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. 19 Towson

2019 Record: 11-5 (4-1, CAA)
Coach: Shawn Nadelen (10th season)
Assistants: Matt Musci, Steve Grossi, Andy Shilling

All-Time Record: 472-339
NCAA Appearances: 15
Final Fours: 3
Championships: 0

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
April 11

Towson may have the talent to secure an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, but Nadelen will not want to count on that. A matchup with a loaded UMass could eventually decide who gets home-field advantage in the CAA tournament.

The “​Towson Way”​ Will Continue

Towson men’s lacrosse has experienced arguably the best 4-5 years in program history, with multiple NCAA tournament victories and a run to the final four in 2017. Coach Shawn Nadelen has instilled the Towson way in his players, and the Tigers have seen a handful of names gain national recognition for their efforts.

First it was a 2017 team that featured lockdown d-middie Jack Adams and attackmen Joe Seider and Ryan Drenner. The past two seasons, Towson’s success was due in part from the dominance of faceoff man Alex Woodall, All-American defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich and attackman Brendan Sunday.

Adams graduated in 2017, and Goodrich stepped right in. Seider and Drenner left that same year, but Sunday and Timmy Monahan picked up the slack in 2018 and 2019 to keep Towson in the national spotlight.

Goodrich, Sunday and Woodall each graduated following the 2019 season, leaving a hefty void for Nadelen and his crew to fill.

“Everybody knows how talented those guys are,” Nadelen said of the trio. “You can see it every game day, with the production of what they do for Towson lacrosse. The bigger void was the leadership, the ability for those guys who have a presence in the locker room and the practice field.”

But as it has shown over the past few seasons, the Towson way is poised to continue, and new names are bound to make an impact in 2020.

Nadelen said that process has already gotten underway. Towson had more than a few injuries during the fall season, offering the opportunity for new players to gain valuable experience and veterans to step into leadership roles.

Those veterans — names like Grant Maloof, Gray Bodden and Greg Ey — led vocally and by example to help instill the culture that has shaped this program since Nadelen arrived in 2011.

But as much as a new core will develop in 2020, Towson’s success could be tied to that of its most talented player, Koby Smith. Smith gained the nation’s attention after the Tigers upset No. 1 Loyola — where he shut down Pat Spencer for much of the night.

But he’s much more than a defenseman. He’s valuable in transition, with six goals and four assists last season. Nadelen said he’s aiming to get Smith more involved on the offensive end.

“Koby is one of the most dynamic players in the college game right now,” Nadelen said. “His athletic ability and lacrosse ability is really, really impressive as a young man. He’s such a talent and a playmaker, and we’d be fools to not figure out more ways to get him involved.”

Towson may have lost a large portion of its 2019 core, but Nadelen’s program has shown the ability to develop a new one.

Projected Starters

A – Austin Stewart – Soph. – 1G, 1 Start (Denver)
A – Brody McLean – Sr. – 36 G, 6 A
A – Luke Fromert – RJr. – 27 G, 10 A
M – Greg Ey – Jr. – 5 G, 17 SOG
M – Grant Maloof – Sr. – 24 G, 12 GB
M – John Mazza – Sr. – 16 G, 8A (Eight games)
FO – Jack McNallen – 55.1 FO%
SSDM – Andrew O’Dare – Jr. – 15 GB, 5 CT
LSM – Colin O’Connor – Fr.
D – Gray Bodden – Sr. – 28 GB, 14 CT
D – Koby Smith – Jr. – 10 PTS, 30 GB, 20 CT
D – Saunders Healy – 10 GP, 1 GB
G – Tyler Canto – 179 SV., .523 SV%

Tewaaraton Watch
Koby Smith, D,  Jr.

Smith launched himself into the conversation for best defensive player in the nation last season, working his way onto the All-America First Team. He played lockdown defense and added six goals and four assists. He’ll be a leader of this Towson defense.

X Factor
Jack McNallen, FO, Sr.

McNallen will enter into the faceoff spot once held by Alex Woodall, who served as an anchor for the Tigers. When Woodall was injured last season, McNallen won 65 of 118 faceoffs (.551 percent). For this Towson team to continue its momentum, winning faceoffs at a high clip is vital.

National Rankings

66

Goals combined between Towson’s top two returning scorers — Brody McLean and Luke Fromert. The Tigers have seen names like Ryan Drenner, Joe Seider and Brendan Sunday make huge strides in this offense, so it could be time for another name to step up in 2020.

Enemy Lines

“Shawn Nadelen is what I call a young old-school guy. You just know what you’ll get from his team. Towson got it from Carl Runk to Tony Seaman to Shawn. You’re going to get a tough team, you’re going get a physical team and you’re going to get a battle every time.”