.

That is a wildly great stat, and so much better than any Buckeye ‘keeper since 2017.

Ohio State also added true freshman Jack Allen, an English goalie who caught the Buckeyes’ attention while at the U21 championship last year. He had disappeared off the radar for a while, so it was nice to see Allen pop up on the roster recently. While it’s completely unknown who will start, I think that fans will only see improvement over the past 6 seasons.

Either way, the team will prosper, which is what fans want to see. The lack of great goalkeeping has undercut everything the Buckeyes tried to do on defense. Taking a stab, I think experience wins out initially over tremendous talent.

Opening day starter: Danny Brady.

In terms of other predictions, as I mentioned above, there’s hardly anything to be gained from this season’s early preparations. The offense will be better, because it won’t all run through one person. There should be 5 to 6 dodgers on this roster (Bruun, Allen, Haas, Greenblatt, Shean, Magee), which is way more than the 1.5 of last year. Shooters dot the roster, ranging from Gigantor (McKenna) to Sergeant York (Zavitz). If the Buckeyes can gel in yet another offensive system, gain some continuity, and play adequate defense, this could be a fun year.

If the Buckeyes look like a disjointed group of guys who have never played together before, this could be a disaster of a season.

Either way, I don’t think the team makes the postseason, barring a crazy run in the Big Ten tournament. Road trips to Charlottesville, Ithaca, and College Park loom large. A three-game stretch of Virginia, Cornell, and Notre Dame could see the season implode before St. Patrick’s Day. Denver comes to visit not long after, who has had Ohio State’s number for years now. Ohio State absolutely has to win two of those four games before conference play starts, or it’s curtains for the postseason.

Every Big Ten program not named Ohio State or Rutgers has advanced mightily in recruiting and results the past few years. The Buckeyes’ only Big Ten win last year was a completely out of character victory over the Scarlet Knights. A split of the 4 biggest out of conference games, and a 3-2 record in the Big Ten regular season, is the minimum needed to have a prayer at the national tournament.
Probably would need at least one Big Ten tournament win in there as well. Anything less than this, and 2024 is another wasted year. Frankly, I don’t see how the Buckeyes beat anyone from the Power 2 on their schedule this year not named TTUN and Rutgers. TTUN finally took an offensive hit with Zawada leaving, and Rutgers has a couple talented pieces, but is feeling their transfer-heavy strategy come home to roost.

Regardless, stay tuned for more posts, recaps, etc. as we move forward. Lacrosse is coming. And I am here for it.

Final record prediction: 8-7, 1st round exit from Big Ten Tournament.

Go Bucks!