Best returning players by position for 2023

[Asgot]

I would love to hear everyone's opinion about this. So with IL doing the top 50 best players, I thought we could look at who may be the best players returning in 2023 by position. we can pick all 6 positions and you can pick the best player in each spot:

Goalie:

Defenseman:

LSM:

SSDM

Midfield


Attack

[LaxFan1991]

Noah Bruno - SSDM - RIT

[BIGDAWG]

At attack- Pat Hrabak of Wooster College
go scots

[Asgot]

Pozin is coming back for CNU and he would be at the top of that list in my opinion

Pozin SSDM CNU - he is just electric when he is on the field and a game-changer in transition.

Greene LSM York -- big long almost impossible to get past and plays well in the transition game

Brandau Goalie Dickinson - great stopper of the ball good outlets just solid everywhere

Auslander Middie CNU- an almost impossible cover. too fast for big kids too strong for ssdm

Boyden Att Tuft's outrageous points last year will see if this was a by-product of Bredhal being their

Defense - Hubbard W&L is a long fast athletic kid who is positionally very solid.

FOGO Paolatto Union he beat the York kid who beat the CNU kid fogo's are a crap shoot imo.

[Slim]

Cross Ferrara - Salisbury is the best attackman & player in D3.

Brandau wasn't even the best goalie on his team- consistently. Scarbs is just as good and was more consistent.

Jackson Woodward - Salisbury, gets my vote for best ssdm.

[BIGDAWG]

midfield- cooper endicott Cal Berkley

[Asgot]

Cross Ferrara - Salisbury is the best attackman & player in D3.

Brandau wasn't even the best goalie on his team- consistently. Scarbs is just as good and was more consistent.

Jackson Woodward - Salisbury, gets my vote for best ssdm.

was not aware the Ferrara was coming back if this is true then he becomes my number 1

[Slim]

He's baaaaack! Year 6!

[Laxguy703]

I'm all for guys getting their fifth year of eligibility, but a sixth year of eligibility is a little absurd. 25/24 Year old's playing against kids straight out of high school just doesn't sound right..

That being said.. If Cross is actually back then he is definitely the best returning player in Division 3. Great dodger/shooter who would put up crazy numbers at any level of lacrosse.

Not sure if all these guys are coming back, but other guys I think that will be top players this season:

Jack Boyden(A)/Tufts - One of the best scorers in D3 who at times seemed better than Bredahl. Can't wait to see him with the keys to the offense.

Jack Dowd(M)/Salisbury - Had to share touches with Bromwell the past two years, but now the midfield is all his. 6'5 and has a cannon with both hands.

Taylor Jensen(LSM)/RIT - Reigning LSM of the year and staple point in RIT's Defense.

Andrew Cook(M)/CNU - Virtually unguardable Middie for CNU who can shoot the lights out OTR/T&R. 52 Goals as a sophomore.

Ben Mayer(A)/York - The next great attackmen in D3. Led York's offense in points by a good amount. Excited to see this guy grow.

Ethan Greene(LSM)/York - IMO the best d-pole in the country. Great stick skills and really solid on D.

Warner Cabaniss(FO)/ CNU - 2nd Team AA as a freshman and played half the season injured. Dominated Salisbury FOGO's which is huge for that matchup.

Chris Brandau(G)/ Dickinson - Great goalie who struggled at times last year, but when he's hot he is tough to get by.

Brock Gonzalez(A)/ Amherst - Big body who just manufactures goals.

Kyle Adelmann(D)/ Tufts - Great D man with a knack for the ball.

Coby Auslander(M)/ CNU - Super fast Mid who can go both ways. Great feeder and can score when needed.

I am sure I left some important guys off, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. Can't wait for the season to get started.

[Jumbo]

I completely agree about 6th year. And from what I hear, many underclass feel the same.

I can see giving an extra year for 2020 grads. But enough already. Everyone lost a year of playing time. College, high school, and youth. Why should there be extended time for just kids that were in college at the time.

[Asgot]

Noah Bruno - SSDM - RIT

While Bruno is s good on-ball defender he struggles in the clearing game and Pozin is simply dynamic in that area of the field so I would have to put him ahead of Bruno.

[Yeti_33]

He's baaaaack! Year 6!

I'm confused... How is that possible? Wouldn't 2022 have been his extra Covid year?

[Asgot]

He's baaaaack! Year 6!

I'm confused... How is that possible? Wouldn't 2022 have been his extra Covid year?

the 2021 season did not count for D3 payers

[allthingsODAC]

Agree so far but, feel like we are leaving out one ODAC defenseman, Morgan HSC. IMO one of the top poles in D3 currently and from what I have heard is looking at the D1 level for 5th year (as many names mentioned are or have). Been all-American every year since the shorted covid season and if ODAC had been released would have been ODAC rookie of the year in 2020. Seems to always be able to lock down and limit production from number one attack men

[InsiderRoll]

Agree so far but, feel like we are leaving out one ODAC defenseman, Morgan HSC. IMO one of the top poles in D3 currently and from what I have heard is looking at the D1 level for 5th year (as many names mentioned are or have). Been all-American every year since the shorted covid season and if ODAC had been released would have been ODAC rookie of the year in 2020. Seems to always be able to lock down and limit production from number one attack men

He is very good. The ODAC returns two defensemen who were 2nd Team All-Americans in 2022. Morgan from HSC and Hubbard from W&L. Both of them are very good and have committed to play 5th years at UNC and Rutgers respectively.

