What’s going on with the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team right now?
Well that was exactly how we did NOT want the Notre Dame Football season to end.
It’s been a few weeks since that dreadful selection show on Sunday, December 7th. I am sure I speak for many when I say that I am still not over our Irish not getting chosen into the field. It’s been a long and slow almost month since that time and for those who want to listen to my thoughts on what went down and why Notre Dame got the short end of the stick, feel free to listen to my Exit 77 podcast – ”Episode 129.” I tried to be as reasonable and rational as I could, but it was certainly hard.
Enough about that though as we could talk about it forever. Those of you who are here and reading this, it can only mean one thing…you are a big Notre Dame lacrosse fan and you are very excited to get the season underway here in 2026. Count me in the same camp and and I could not be happier to be back for my fourth season of covering the Irish for OneFootDown.
Just like as I have been doing the past couple of years, I plan to write here and also will cover the Irish through weekly “Exit 77” podcasts as I will be joined again by the biggest Notre Dame lacrosse fan in Mr. David Brogan. We will be getting our podcasts up and running soon so be on the lookout for a new episode in under a week.
There will be lots for us to write about and podcast about as the season gets closer, but thought I would share some of the latest news and give a bit of an overview on the different roster positions for the Irish this year.
Let’s get started…
Jordan Faison is not returning
News came out today that Jordan Faison is hanging up his lacrosse cleats to focus on his football future. ISD’s Matt Freeman broke the news through an article and tweet today:
Tough news for the Irish lacrosse team, but you cannot blame Jordan for wanting to focus on football as he has a future as an NFL player. Coming off another breakout season for the Irish in football, Jordan will be gearing up for one more run with the Irish football team in the fall of 2026. Having a full spring to dedicate to lifting, football and chemistry with CJ Carr will only make Faison a more complete player / receiver and put him in an even better position for the 2027 NFL draft. We wish him all the best as it has been a thrill watching him compete on both the football and lacrosse fields over these last couple of seasons.
In some exciting news as it relates to the Faison family, Jordan’s brother Dylan, the #1 ranked lacrosse recruit in the class of 2026, has reclassified and will be enrolling at Notre Dame in January; he will be eligible to play lacrosse for the Irish this spring. He will be pulling double duty (similar to Jordan in years past) as he will be practicing with the football team in the spring, but also playing for Coach Corrigan.
Was really hoping that we would have both Faisons playing together this spring, but having the chance to see Dylan suit up for the Irish at Arlotta will be awesome.
In other news, as it relates to Notre Dame football and lacrosse, it appears that Tyler Buchner will not be playing this spring for the Irish as his name is not on the lacrosse roster. Was thinking he had one more year left, but no matter what, wishing Tyler all the best as he looks to start life after Notre Dame athletics.
Lastly, this spring will be the sophomore season for Matt Jeffery on the Notre Dame lacrosse team. Matt’s role on the football team has continued to increase and I would imagine we will see just the same this year on the lacrosse field. Matt was really coming on at the end of last season before he was injured and had to miss the NCAA tournament with an upper body injury. Very much looking forward to an expanded role and breakout season at the midfield for Matt as how can we not forget this play from him from late last season:
Looking ahead to our 2026 roster
Coaching Staff: Everyone is back from last year as the Irish continue to have one of the best, if not the best, coaching staff in the entire country. Coach Kevin Corrigan is back for his 38th season and is the longest active tenured coach in men’s lacrosse at the Division I level. Amazing what Coach Corrigan has accomplished over the last almost now four decades.
BTW, great podcast listen here featuring Coach Corrigan.
Joining Coach Corrigan again and back for their seventh seasons with the Irish are defensive coach Ryan Wellner and offensive coach Chris Wojcik. Back for his sixth season is Notre Dame lacrosse alum Ryder Garnsey and rounding out the staff is Director of Operations and Notre Dame lacrosse alum Rob Simpson.
The continuity and experience of this staff is a great thing to have in this day and age of college lacrosse and Notre Dame is once again well positioned for the spring from a leadership standpoint.
Attack: To start, let’s get this out of the way: this will be the first season since 2020 that we will not have a Kavanagh leading the Irish on attack. With Chris graduating last year and with Pat graduating the year before, the Kavanagh tradition at Notre Dame has come to an end. The legacy across Matt, Pat and Chris will be forever and we will miss not having a Kavanagh on the field this year. At some point, and when the time is right, there will hopefully be both a Kevin Corrigan statue and a Kavanagh Family statue outside of Arlotta.
Having said that, as we look at the 2026 season, there is tons of talent, but lots of players who have not yet played a lot of lacrosse for Notre Dame. We are looking at probably a mix of five players who will be looking to be a part of the starting three: Brock Behrman, Luke Miller, Brady Pokorny, transfer Josh Yago and freshman Teddy Lally. I would imagine Yago will play behind the goal for the Irish as he is probably not brought in unless the coaching staff sees him starting. Who the other two will be is anyone’s guess. Can Pokorny come back from last year where he started at the beginning but not much after that? Can Miller continue his late season surge from last year? Is it finally Behrman’s time to shine? Lally is an uber-talented freshman who might be too good to keep of the field and he has a confidence that you don’t always see in a freshman. Don’t forget as well veteran Griffin Grant, 5-star freshman Cam Kelley and 4-star Colin Kenney.
