Season Preview: 2025 NJCAA Men’s Lacrosse

Charlotte, NC – The 2025 NJCAA men's lacrosse season is just around the corner as teams prepare for the first day of competition on February 21. The spring season will culminate with the national championship May 10-11 at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland.

2024 Championship Recap

After winning the first national championship in program history in 2023, Harford defended its title in 2024. The Fighting Owls avenged their lone loss of the season to CCBC Essex with a 16-6 victory in the championship game.

CCBC Essex was the No. 1 seed in the tournament after defeating Harford in the Mid-Atlantic District Championship, sealing the automatic bid to the national tournament. The Knights advanced to the title matchup with a 13-8 semifinal win over Onondaga.

Onondaga, which won 12 out of 14 championship titles between 2006 and 2019, bowed out in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Nassau was ranked No. 2 the entire 2024 season and reached the semifinals but could not stop Harford's offense.

Returning Standouts

• Kohl Wesner (Harford): The 2024 Steve Carvana Offensive Player of the Tournament and a 2024 NJCAA All-American led the nation in shots and was second in goals last season.
• Ryan Sweiderk (Harford): Named the 2024 Steve Carvana Defensive Player of the Tournament and a 2024 NJCAA All-American.
• Luke Smeader (Genesee): Led the nation in ground balls and face-off percentage and posted the second-most face-off wins en route to a 2024 NJCAA All-America First Team selection.
• Jack Lepore (Nassau): Received 2024 NJCAA All-America First Team honors and ranked 10^th in goals and 13^th in shots on goal.
• Brian Freeman (Genesee): Selected to the 2024 NJCAA All-America Second Team and ranked ninth in goals and 11^th in points.
• Brady Dolan (Nassau): Recorded the fourth-most assists last season and earned a spot on the 2024 NJCAA All-America Second Team.
• Jake Posello (Mohawk Valley): Fifth in the country in caused turnovers last season.
• Drew Helms (Genesee): Posted the fifth-best goals against average in 2024.
• Jake Fifiels (Onondaga): Allowed the second-fewest goals and logged the fourth best save percentage in the nation last year.

2025 Preseason Rankings

The 2025 men's lacrosse preseason rankings were released on February 10:

1. Harford
2. CCBC Essex
3. Nassau
4. Onondaga
5. Genesee

New Teams

Finger Lakes Community College and Jefferson Community College rejoin the men's lacrosse competition in the 2025 season.

After not participating in the 2024 season, Finger Lakes is fielding a team under new head coach Josh Kierst. A graduate of FLCC, Kierst played lacrosse for the Lakers from 2001-2003 and served as team captain. He returns to his alma mater after coaching at Waterloo Central School.

Jefferson returns to NJCAA men's lacrosse competition for the first time since the start of the 2020 season. Head Coach Chad Parker played at Jefferson from 1997-1999 and was a member of the two winningest teams in program history. Parker has over 20 years of coaching experience across multiple levels and is deeply rooted in the surrounding community.

2025 National Championship

Seeding for the 2025 NJCAA Men's Lacrosse National Championship will be announced on April 29. The top two seeds will receive a bye while seeds three and four will host quarterfinal matches on campus. The winners of the quarterfinals will join the top two seeds at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland, for the semifinals and championship game May 10-11.