D2 Lacrosse Conference Previews for the 2026 Season - Conference Carolinas

Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Creest with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of T2 Memphis. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stentram, and with me as always is Father Timeless, Danny Moran. How's it going, Danny?

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Kevin, how are you? How's everything going in Northern Virginia? How was your Christmas, my friend?

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Christmas was great. We were not in Northern Virginia. We went to my in-laws' house in West Virginia, got to hang out. It's funny. There was snow on the ground, but it was like 45 degrees by the time we left. There was no snow on the ground, except for in the mountains where we went skiing because they make snow.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Well, very nice. Sounds like a good time. Yeah. How about you? Nice and chill this Christmas with two cousins and aunts on Christmas Eve and nice dinner on Christmas Day with the kids and all good. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Awesome. Well, this, Danny, is our first episode of 2026. Now, we're still in 2025 as we record this, but it is dropping New Year's Day. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_00 1:31

No, this is this year went fast, man. Holy crap. Yeah. Like, I just can't believe how fast this year went. And just like I guess as you the older you get, the faster it goes. I don't know. Oh, it definitely feels that way to me. Because this year just seemed like it went by at warp speed.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Yeah. Yeah. And it seems like the earth spins faster, rotates faster around that sun every year.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Just faster in my that's why as you get older, you gotta start living your life a little bit. You know what I mean? You know, it's it's time to start like doing the things you want to do. You know what I'm saying? All those bucket list items. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. You had a nice little Christmas. It's all good. The 26th season is coming up. I'm excited for the season. I mean, I think it's gonna be a great lacrosse season. I really do. With you know, we've been going over these lot of teams already, over 60 probably up to this point. And and man, this this division is just really improving all over the country. I mean, just the amount of players that are just getting better and better, and the teams that are just improving in numbers and and and stats, and it's just it's been pretty good. And I think the 26th year is going to be the best year ever for Division II.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Well, look at it. Um, look at what we recorded last week and dropped, uh, the Sunshine State Conference. Now, first of all, apologies to all our listeners out there. Somehow the audio file got corrupted as I uploaded it. I think I fixed it throughout all the different podcast platforms out there, so you can re-listen again and see what it sounds like when it's actually audible. Yeah, that was a glitch on them. That's not us. But what I would say is as I re-listen to that one, and we talk about a bunch of these teams, looked like they're improving in the Sunshine State Conference, and we did the same thing across all these other conferences that we've previewed so far. It's a zero-sum game. I mean, someone's gonna lose if those teams win, right? And so what you're really getting is better parity. And we talked about that with the Sunshine State Conference from top to bottom, how close those teams kind of are across even if you go from Tampa down up Palm Beach Atlantic, they're probably closer than most one to eight, nine, ten, how many are in the in the conference. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Two-thirds of that conference was above 500, Kevin.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

Yeah. So, and I think you're right. I think we're gonna start to see that as you look at this this conference we're gonna preview today, the Conference Carolinas, same sort of thing. Teams that are still uh looks like they're gonna be ready for this next season. They lose some, but they gain some. We'll see how that goes as we go through it. But before we get to that conference preview, we have a couple updates on the CACC that we received from listeners. So let me go through of those. Jaden Rios, as you remember, that's Felician's number two scorer, and I think they're their face-off specialist. He is no longer at Felician. He has transferred to Tusculum, so that's change number one. Number two, the Holy Family goalie, James Demakopoulos, is now at Malloy. So he's not at Holy Family. Interesting. And then at Dominican, uh junior mini Josh Wasnesky, he transferred to Wheeling, and Zamar Faith of Dominican Well is taking a gap year. So as you also recall, we weren't sure about the numbers for the Dominican roster, and it looks like they now, based on listeners, are projected to have between 43 and 46 on their roster for this year. So that's quite the improvement for them. Wow. So once again, some changes. Teams like Tusculum getting a guy like Jaden Rios, really great. Malloy getting another goalie who's who was good at a holy family. Really, really kind of interesting that we start to see that dynamics play out.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

