The Nescac is always stacked, and even some of the lower ranked teams here are still some of the best in the whole country. Thanks to Donald Trump, this isn’t the #Libcac anymore, and even when it was, almost every time they played out of conference they dominated their opponents. Even if that includes some of the top dogs in gritty conferences like the centennial. So some people may balk at these rankings but I did them not just according to last year, but also based on sheer potential for these teams.
Tufts
The defending champs seem to never run out of talent. In 2023 they lost the natty to Salisbury, and graduated Kurt Bruun, Mason Kohn and Jack Boyden, only to win it in 2024 against RIT. Damn. And they still show no sign of slowing down, with Jack Regnery, Max “Elf Bar” Ettinghausen, Brooks Hauser still at offense, and Will Emsing might make some noise as well. Defensively, they still have Michael Ayer’s and Joey Waldbaum.. The only question is their goalie given that Garzone graduated, but given how they only got better after Jack Boyden graduated, whoever gets the nod for the starting position will still ball out. Our firm gave them shit for being gay liberals, but with the nescac reforming these guys will be absolute nails.
Amherst
Call me crazy but the mammoths have as good a chance as anyone. They bring back Bob Gross, Alex Giaccobe and Brendan Riley, and defensively they still have Thompson Lau and Lawson Laverty. They lose Jake Bennett, but they also bring in a great freshman class, Will Doyle can bring some heat to the midfield, and Patrick Arnold can bring another option to the attack. The goalkeeper was pretty sus last year though, but Thompson Lau has a super high ceiling as an LSM and with the best freshman class in my opinion these guys can give the Bo’s a run for their money this year. There were times where they pretty much shattered everyone else, and times where they looked like they would get throttled by my beer league team. However, they don't have anywhere near as much rebuilding as many other teams do.
3. Hamilton
Young team with an attack unit that could be aging like Cherie Deville, these guys might end up winning it all. Jesse Delinksy, Thomas Healy, and Frank Coyle all return, and the only notable loss is Christian Byrne in the midfield, but he can definitely be replaced. Defensively, they still have everyone. Usually they have a mediocre season, but they were able to beat Tufts in overtime last year in the Nescac tournament, showing flashes of what can be an amazing team. Although based on several suspect performances last year, I will have them at 3, but as far as potential goes, they are clearly number one. Beating a national championship team like Tufts can’t be overstated, these guys literally showed they could win it all if they put it together. They are likely going to be the dark horse of the conference this year.
4. Wesleyan
They lost DJ Dixon and Justin Hazard, but kept James Bailey and Ben Burns. Jack Raba and CK Giancola are still around too. Those guys are grad students, but they’ll still be found at parties eating face with freshman blondes who have biblical tits. The defense remains pretty much the same, but they need someone to step up to replace both Hazard and Dixon on the offense. If James Bailey can stay on the crack, the dirty birds might have a chance of repeating their success from last year.
5. Trinity
The Bant’s can ball. You can predict a snow warning in Hartford, as these guys have access to Arizona State Tridelt quality birds while still playing lacrosse at a small D3 school. They pretty much get the best of both worlds, and they have shown flashes of being a championship caliber team, with wins against Wesleyan and Hamilton. They retain Bo Page and many of there offensive core, but graduate Andrew Bailey. Goalie Jordan Opdahl is still there, and if the boys continue to touch bag, throw keggers and take advantage of the amazing birds that go to Trinity, these guys can make some noise. Just like Hamilton, they have the potential to be a force.
6. Bowdoin is still a great team, but after graduating Will Byrne, Oliver Bernstein, Ethan Barnard, Zack Goorno, Harp Lane, Matt Ward and Nate Ryan, they have a ton of spots to fill both offensively, defensively and at the faceoff x. They literally graduated the entire first lineup of SSDM, fogo and LSM, and it will be very hard to replace those guys, and they’ll need someone to step up as the primary dodging threat down low. They still have Jack Pyne, Rob Hobbs and Jed Hoggard on the defensive side of the ball, while Casey Ryan, Jason Lach, and Pat Fitzgerald can produce a lot offensively. They are still loaded with talent, but replicating what they had last year will be an uphill battle.
7. Midd
Midd is also a good team, and they had a great outing against Bowdoin in the nescac tournament. They also showed what they can do against guys outside of the nescac with a dominant performance against Dickinson. However, they graduate Luke Simpson, Will Zink, Will Ryan, and Tom Conley. Guys that juiced up their offense when it was needed, and ran their defense are no longer there. Most rankings would have the number 7 guys blowing horn, but all the teams in the Nescac that make the conference tournament are loaded with weapons year in and year out.
8. Williams
Williams was the king of inconsistency last year. They PMS’d the fuck out of their schedule, going between almost beating Tufts and Union, beating Midd and MIT, shitting on Conn, and then getting gaped by Bowdoin and Amherst. They lose Calvin Caputo and Pearse Glavin, but keep Will Doran, Ryan Johnson and Gavin Timoney, and defensively still have Matthew Wetmore and absolute meat wagon Drew Nicholson. Gavin Timoney has a crazy high ceiling and the potential for a breakout season. Solid freshman class with some Delby guys shoring up the core Jersey crew that comes to Williamstown as well.
Conn
Honestly, these guys their work cut out for them. They bring in nailgun from jersey Brendan Tartaglione, but last years offense can't produce to save their lives. It doesnt help at all that they are competing with Yale and Coast Guard Academy for some of the ugliest women in the entire United States. Jim Nagle has to bring in some hotties and tins of long cut grizzly for everyone to have pregame, and maybe they might make the tournament.
Bates and Colby, you guys fucking suck. I'm betting my 20 million dollar mansion on the cape and all my investments that your season won't go past April.
Comments