NCAA Rewind: Utah Firmly Established in its Identity

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

UTAH

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: also considered/also considered
2024 record: 12-5 (8-1 Atlantic Sun)

What went right: The Utes won 12 of 13 after an 0-3 start, including victories over Cleveland State and Jacksonville in the Atlantic Sun tournament. 

Utah fielded an enviable attack of Ryan Stines (48 goals, 19 assists), Jordan Hyde (41 G, 7 A) and Tyler Bradbury (32 G, 27 A), a group that helped the Utes average 18.44 goals during a nine-game winning streak that helped them secure their second consecutive NCAA tournament berth. 

They took care of the ball (fourth-fewest turnovers per game in Division I) and caused plenty of takeaways (ninth most per game nationally) on their way to back-to-back conference titles.

What went wrong: It’s difficult to nitpick a team that just made its second NCAA tournament in six years as a varsity program. Early losses to Denver (16-8) and Syracuse (18-7) and a 19-7 trouncing at Duke in the postseason show how much room for growth there is in Salt Lake City, but this is a program on completely firm footing.

Season highlight: Stines scored five times as the Utes turned back Jacksonville 16-13 in the Atlantic Sun final. With the victory, Utah improved to 21-1 against conference foes over the last two seasons.

Verdict: Aggressive defensively and potent on offense, Utah has an established identity that has helped it ascend to the top of the Atlantic Sun. The Utes’ league schedule will shrink next year (Cleveland State, Detroit and Robert Morris head to the Northeast Conference, while Lindenwood has dropped its program), and while Air Force and Jacksonville are established programs, it’s hard to think Utah won’t be favored to make a third consecutive NCAA trip.