The portal. Here we are in college sports. That's where we are. The portal, man. That's you know, that's just where we are.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Exactly. So

Conference Carolinas Preview

SPEAKER_02 5:50

let's get started, though, and talk about conference Carolinas. Oh, Kev. I should have guessed you were gonna pick this one. I love the Carolinas, bro.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

In my mind, I'm gone to Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Some of the prettiest parts of the country, if you ask me. I want to move there.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Yeah, start living your life there, Danny. Another year or two.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Six months, kid. Six months to retire. And I'll be in Carolina in my mind. I'm in Carolina in my mind all the time, actually. I love the place. I just love the Carolinas, North and South. Beautiful place to be. And you know what? They got some damn good Division II lacrosse down there. They do. They do.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Let's start it off with North Greenville.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

The Trill Blazers. Corey Struss, head coach.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

What a job he did last year, huh? Yeah, 12-6 and 7-0 in conference. What a year. They ran the table in the conference and won the tournament 6-5 against Belmont Abbey.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Yeah, had a great signature win, a 12-10 win over Anderson too last year. That was a big win for them.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Yeah, they also beat Lander. So interesting last year, though, they lost to teams like Florida Tech, Emmy Riddle, Montevallo, and of course a team like uh Lenore Ryan. And then they lost to Limestone in the first round of the NCAAs when they made it there with their automatic qualifier, which, based on where on Limestone last year, that was to be expected. So really, really good season for Corey Struss and the Trailblazers. Let's look at their out of conference to start them off for 2026. This is really interesting. They go Wingate, Anderson, Montevallo, Florida Tech, Mars Hill, Emory Riddle, Lander, and then Lynn at Jacksonville, Florida. Wow. That's a good out-of-conference. They start off really tough.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

They're testing themselves big time right out of the gate. This wingate's going to be amazing. Anderson's going to be amazing. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Montavalo, like we talked about, is going to be really, really good.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

You know, Coach Struss has taken this team to the next level, Kev. He really has. You know, if you look at what they've done over the last five, six years, he's really, you know, added those ingredients over the time to where he's got this team, you know, as conference champs and going to the NCAA tournament.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Yeah. And I don't see them losing much this year. They lose number two score, Hayden Moffitt. Who was great? Who was great? But that's about it. They returned number one, Caden Castle, 49 goals, 20 assists, senior attackman.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Player of the year last year in the Conference Carolinas.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Yeah. He just was wreaking havoc last year. Number three score, Nick Meyer. He's a red shirt uh senior attackman. Aiden Sizemore, Jr. MIDI, junior midi Jackson Reich, and junior attack Yates Miller, all returning, Danny.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Dude, their attack unit's going to be really lethal. With Castle Meyer, Miller, you know, and Tyler Slate, who added 11 goals and 10 assists and 21 points last year. I mean, they that attack unit's pretty damn good, Kev. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Yeah, they are strong, I think, on the offensive side.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

And that's midfield unit's pretty kick-ass too. Sizemore, Reich, Steinman. Their defense is good too, man. They're going to be a good team this year, I think.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Yeah, they're on D, they lose their goalkeeper, Gabe Nelson, who is at 52%. They lose their short stick D middies, Tristan Stevenson and Nick Jaffe, but they return everyone else. Defensive pole, Dalton Wilkins, junior D, Nick Schaller, senior D, Cole Jenkins, sophomore D, Cooper Turner, and short stick D middle, Wit Beebe.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah. Cole Jenkins, you know where he's from? Where is he from? Lilbourne, Georgia. 33 ground balls, 25 cause turnovers. He's he's he's a he's a havoc master out there. And you know where Nick Shaler's from? Where? He's a Georgia boy, too. Norcross, Georgia, 36 ground balls, 18 cause turnovers. And that's Red Church Sr. You talked about Dalton Wilkins, 43 grounds, 19 cause turnovers. This defense is badass.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Yeah. I don't see a gap really. Now, they lose their goalie and they lose their face-off specialist, Seth Brosman. So that's probably where they've got some gaps. Now they do return Bennett Matzler at faceoff, and he was at 50% last year. Goalie is probably my big question. They do return Matt Desmond, who saw a limited playing time behind Gabe Nelson, and then they've got three freshmen. So they've got a fairly large goalie room with four players, but who steps up? Like I said, goalie is really my question mark. Can the D step up and help that new goalkeeper?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

