Way Early 2024 Rankings: Nos. 15-11 (Division I Women)

Summer sure went fast, huh? It seems like yesterday that Northwestern hoisted the NCAA championship trophy in Cary, N.C. But alas, students are making their way back to campuses across the nation, and thus the dawn of the next NCAA women’s lacrosse season is here.

As we here at USA Lacrosse Magazine do every year, we’re taking a crack at ranking the Top 25 programs in the country before the fall exhibition season begins. Check back each day this week as we break down another five-team segment, ending with Nos. 5-1 on Friday.

EARLY 2024 RANKINGS

Division I Men
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1

Division I Women
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1

15. MICHIGAN

2023 Record: 12-8 (3-3 Big Ten)

Last seen: The Wolverines gave eventual champion Northwestern its toughest game of the NCAA tournament but fell 8-7. They were the only team to hold the Wildcats to single-digit goals all season.

Initial forecast: Michigan’s offense ran through Jill Smith in 2023. The rising junior’s 65 goals comprised 28 percent of the Wolverines’ output. The good news: She’s back. However, Kaley Thompson (18 G, 20 A) and Erin Garvey (30 G) are not. The Wolverines will likely need to bolster their offense, as Smith, a relative unknown heading into 2023, is now the obvious target for doubles. Rising junior Jane Fetterolf (15 G, 15 A), who started every game, has a diverse skillset.

There’s not much of a question mark at the goalie position, though, a departure from last year after the graduation of Arielle Weissman. Maya Santa-Maria is back for her senior year after stopping 48.9 percent of the shots she faced.

14. PENN STATE

2023 Record: 11-7 (3-3 Big Ten)

Last seen: In one of the most closely watched games of the first round of the NCAA tournament, Penn State surrendered three fourth-quarter goals in a 12-8 loss to Stony Brook.

Initial forecast: The Nittany Lions were one of the big turnaround stories in 2023 after losing all six Big Ten games and going 6-9 overall in 2022. Juniors Kristin O’Neill (51 G, 8 A) and Gretchen Gilmore (27 G, 12 A), who stuck with the program when the transfer portal became a hot option, clicked offensively. Meanwhile, classmate Kayla Abernathy led the team with 78 draws. All three will return in 2024 — and you can’t teach experience, which rising junior goalie Ashley Bowan (9.86 GAA, .429 SV%) also has.

Whether the returning core is enough to challenge the conference blue bloods in Northwestern and Maryland remains to be seen, but the Nittany Lions arguably have one of the best shots at shaking things up.

13. ARMY

2023 Record: 15-4 (8-1 Patriot League)

Last seen: Army’s record-setting 15-win season ended in a 12-8 loss to James Madison in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was the first appearance in the tournament for the Black Knights.

Initial forecast: One of 2023’s biggest surprises, Army scored an early season win over then-top 10 foe Rutgers and remained in the national rankings for much of the year. But the Black Knights struggled twice against conference standard-bearer Loyola, which got the best of Army in the conference championship. You can bet the Black Knights have their eyes on knocking the Greyhounds off the Patriot League perch they’ve owned for more than a decade. They certainly have the returning talent to make a run at it. Three of the Black Knights’ five leading scorers return, including one of last year’s breakout rookies, Brigid Duffy (56 G, 20 A, 90 DC). Rising senior Julia Gorajek (37 G, 12 A) and rising sophomore Allison Reilly (27 G, 17 A) are also back. The Black Knights must fill roles left behind by other threats in Kathleen Sullivan (36 G, 44 A), the team’s leading distributor, and Julia Franzoni (41 G, 114 DC), the leader in draws.

Defensively, the Black Knights will be without starters Cathleen Parker and Sidney Weigand but bring back initial starting netminder Lacey Bartholomay (11.13 GAA, .475 SV%) and Lindsey Serafine (10.28 GAA, .474 SV%), who took over the starting role for the final six games after providing a spark off the bench. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod come February.

12. JOHNS HOPKINS

2023 Record: 9-9 (4-2 Big Ten)

Last seen: After turning back UMass in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Blue Jays ran into Syracuse’s top-flight offense and lost 25-8 in round two.

Initial forecast: Surprised to see the Blue Jays here? Don’t be. In the first year under Tim McCormack, the Jays impressed, beating Penn State and Michigan in the regular season and falling to Maryland by only one. And don’t look now, but leading goal scorer Ava Angello (40 G, 13 A, 30 DC) returns after a standout rookie season.

Starting goalie Maggie Tydings (11.60 GAA, .383 SV%) is also back, but there will be a battle in net this fall as former Northwestern goalie Madison Doucette is heading to Homewood Field after a gap year. Defender Kacie Riggs, a two-year starter at Cal, and midfielder/draw specialist Jennifer Barry of Boston University also join the Blue Jays via the portal as they look to tighten a defense that finished 65th nationally in goals-allowed per game (12.22).   

11. FLORIDA

2023 Record: 17-4 (5-1 AAC)

Last seen: The Gators bowed out of the NCAA tournament with a 16-15 loss to Notre Dame courtesy of a last-minute goal by Kasey Choma.

Initial forecast: Perhaps no team had a stranger offseason than the Gators. Emma LaPinto (62 G, 28 A), Florida’s leading scorer and a former blue-chip recruit, departed for Boston College. Sarah Reznick (9.45 GAA, .519 SV%), one of the nation’s best stoppers, opted out of another season and went pro with Athletes Unlimited.

But Florida retooled, bringing in Albany star Sarah Falk (72 G, 27 GB, 39 DC, 12 CT), UMass defender Hannah Heller (55 DC, 38 GB, 25 CT) and Princeton defender Maria Pasini. Pasini didn’t play much for the Tigers in 2023 but started 16 of 17 games in 2022, recording 10 caused turnovers.

Where does that leave the Gators? It’s hard to say. They lost the regular-season crown to first-year AAC foe James Madison but spurned the Dukes in one of the best title games of 2023, a 9-8 Florida win. James Madison brings back its Tewaaraton finalist in Isabella Peterson and will likely give Florida another run at sweeping the AAC titles. Florida should remain at or near the top of the conference.