No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse seeks to return to the NCAA Championship after consecutive losses

Photo by Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Two seasons, two opportunities, and two national championship games resulting in agony for Maryland men’s lacrosse. 

After losing to Notre Dame two seasons ago, Maryland went to Foxborough on championship weekend looking for a different outcome. But the result was the same as Maryland fell 13-10 to Cornell.

No. 1 Maryland now enters the 2026 season with a new supporting cast and the same expectation as seasons past: win another National Championship. 

Perhaps the biggest loss for the Terps comes in goal as former goalie Logan McNaney graduated last season.  McNaney was one of the best goalies in program history, totaling a program-best 62 wins and 789 saves. 

Tasked with replacing will likely be Brian Ruppel. The senior has quality playing experience as he filled in for McNaney after missing most of the 2023 season due to a knee injury. During that year, Ruppel secured eight wins in 13 games while posting a .484 save percentage.

“Stepping in and becoming the starter is never easy,” head coach John Tillman said. “But man, to have a whole year under your belt and then two more years of development … we didn’t know who was starting [last year] until the week before the season. It was that close between Logan and Brian.

If Ruppel falters, the Terps have a capable backup option, recruiting Inside Lacrosse’s top goalie prospect of the 2025 class — Aiden Seibel. The five-star recruit was highly touted coming out of McDonogh High School, earning All-MIAA and All-American selections in each of the past two seasons.

But Seibel isn’t the only five-star freshman who will put on a Maryland jersey in 2026. Jack Schultz made an immediate impact on Maryland’s midfield rotation a season ago as a freshman, tallying 14 points and earning a spot on the 2025 Big Ten All-Freshman Team. 

The Terps also added five-star attacker Matt Higgins to their offense. The freshman ranked No. 12 on Inside Lacrosse’s Power 100 Freshman Rankings and earned All-American honors as both a junior and a senior during his high school career. 

“We’ve seen a lot of development by those guys. We see them get stronger. We see them get more confident,” Tillman said. “Then you see [Eric Spanos and Will Schaller] really helping them out [and] just helping with that development.”

The new addition will aid the Terps after Daniel Kelly  — the team’s second-leading goal scorer in 2025 — graduated last season. Kelly tallied 35 goals and 10 assists last season and became the 63rd player to reach 100 career points for Maryland men’s lacrosse.  The Terps also will be without former transfers Matthew Keegan and Bryce Ford, who combined for 66 points in 2025. 

Despite the many missing pieces across the roster, the Terps will bring in five transfers.

Offensively, Maryland brought in attacker duo Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons from Yale. The two dominated the Ivy League a season ago as Johnson led the Bulldogs with 46 total points, while Lyons tallied 41 points. The new additions should bolster a Maryland roster that averaged just 11.11 goals per game last season.

But the Terps will return some of last season’s offense, highlighted by attackers Braden Erksa and Eric Spanos. The two combined for 103 points last season and were Maryland’s top two point producers. 

Spanos will also enter this season with a new jersey number, donning the #1 jersey, which represents a player’s elite talents on and off the field.

“Just look at who he is as a person,” Tillman said on the jersey decision. “It’s always been about the guys around him. It’s been about Maryland. He always gives his all, [and] it’s never about him.” 

Defensively, Maryland will be without long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald after getting selected in the second round of the PLL Draft. McDonald totaled 50 ground balls and forced 15 turnovers last season. 

But Lyons and Johnson aren’t the only two Bulldogs who transferred to College Park. Defenseman Michael Alexander will also be joining Maryland’s defense. The graduate student started in five games last season before getting injured, but was a first-team All-Ivy selection in 2023. 

“I think he brings a nice little edge for us,” Schaller said. “He’s tough, but he’s also done a really nice job buying into that process and preparation, which I appreciate from him.”

Maryland also acquired short stick midfielder Trey Fleece from UMBC. The graduate student provided strong defense for the Retrievers, notching 42 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers – both top three in their respective categories throughout UMBC’s roster. 

The Terps also used the transfer portal to bolster their faceoff unit, acquiring senior Henry Dodge. After the loss of Luke Wierman entering the 2025 season, Maryland’s win percentage from the dot ranked fourth out of six Big Ten teams last season. 

The Vermont transfer will look to improve Maryland’s faceoff unit, as he finished the 2025 season with a 71%-win rate — the highest of any Division I faceoff specialist last season. 

“Henry’s been great. We knew he had a really strong ability at the ‘X,’” Tillman said. “He’s been great for Jonah [Carrier] and our other faceoff guys. He hasn’t just come in and tried to win faceoffs; he’s been trying to give them pointers and give them advice.” 

Maryland’s first game of the season was postponed due to the poor weather. A week later, the Terps will play their first game of the season indoors at Jones-Hill House in College Park. 

The Terps played at the facility once before in 2022, defeating Albany 24-6. Maryland will look continue their undefeated record at the Jones-Hill House against a Loyola Maryland team that gave the Terps trouble a season ago.