I agree with you on the goalie part. That's the only question I have at all. Again, they return a killer attack unit, a killer midfield unit, and a you know what? A pretty badass defense unit that goes out there and wreaks havocs, cause turnovers. They can pick up ground balls. You know, they ran out a bunch of face-off guys last year. You know, they have multiple guys to run off a face-off. They had 50 on their roster last year, Kev. Yeah, they lost a few seniors, but I don't think it's gonna hurt this squad.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

I don't think so. They've got they have a lot of guys that are returning, and that makes all the difference. And look at their stats. We're really solid. They were their man-up increase of 34%, their clears were at 84%, and face-off was 55%. So they are pretty good. And their goals against average were dropped to 11.4 with 13.6 goals per game. So they're in that range where they they just are a solid team that can play like we saw on their wins last year. When you beat an Anderson and a lander, yeah, you're they're right in the mix.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yep. They averaged 14 goals a game. They only gave up 11. They caused 323 turnovers over the season. That's pretty good, man. I think this team is deep. They had a ton of players see playtime too last year. Even the twos and the threes saw playtime. You know, they were able to contribute. I think Coach has to be happy where where this team is at. They're looking to that, they're looking to get to that national level now, Kev. I think they're looking to make that step into that national.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

Yeah, well, look at that. They they made it to the NCAA tournament because of the automatic qualifier. So But they went 7-0 in conference. They killed the team. So they're right there. So they're right there, except for being able to go and win a game or two in the NCAA tournament.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

That's their next step. Probably lost one or two in the beginning of the season that they shouldn't have lost. You know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

So and this year's gonna be tough for them. Well, those first three, first three games.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

You know, you're going into a wing bulldog territory in the first game. Oof. Yeah. Because those guys are looking for a national championship this year. So they're gonna be coming out fired up. So that should be uh an interesting way. And I I I tell you, I really like what Coach Strass has done there. I've watched him build his team and throw the ingredients into the cake mix, Kev. I've seen it. He it's just little by little he has built this team, and now he's right where he wants them to be. And this is a year that they can make some big noise.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

I'll tell you though, the next team that we're gonna talk about, always, always solid. And I think based on who they're bringing back, they are gonna challenge again for that automatic qualifier, and that's Belmont Abbey, the Crusaders.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

The Crusaders.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Coach Chris Barrett. He's just kicks ass year in, year out. Located up in Belmont, North Carolina, a little north of Charlotte there. Yeah. Beautiful little southern kind of hospitality town. I love it there. 11-4 overall, very good season for the Crusaders last year, uh, six and one in conference.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Yeah. Their big thing was they lost to North Greenville twice.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yeah. One by one and once by two.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yeah. Yeah. And just one. That 6'5 loss in the tournament final. Yeah. Second year in a row for them that they came up short in that finals game, which I don't know if that's a streak that I know that Belmont Abbey and Coach Barrett does not want to rey don't want to three-peat that one.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I got they want to win. I got a prediction for you right now. They're going to their third conference championship this year.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Yeah, and I with this team. Oh, I agree. I think they are, and I think it it'll be another one if it's North Greenville against Belmont Abbey. It is going to be a ball buster of a game. It's going to be another one-goal game.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

We want them born burners.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Yeah. Let's look at their out of conference for 2026. Mars Hill, Catawba, Montavalo, Wingate, Florida Tech, UAH, and Lander. Fairly similar to what North Greenville's doing. You know, they throw in, they've got some of the same teams. Lander, Montevallo, Wingate. They throw in Catawba. Does I think, trying to remember, even if uh yeah, so they throw in a Catawba that's going to be good this year, too.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

