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College lacrosse is back. As perhaps the most anticipated season in NCAA history approaches, we’re featuring every team ranked in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Top 20.

Check back to USLaxMagazine.com each weekday for new previews, scouting reports and rival analysis.

No. 15 Duke

2020 Record: 6-3
Pre-COVID Ranking: 19th

 

When Duke’s players and coaches finally reunited in Durham in August after the prolonged 2020 offseason, the field was full of familiar faces. 

Nearly all of the team that led the Blue Devils to a 6-3 start to 2020 — all 12 starters and 96 percent of their points production, to be exact — is back and ready for action in 2021. The program’s mindset was a simple one. 

Pick up where it left off. 

“It’s the great thing with having everyone return and having minimal new players,” coach Kerstin Kimel said. “We obviously took some time to review. But fortunately with our returning players, everybody picked up where they left off, in terms of their understanding and chemistry. It was really, really seamless across the board.” 

The players Duke brings back on the offensive end arguably grab the most headlines. The team’s top three leading scorers all return for another go-around. Seniors Katie Cronin and Catriona Barry and fifth-year Catherine Cordrey combined for 60 of the Blue Devils’ 159 goals in 2020. 

Nike/USL Preseason Top 20
Team Previews

1. North Carolina 2. Notre Dame 3. Loyola 4. Syracuse
5. Stony Brook 6. Northwestern 7. Florida 8. Maryland
9. Michigan 10. Richmond 11. Penn 12. Denver
13. James Madison 14. USC 15. Duke 16. Dartmouth
17. Boston College 18. Virginia 19. UMass 20. Virginia Tech

Attacker Maddie Jenner followed up her breakout 2019 freshman campaign with another astonishing season in the draw circle in 2020, tallying 96 draw controls and averaging a whopping 10.67 per game, the second-most in the country. 

Jenner shined as the launching point of Duke’s offensive attack, which at 17.67 goals per game rated as the fifth-highest scoring offense in the nation. The U.S. U19 star spent the pandemic-induced offseason focused on improving her footwork and explosiveness — areas of training in which she’d been limited the last two falls because of a nagging foot injury — and is now readying for an even stronger 2021 campaign. 

“She doesn’t want to be known for just the draw,” Kimel said. “She wants to be a multi-dimensional, versatile player, and I think that’s what you’ll see from Maddie this year.” 

It helps that the Blue Devils will have their fair share of proven creators to open up those scoring options. Attacker Caroline DeBellis broke out as one of Duke’s most important offensive players as a freshman in 2020, tallying 19 assists — the most on the team and the 11th-most in the country. 

The Blue Devils will also likely see immediate contributions from Penn graduate transfer Gabby Rosenzweig. A 2019 Tewaaraton Award nominee, she has proven she can both score on her own and dish it out to others: She set a host of records in four years with the Quakers, including for all-time points (247) and single-season assists (63).  

Rosenzweig brought a wealth of in-game experience to Durham this offseason, and has already established a role as a veteran leader among the Blue Devils. 

“We just finished our [post-fall] leadership surveys, and to see a fifth-year senior who’s only been with us for six months score so well is pretty cool,” Kimel said. “It’s a testament to her character. She hasn’t been afraid to step into and put herself out there with our team and try to assume a lot of the same responsibilities that she had at Penn.” 

Duke was preparing to face the Quakers, coincidentally, when the 2020 season came to its abrupt end in March. With Rosenzweig now on their side of the field joining a talented and deep lineup of veterans, the Blue Devils are set and aiming for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016.

TOP RETURNERS

Caroline DeBellis, A, So. 

There were questions entering the 2020 season about who might step up to fill the offensive holes left when leading scorers Charlotte North and Olivia Jenner transferred and graduated, respectively. True freshman DeBellis answered them emphatically, emerging as a young star for Duke through the shortened season. She broke out in the Blue Devils’ season opener with three goals and four assists and didn’t slow down, finishing with the team’s fifth-most goals (13) and most assists (19).  

Callie Humphrey, D, Gr. 

Humphrey has been an impact player for Duke since she arrived on campus in 2017, and the announcement this summer that she’d return for a fifth year in blue was huge for the program. In 2020, she led the team with 16 caused turnovers and 18 ground ball  and played a key part in holding high-scoring No. 2 Notre Dame to only 13 goals. She earned second-team All-ACC distinction in 2018 and could again be in contention for postseason honors in 2021. 

Maddie Jenner, A, Jr. 

In her two seasons in Durham, Jenner has emerged as one of the nation’s top specialists in the circle. The 6-foot-2 attacker already has 184 career draw controls for the Blue Devils. She’s on pace to shatter more program records — many of which were set by her older sister, Olivia, from 2016 to 2019 — and with three years of eligibility remaining, will likely have her eyes set on some national draw control records, as well. 

KEY ADDITION 

Katie DeSimone, A. Fr. 

Rosenzweig, with her four years of college experience, is the headliner among Duke’s 2021 newcomers, but DeSimone is a young talent to watch. In her three-year high school career, the Long Island native tallied 139 goals and three Under Armour All-American honors, earning two stints on the U.S. U-19 training team. DeSimone is aware of how she needs to keep growing her game at the college level, Kimel said, and fits right into the Blue Devils’ already deep and prolific attack. 

ENEMY LINES 

What rival coaches are saying about the Blue Devils:

“I’m curious to see what’s going to happen. Their offense is loaded with talent, and I think they’re starting to mesh with chemistry that was missing in years past. They’re getting back to the days when they could outscore opponents to win. But the biggest question is still their defense. But they can win the draw. If they can win the draw and score goals, they don’t have to play a ton of defense.” 

“Duke will always have great games in them and then some flops. They’re super well-coached. They have talent in all the right places. They’re not loaded with talent, but they certainly have strengths all across the field. When things go their way and they’re winning that draw and scoring early, they’re going to be a tough team to beat.” 

“I know they have a good transfer. They’ll be a threat for sure. I don’t know as much about them, but they’re always dangerous, so we’ll see.” 

NUMBERS GAME 

4 

Margin in Duke’s losses to No. 3 Northwestern (24-20) and No. 2 Notre Dame (13-9). In both matchups, the Blue Devils got down early — six- and five-goal first-half deficits, respectively — but launched strong second-half comeback attempts to challenge against two of the country’s top teams. Starting solid out of the gates will be key for Duke in 2021 throughout the stacked ACC slate.