US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Preseason Top 20 on Dec. 17. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February.

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No. 13 Ohio State

2019 Record: 8-4 (1-4, Big Ten)
Coach: Nick Myers (12th year)
Assistants: Dylan Sheridan, Travis Crane, Andrew Vossler

All-Time Record: 493-424-5
NCAA Appearances: 6
Final Fours: 1
Championships: 0

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
March 15

How different things might have been for the Buckeyes (or Denver, for that matter) had this game been played last season rather than canceled because of weather-related travel problems. It’s the cap to a four-game homestand to close out nonconference play, and one of the Buckeyes’ prime chances to pick up a high-end victory prior to Big Ten play.

Buckeyes “hungry” after missing NCAA tournament

Ohio State’s senior class came in as part of a Buckeye breakout, a team that out-toughed teams on its way to the first Memorial Day weekend appearance in school history.

After a pair of NCAA tournament misses, this is the group’s last chance to get back into the postseason. And while coach Nick Myers’ “Buckeye Blueprint” won’t allow his program to dwell on an outcome several months in the future when the present day commands attention, there’s no denying a little extra urgency in the Horseshoe this spring.

“I feel like we have a group right now that’s hungry,” Myers said. “This is a senior class that knows what it feels like to step on the field that Monday on the last day of the season. They were freshmen in 2017. To be a team that finished 14th in the RPI last year and not be in the NCAA tournament is tough. We understand what it’s going to take, with the conference we play in and the schedule we have.”

There are pivotal mainstays scattered throughout the lineup. Attackman Tre Leclaire, midfielder Lukas Buckley, long pole Jeff Henrik (who has moved up top after starting at close defense) and Swiss army knife Ryan Terefenko are seniors.

The Buckeyes didn’t need an overhaul after going 8-4, even with a 1-4 slide in conference play to close out the season. But they do have a new voice on the staff after Myers hired Cleveland State coach Dylan Sheridan as an assistant coach. Myers called the hiring “my biggest recruit in our offseason.”

Sheridan did standout work with the Vikings’ start-up, and his addition should bring some new wrinkles to Ohio State’s program.

“When a coaching staff is changed or just a new approach is injected into your organization, sometimes guys like Tre can really take off,” Myers said. “He’s been really excited and enthusiastic with the subtle changes we’ve made. That could potentially be a real spark for him.”

Modest tweaks are the right prescription for a program that didn’t enjoy the postseason success of 2017 over the last two years but still bagged road victories over Maryland (2018), Notre Dame (2019) and Johns Hopkins (2019).

“The bottom line is the last two years we’ve been one of those last teams out on that Selection Sunday,” Myers said. “There’s a fine line to being in versus being on the outside. The 18th team and the 19th team, those were good lacrosse teams. It’s a very fine line there.”

A line Ohio State — and its seniors who have been there before — hopes it can land on the right side of with an especially dialed-in roster this season.

Projected Starters

A – Tre Leclaire – Sr. – 34 G, 3 A
A – Jackson Reid – Jr. – 29 G, 8 A
A – Jack Myers – So. – 17 G, 20 A
M – Lukas Buckley – R-Sr. – 5 G, 8 A
M – Johnny Wiseman – So. – 6 G, 1 A
M – Colby Smith – Jr. – 11 G, 7 A
FO – Justin Inacio – Jr. – 63.7 FO%, 120 GB
LSM – Jeff Henrik – Sr. – 17 GB, 7 CT
SSDM – Ryan Terefenko – Sr. – 4 G, 36 GB
D – Joey Salisbury – Sr. – 13 GB, 5 CT
D – Caleb Mahoney – Sr. – 3 GB, 2 CT
D – Jacob Snyder – Fr.
G – Josh Kirson – R-Jr. – 10.56 GAA, 50.2 SV%

Tewaaraton Watch
Tre Leclaire, A, Sr.

The Canadian, who uncorked a 49-goal season as a freshman on Ohio State’s national runner-up team, is 39 goals away from becoming the Buckeyes’ career scoring leader. He’ll be the focal point of Ohio State’s offense as he closes out his college career in Columbus.

X Factor
Ryan Terefenko, M, Sr.

Last year provided a bit of a watershed moment, as Towson defensive ace Zach Goodrich claimed the McLaughlin Award as the nation’s top midfielder. Terefenko, who does a bit of everything for the Buckeyes, is made from the same mold. “He’s the best middie in the country, and you can print that,” Myers said. “I feel that strongly about him.”

National Rankings

2

Ohio State added both of the well-regarded Mitchell twins as part of a deep recruiting class. Connor (a 6-1, 215-pound left-hander) and Grant (a 6-1, 205-pound righty), who are both members of the U.S. U19 training team, will factor into the Buckeyes’ midfield plans this spring.

Enemy Lines

“They maybe graduated one guy on offense. Leclaire can score with anybody in the country. They’ll be a little younger on the defensive end with some young guys, but they’re solid again in the goal and tremendous with Inacio at the faceoff X. It’s a good combination for a really good team.”