You know, I just like, you know, while I'm doing my homework on this team, you know, last year they kind of were a little young. They ran out a lot of sophomores and juniors last year. Not a whole lot of seniors last year for the Crusaders. They had their seniors, but not a lot. So a lot of their players were sophomores and juniors out there. They lost to Rollins, who was ranked in the beginning of the season, and they lost to Catawba by two early in the season, and then dominated every single team that came along their way after that. They were just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Yeah, and look at it, they return their top six scorers this year. They're gonna be tough, man. They've got you've got uh Nate Lorenzo at 34 goals, 11 assists, Mikey Swigert. He's a red shirt senior. So if he returns, I'm not sure. Their roster's not out yet, but let's assume that he's gonna be back. He's at 26 goals, six assists. Jeremy Mahoney at 14 goals, 18 assists. Jack Clue, 22 goals, four assists. Jacob Chandler, 15 goals, four assists, and Garrett Clare, seven goals, eleven assists. Top six guys coming back.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

That's dude, that's 45 points, 32 points, 32 points, 19 points, 11 points. You got a first team all-conference kid in Swigard, another first team all-conference kid in Lorenzo. Dude, that's a that's a killer attack unit right there, brother. Yeah. You know, the midfield, Thomas Lewis. They got a bunch of LSMs, they got a bunch of short stick D Mids, Max Mora, Joe Penn, or Sam Walsh. They bring back a lot on the defensive side, too. Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Uh Junior LSM, Alex Garcia, Matt Canfield, another LSM, Alex Singh at defense. The only one they lose on defense is Ben Johnson. And then obviously Christian Tomey in goal, who's now at a Delphi. But really, Christian split time with Eddie Kielkoff last year, and Eddie Kielkoff was at 64%, and he should be back.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Yeah. You know, Coach, I have to say one thing about Kitch Boward. He gets good goalies, man. If you look back at the last four or five years with the goalies he's had, man.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

And he has to give them up usually in their senior year or their fifth year to they transfer somewhere else, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:00

I mean, yeah, well, it's happened a couple of times now to him, but still, you know, he's got a penchant for finding good goalies. I'm not worried too much about the goalies.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

I'm not either. Eddie was in there 64%. If he split time, I mean, he's ready to take over the reins and be at that same level. Wasn't like he had a few minutes and he's at that save percentage, right? He actually was in there half the time and doing the work.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah. On defense, we've got to mention Gavin Mott and Mark Schreiber. I mean, they got a bunch of guys coming back, man. That defense is going to be legit. But you know what? You know what? Coach Barrett, I think it's his brother as the offensive coordinator now, who went to Delaware. His name is Ryan Barrett. I think it's his brother. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's uh Coach Barrett's older brother. Delaware guy. He was coaching high school across, not too, you know, in the area in North Carolina, but now he brings that D1 pedigree offense. I think they're going to have a new look on their offense. I think they're going to be different a little bit on their offense. And again, I mean, they averaged 12 goals a game last year, only gave up eight. They averaged 43 shots a game. Shots on goal were 56%. Man up was at 32%. Faceoff is at 44%. They could use a little bit better on face-off. Yeah. I mean, they lose Tomei at the 68%, which was pretty kick-ass. But I don't think it's going to be a problem because again, I think Coach has a pendent for finding these outstanding goalies, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Well, look at they've got so much of their defense returning, which always helps the goalie. Getting the shooters in the place they want them to shoot from.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Right. You know, this is a revamped veteran offense with a veteran defense. I think it's doom for Conference Carolinas. Anybody who faces the Crusaders this year is going to be in for a tough game. I think they're going to be a top 12, top 15 team to start the season.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

Yeah, and I've said right in my notes, you know, solid returns on both sides of the field. Can they get the AQ this year? I would not bet against them. Let me put it that way. I'm not. You saw in years past when we've done the previews for them, when they were so young, we said, look at they're going to have to gain throughout the year. I think this year they start right where they need to be. You know, they're going to be going all cylinders right at the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Yeah, they're strong. They're deep, they're fast, they're good on defense. I mean, a new offensive coordinator, they're going to be tough. Yeah. I think they're going to be one of the better teams in the country this year, Kev. I really do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Okay. Let's move on to Mount Olive.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

The Trojans. Located in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Carolina Kev. Dylan Price, head coach. Seven and seven last year. Five and two in conference. A couple of steps back this year.

