It’s time. We finally will see the 2024-25 team On display as North Carolina returns to Columbus for a scrimmage and fundraising weekend for charity. The roster is set, there are no new coaches to break in for the first time in years, and Ohio State is looking to turn a corner after some really disappointing years. There is a ton to go over, and I don’t want to waste time that could be spent brooding over last night's loss.

Roster Changes

A fair amount of transfers have joined a good-sized freshman class to turn over the roster yet again.

Most interesting is the designation of players’ positions, at least according to the roster. Ryan Donnery and Mason Bregman join Jack McKenna and Ed Shean at attack, along with Ben Mayer. That’s 5 players with a ton of lacrosse under their belt for 3 spots. That rundown doesn’t account for other players that might pop up at that spot.

New middie Griffin Turner will hopefully bolster an Ohio State midfield that radically underperformed last year. Alex Marinier has a new number, 5, and will look to build on his above average scoring record last year. Most likely, some of the transfer attackmen will end up
running onto the field out of the box.

It appears that Blake Eiland will continue to be used as a defender, at least so far. Not sure why that is happening, but we'll look for confirmation as the season progresses. Freshmen Jewel Walker and Tommy Janowicz will look to break into the midfield rotation. It will be a tall task, given their inexperience, but stranger things have happened.

Recruiting

Ohio State seems to have nearly wrapped up its 2026 recruiting class, with most of the current commits declaring prior to October. In terms of sheer volume, Ohio State hasn’t had a recruiting class this loaded before. Ever. There are 6 top 100 recruits, which is more than the Buckeyes have ever had in a class. The caveat is that this class has been deemed to be less talented than its more recent predecessors, especially outside of the top 20 players or so. That’s obviously not what you want to hear, since the highest-ranked player for Ohio State is at #30. If you want to feel worse, realize that most of Ohio State’s highest-rated commits flip well before Signing Day.

Comparatively, Ohio State is in the lower end of the recruiting ranks as well, as TTUN has nine 4-star recruits committed, Maryland is still securing commitments from the best of the best, Johns Hopkins is flexing its muscle, and only Rutgers is really lagging behind. The Buckeyes will have their work cut out for them in the coming years.

Fall

The Buckeyes, interestingly, only have 2 scrimmages on tap this fall. The big one against North Carolina today, and next weekend against Robert Morris. The fall generally provides little indication of Ohio State’s prospects for the next season, but at least the team will be playing lacrosse that is competitive. It’s very, very difficult to extrapolate from these results, though I would expect North Carolina to have the upper hand. That roster is significantly better than Ohio State’s, and the coaching staff probably has a bit of an edge as well.

Robert Morris will present a decent challenge, but there’s not really going to be much that will translate. Looking at last year’s squad, hopefully there’s someone who can actually dodge a talented longpole on the Ohio State roster. That’s the biggest area of need for Ohio State, and it’s going to be paramount that the staff identifies someone to carry the ball early and often.

I still maintain that Blake Eiland would be the best option there, and would be so much better than current options, even with the transfers in. If Haas can take another step, he could be an option, but I’m not seeing much in the way of options on this roster. Without a dependable dodger, the offense will struggle to eclipse last season’s effort. That would be not good.

Schedule

Ohio State, as is typical, has not yet posted their spring schedule. I’d expect the team to post the game list after we have been able to piece it together from most or all of their opponents. I would be interested to see if there is another meatgrinder schedule this season, or if the Buckeyes will play a little softer slate so they have a better chance at getting through to the tournament.

Previews

Next year, as schools work through their final preparations, I’ll post previews for the Buckeyes and the Big Ten. Ohio State is going to be looking to finish better than 5th in the Big Ten. A third year of being 5th likely wouldn’t sit well with the new AD.

Will Ohio State be able to do so? I’m somewhat confident that the Buckeyes can climb over their rivals into 4th. Especially as the Wolverines have lost the best offensive player in their history, with no real replacement in the wings. Is a move from 5th to 4th good enough? Especially with other teams doing so well operating in the shadows of the football behemoth? We’ll find out.

There’s still a long time to go before we get to the season proper. Luckily we have all this time to speculate recklessly, make up hypotheticals, and debate nonsense.

Let the (exhibition) games begin!

Go Bucks.