[MVPiccoli]

He's baaaaack! Year 6!

Gotta feel for the underclassmen everywhere. Totally out of control. Not laying that at Cross's feet, or any players' for that matter. If they are technically eligible...can obtain the funds, they should take full advantage. But man, these kids on the come up not getting their shot. That stinks.

[Slim]

Yup MVP, we can all thank the good ol NCAA for this lame-brain decision.

[smoova]

Yup MVP, we can all thank the good ol NCAA for this lame-brain decision.

Bingo. Silly decision made unnecessarily early by a group of panicked administrators. Wound up being a long-term punishment for 2021-2023 grads who made the terrible mistake of being in high school during the COVID pandemic (which also cancelled their 2020 seasons). Just another example of a governing body doing far more harm than good when it tries to "right" an unfortunate "injustice."

[Jumbo]

Yup MVP, we can all thank the good ol NCAA for this lame-brain decision.

Bingo. Silly decision made unnecessarily early by a group of panicked administrators. Wound up being a long-term punishment for 2021-2023 grads who made the terrible mistake of being in high school during the COVID pandemic (which also cancelled their 2020 seasons). Just another example of a governing body doing far more harm than good when it tries to "right" an unfortunate "injustice."

I 100% agree with this. They aren’t really helping anyone. Every kid in college (except a small handful of schools) played about 1/2 schedule in 2020 and almost full schedule in 2021. Why give them 2 additional years. Meanwhile, anyone younger (HS/youth) still missed the entire 2020 season and if lucky, they got less than half of the 2021 season. Now those kids get in college and are playing against 23 and 24 year olds, and fighting for playing time with 5 additional classes instead of 3. I would be curious how many underclass are quitting after one or two years, as they see how upper class are staying 5 or 6 years and taking opportunities away from the younger ones. Luckily for my sons team, only 2 or 3 stayed the extra years this season. I think some schools have almost a full team or 5th and 6th years.

[smoova]

Yup MVP, we can all thank the good ol NCAA for this lame-brain decision.

Bingo. Silly decision made unnecessarily early by a group of panicked administrators. Wound up being a long-term punishment for 2021-2023 grads who made the terrible mistake of being in high school during the COVID pandemic (which also cancelled their 2020 seasons). Just another example of a governing body doing far more harm than good when it tries to "right" an unfortunate "injustice."

I 100% agree with this. They aren’t really helping anyone. Every kid in college (except a small handful of schools) played about 1/2 schedule in 2020 and almost full schedule in 2021. Why give them 2 additional years. Meanwhile, anyone younger (HS/youth) still missed the entire 2020 season and if lucky, they got less than half of the 2021 season. Now those kids get in college and are playing against 23 and 24 year olds, and fighting for playing time with 5 additional classes instead of 3. I would be curious how many underclass are quitting after one or two years, as they see how upper class are staying 5 or 6 years and taking opportunities away from the younger ones. Luckily for my sons team, only 2 or 3 stayed the extra years this season. I think some schools have almost a full team or 5th and 6th years.

The NCAA's COVID flailing has certainly caused some fascinating situations at D3 schools. At my son's NESCAC, a majority of the team took a year off during COVID. As a result, the team's senior class this year is roughly twice the normal size. Unfortunately for those kids, there are a couple of additional dynamics at play:

1. Because the NCAA extended the DI dead period for ~18 months during COVID, DI coaches missed the chance to watch a large number of 2022 recruits play in person - particularly kids from non-hotbed areas who rely on summer/fall events to get exposure. Since the dead period did not apply to D3s, NESCAC coaches took full advantage of the situation by scooping up players who, in a normal year, would have committed to DIs before the NESCAC coaches could even get a pre-read. Many of those players later received DI offers, and a few flipped, but most honored their original commitment. As a result, the freshman class at several NESCACs (and I assume other top D3s) is unusually strong this year. One simple example: in a normal year, my kid's coach lands 2-3 HS AAs ... his 2022 class had 5.

2. Since foreign travel was so wonky in 2020 and 2021, many hold-back juniors/seniors waited until this fall to do a semester abroad and, consequently, missed all team activities. Some kids work hard on fitness/skills while they are away from campus and some are more easily distracted.

I don't know how this all plays out - perhaps the talent rush results in older players losing playing time, perhaps (as you noted above) the log-jam frustrates younger players into quitting - but the NCAA's ham-handed attempt at social engineering sure did create one hell of a mess for everyone.