SPEAKER_02 22:10

Yeah, a little bit of a drop-off. They were 12-3 in 2024 and 7-0 in conference. Yeah. So a little bit of a drop off. They lost last year to Cotabba, Lincoln Memorial, Newberry, Wingate. Yeah, doesn't make sense. North Greenville and Belmont Abbey twice. So they just had a tough, tough run. They lost to Belmont Abbey only by two in the conference semi. So they are they were competitive. They just couldn't close a deal a lot of times last year. Yeah, they couldn't get over the hump. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

They lose their number three scorer.

unknown 22:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Bubba Bowen. They lose a bunch.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

Yeah, they lose number three, number four scores, Jack Lewis and Bubba Bowen. They do return Ben Vanderklee, their number one scorer, and Braden Rieger, their number two scorer, along with Hudson Karasek and Makia or Makaiah Boyle, who, you know, so that's one, two, four, and five scores that are still there. You got several other contributors who have the chance to step up, Josh Stewart, Jason Flaso, Tyler Michael, etc. But those are mainly underclassmen last year, so they've really got to be able to step up to take some of that production.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Yeah, they lost their face-off guy, Josh Miller, who was at 68% last year, Kev. He was a really good face-off guy for Mount Olive. They lost him. Um their goalie, Curtis Lensing's coming back, 55%. Um does Nick Logue get the knot at face-off? Um the kid from Centennial, Ohio. He took 59 face-offs last season and he was at 64%. So does that kid get the nod? Does Coach Price bring in somebody new? I don't know. So again, they got some players coming, like you said, Vanderklee, uh, Riger, do it, uh, Tyler Michael, Chase Penner comes back, Mikey Stavanoskis from Clayton, North Carolina. Short stick meety, Brady Lawrence comes back. 90 ground balls last year.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

I I have him, I have them him not returning.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Well, I have them losing a lot on D. Cameron Norton, they lose. Yeah. Yeah, they lose a lot.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

Uh, and uh, let me check with Brady Lawrence just really quickly on their website. Their new roster's not it wasn't posted when I but I had Brady as a senior last year. That's why I don't have him coming back. And with a guy that scoops up 90 ground balls as a short stick D middy, so this is where I see the real challenge for them is they have to revamp their D. They've got guys like junior Rory Campbell and senior Jimmy Murphy who got some playing time. They will need to take the reins and and really run with it.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

I don't know. I don't know what to think about this team from last year. You know, it was kind of a Mount Olive's always been kind of like a pretty damn good team, you know. I've I've seen them beat Wingate before. I've seen them beat like really good teams. I've seen them put out all Americans there, you know, and I don't know. They just kind of fell off fell off the back of the truck last year.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

Well, look at they Dylan Price used to be the assistant there under Mike Murphy. Mike Murphy leaves, goes to Cotabba. Dylan Price is another school. He comes back to Mount Olive, takes the head coach job, which I think was the right thing to do. He had a tough start getting it going in 2024. He had a really, really good team. 2025 fell off a little bit. This year, that's the same issue, I think. I think they're going to be about the same. Their defense really needs to be revamped because of so many losses. Who else do they bring in? We don't have the roster. Do they have transfers that are coming in? Do they have some other folks that are really ready to step up? That's the question. I never put it past a team like Mount Olive to be good. They have a very strong program. Dylan Price has been there before. He knows how to recruit there. He knows what he's doing there. He knows what he wants to build there. He was one of the key, he was a key assistant for Coach Murphy. So I think it's it's just more of a question mark for me. I need to see him play this year.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Yeah, they're gonna they're gonna have to revamp that defense. I mean, they beat Lees by 10 last year. That ain't happening this year. No. And you know what? And young Harris has improved and continues to improve, and Barton is a super competitive team in this conference. I think, I think Coach has some work to do before he gets back to the conference championship. He's got some holes to fill. Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

I agree. All right. How about we move on to the Emmanuel Lions in Franklin Springs, Georgia?