Maybe who starts comes down to who rides the best and brings the grit and tenacity that the Kavanaghs brought for years.
The most interesting thing to watch is how Coach Wojcik works the offense as this is the first year in the last four where we don’t have Jake Taylor as our crease finisher. Could we be looking at completely different offensive sets for our Irish this year? How much different will the Irish offense flow this season?
Prediction: Teddy Lally emerges at some point this spring.
Midfield: I did not realize this, but Jalen Seymour and Fisher Finley are both back, joining Will Angrick who I knew was coming back. That is some serious leadership and playmaking ability across those three players. Can Finley turn things around from how the season went for him last year? Then we have Will Maheras and Max Busenkell. That makes a strong five right there who will look to get a lot of the midfield minutes. As mentioned above, Matt Jeffery, with the football team not in the playoffs, he will be ready to go from day one in January. Will Dylan Faison see minutes at midfield or does the coaching staff see him more as an attackman? Who from the sophomore class who did not play much last year rises to the top? Joey Bambrick, Ben Burmeister and Jake Vasquez are the names to know. Other veterans like Ryan Sforzo, Drew Wynocker, Andrew Donovan and Gavin Burlace, can they challenge for time? Don’t forget as well the talented freshman class who is now on campus in Miguel Iglesias, Gavin Lynch and Brendan Mullahy.
Overall, there is lots of folks at the midfield. Who are the top six that will make up the first and second lines? Can there be an opportunity for the Irish to run three offensive middie lines as the season moves along? As we all know, that can make all the difference in a championship run.
Prediction: Max Busenkell emerges as one of the best passing midfielders in all of college lacrosse.
SSDM: Ben Ramsey has graduated and as he anchored this position for three straight years, the chance is there for someone to step into his role. It’s another year of strong leadership and players returning for Notre Dame and it starts with Christian Alacqua, Kyle Bergen and Chris Reinhardt. Bergen is coming off a successful run with the U20 National Team. Who will be the fourth and fifth players in this rotation? Freshman Dylan Kellan and veteran Thomas Porell are the names to watch. Having a stable of five or six reliable options at this position would be huge for the Irish.
Prediction: Notre Dame will have an SSDM make 2nd or 3rd team All-American this year.
LSM: Led by do everything and the best LSM in college lacrosse in Will Donovan, the Irish will once again look to continue the great tradition at this position. Who will be behind him and second off the bench is anyone’s guess, but it will be one of Jimmy Kenney, Luke Stickler, Luke Crowe or Andrew Gryzenia. Who will rise to the top might be the biggest battle in pre-season camp. Can Will Donovan challenge for best overall defender in the country? I would not count him out, although his biggest challenger is a teammate of his.
Prediction: Will Donovan finishes his Notre Dame career as a 1st team All-American.
Defense: We return our starting three from last year and imagine we are set here unless one of the freshman makes it impossible to keep them off the field. So we are looking at Shawn Lyght, Will Gallagher and Nate Schwitzenberg as our set three. Shawn Lyght is the best defender in college lacrosse. Nothing more needs to be said.
For Coach Wellner, this is a really, really good starting group and they could challenge to be the best overall unit in the country. There are so many others looking to get into the mix here, but it will be tough to crack and get meaningful minutes. Names to keep an eye on are 5-star freshman Chris Iuliano, junior Karter Williams and sophomore George Guyton. I thought Mason Wordelman would be back, but I am not seeing him on the roster.
More than anything, who will be the extra longpole in a situation where a defender is called for a penalty will be something for us to keep an eye on early in the season.
Side note, I feel for college defenders as there is such a tight window for playing time and I give a lot of credit to those who continue to push and continue to look to find a role on the defensive side of college lacrosse teams.
Prediction: Shawn Lyght wins the Schmeisser Award for the second consecutive year.
Faceoff: First year in a long while without standout Will Lynch leading this group, but we have three faceoff specialists on the roster. 5-star and top ranked freshman faceoff recruit Aidan Diaz-Matos will get all the opportunity to take the top spot, as will transfer Tyler Spano. They will form a good one-two punch with veteran Christian Gallaher there to back them up.
Note, great to see Will Lynch continue to help the team in the fall as he was a big part in helping get the faceoff unit ready for the season.
Prediction: No idea who wins this job early in the season 😉
Goalie: It is Thomas Ricciardelli’s job and he had a great first year starting in the cage in 2025. Backing him up will be fifth year senior Alex Zepf, sophomore Will Ohnmacht and freshman Matt McKane. I am looking for Thomas to be one of the best in the country this year.
Prediction: Thomas makes 3rd team All-American this year.
Overall, for Coach Corrigan, this is a talented Irish team that returns a ton of production and star power. That being said, we also lost a lot of production and star power. And that is the big question….who steps up and who wants to make a difference? Which of the veterans elevates their game to the next level? Will any freshmen make a big splash? Can a seldom used player from last year make a name for themselves?
This year will be a great test on the coaches to find the right mix of players and combinations to propel the Irish forward. More so than in any of the last four years, the early season games will be key for the Irish to figure out personnel and find the right mix of players that will lead as the weather turns better.
A trip back to the Final Four should now be the norm for the Irish. We have the roster to do it, let’s see what they can do on the field starting in January.
2026…Time to be Great.
Go Irish!!
Category: General Sports