SPEAKER_00 27:22

The Lions. Coach Mark Destro takes over from Lance Olson, who's at St. Bonnie's with Coach Storier, who was at limestone for many years and is now the head coach at St. Bonnie's up there in New York. So Coach Destro takes over a team that went eight and seven last year. Above 500. When was the last time Emmanuel went above 500? I don't think they ever were above 500. And three and four in conference.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Yeah, unbelievable improvement in Olsen's second year. Best record I wrote down since 2014 for them. Now Mark Desper Destro, as you said, steps into the reigns. I think it's gonna, we'll get to it. I think it's gonna be a little bit of a work in progress. I think they're gonna step back a little bit, but they've got Coach Olson just started something going. We've had Coach Destro on during the coaching carousel. I think he's a really solid, good coach that knows what he's doing. It's just that they lost some guys when Olson left.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Yeah, well, that's the way it goes. Yeah. That's the where we are these days. I know they were above 500 last year, but they had a pretty favorable schedule, too, Kev. Not the hardest RPI schedule in the world. Many of their wins came from beating sub-500 teams, but they got blown out by like Lander, Mount Olive, Barton. Got blown out by these guys. Right. So they lose some guys. They lose their leading scorer, Luke Hildebrand, who was really good for the Lions the last couple of years. He had 51 goals, 26 assists for 77 points. They lose attack Jared Weiss, who had 61 points. They lose Tanner Park, who had 34 points. On the defensive side, they lose Adam Dulski, who was a fixture on that defense. And they lose face-off guy Michael Gallup, who's been there for a couple of years. So they do lose some really good players.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Well, I'm on defense. They had two freshmen starting last year, David Runchy and Grayson Amundsen. Both I do not see on their roster for this year. Both are not returning.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

I did not see them on the roster either. So I don't know. I was looking the same thing, Russia. Well some Hildebrand, who is it?

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Grayson Adminson, and I also have Nolan Penzella. I don't know. All three of them were freshmen last year, and I don't see them on the roster for this year. Same thing with a guy like Joshua Fodczyk on the offensive side. He was a freshman last year with 28 goals, 14 assists, and I don't see him returning. They lose, based on what I can tell, 234 points in offensive production.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

I did not know that those guys, I knew that the one or two were on there, but I didn't realize that. Oof. There's only 26 on their roster, and 10 of them are freshmen.

SPEAKER_02 30:33

Yeah, so on offense, they do return number two, Rylan Luttrell with 36 goals, 26 assists, uh Riley Dowsell and Everett Muratory. They had, you know, five goals apiece. So they there's a lot of production they have to make up. On the defensive side, you do have junior, short stick D Mini, Caden Flett, 42 ground balls, 18 cost turnovers, short stick D Middy, Kyle Andrews, 28 ground balls, seven cost turnovers. You got senior D, William Thomas, and sophomore midi, Cole Stanchniak returning. So they do have some guys coming back, but look at they lost some really key players, starters last year from their D.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Yeah, yep. I don't even know what to think about this team now, Kev. I really don't. I have no clue. Does the goalie come back? Grady Magruder? He was at 47%.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

Yeah, both him and sophomore Nick Pelon, who was at 48%. They seemed to split duties last year. They both are returning from what I can tell.

SPEAKER_00 31:37

Face off uh Kyler Andrews. He was at 40%. He was backing up Gallup last year. Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 31:44

So I think he's back. I I would say, look at Coach Olsen really changed things around in his second year. I think with the losses, though, and the young roster, like you pointed out, they're gonna take a step back this year. They're not I don't see him making 500 this year. Look at their out of conferences Montevallo, William Jewell, Tusculum, Coker, Emory and Henry, Lander, and Flagler. That's pretty challenging.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

Yeah, especially for a team with low numbers like that, you know?

unknown 32:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

I don't know. Good luck, Coach Destro. I think it's gonna be a tough year for the Emmanuel University Lions this year in the 2016.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Yeah, and I feel bad for that from where they were where they were going. And I think, you know, when you lose a guy like Olson, yeah, it's it's regroup time. You've got to just regroup, and Destro, I'm hoping we'll be able to do that. He's a guy that really, as you remember, like he was out of coaching for a little bit, decided to come back in, took this job because he really missed coaching. He tried to go grasses greener on the other side, trying to do business, trying to make a buck that way. Nothing wrong with that. I've been there myself too. But look at it, he came back to coaching because he loves it so much. And that's what he's gonna have to really lean on this year with this team and show these guys the importance and the fun of the game. I mean, they've got to do this from what they're really trying to do, which is get we get to play.

SPEAKER_00 33:25

Yeah. Yeah. Well, again, I just think, you know, he's gonna have a little tough road. It's gonna be a rough season, you know. But welcome to Division II and the Conference Carolinas. Here we go. Like I said, it's good lacrosse down here, you know. Take no prisoners, you know, these guys, they get after it. So I think Coach has some work to do, and uh, but you know what? The Lions did have a good year last year, and uh gotta give them props for that. Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 33:54

All right. Here's a team, Danny, that since their reboot around 2021 has just continued to build, and that's the Mountain Lions of Young Harris.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

The Mountain Lions! Coach Geldhardt doing a pretty damn good job, isn't he?

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Yeah. They were six and nine last year, three and four in conference. That really wasn't a change in their overall record, but they're definitely getting more competitive. They made it to the conference tournament last year. Look at Danny. When I say continue to build, their roster is now up to 53 players.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Yeah, man. He's doing a good job there. The Mountain Lions, they actually matched their record from the 2024 season. Yeah, Kev. Kev, they improved in almost every category. Goals scored, shots per game. They faced four ranked teams last year. I'm telling you, Coach Gildhardt is really beginning to add the ingredients, like we said, you know, like to get programs up and going. This team didn't, they didn't have a team four years ago. If you remember.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Well, just right, yeah. From from COVID after COVID stage for a year.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Look at our first co our first or second coaching carousel, it was the reboot with Young Harris. Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Right. So look what they've done in a matter of four or five years in Young Harris. Again, that team didn't even have a season in 2021 or 20, right? 2021. So I just think what Coach Gelhardt is doing is great. He had a great signature win, a 15-14 win over conference foe Barton last year. No one expected that. So they lose some guys, though, you know, because when you get when you get your schedule, when you get your roster starting to build, you're gonna get some seniors on there.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

So well, that's exactly what he said to us. He graduated four-year starters. That really helped restart the program. First team all-conference LSM here in Ispister. And all conference defender Ben Sonan, who we talked about several times last year.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Very good. Very good player. Goalie Dylan Wilbur, they lose. Midy Hunter Stag at 29 points, and Midi Lucas Olsen at 20 points. They lose some, you know, some big players for them, guys that were, you know, senior leaders.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

Yep. They do return on offense, Grady Stokes. I've got him returning as a junior attackman. That's right. Colburn, Connolly, 24 goals, six assists. He's a senior MIDI, and then David Traywick is also returning.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

22 goals, five assists, but 27 points. Short stick D mid Anderson Ressinger comes back.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

He had a good year. Four goals, four assists, 43 ground balls, and 18 calls turnovers. That's a solid year, young fella. That's a solid. That's a that's worth that's a quality, that's a quality season, young man.

SPEAKER_02 37:01

Yeah, then you've got sophomore defensive pole Reese Rainey returning along with D P hole Dane Dampierre as a senior. That's pretty damn solid. They were turning their face-off specialist, Evan Anderson, at 58%.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

Yeah, yeah. Ryan DiFrancisco, Dane Dampierre coming back on defense. I don't know. I think they're gonna be pretty good. They're gonna be, you know. They averaged 10.7 goals a game last year, and they gave up 14. They averaged 38 shots per game, 60% shots on goal percentage. That's pretty good. 23% on man up. They clear at a very admirable 87%. Yeah. And their face-off was at 52%. Kind of decent numbers.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

Yeah, and they're pretty even on ground balls and turnovers against opponents. So look at categories.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

They've improved. They lost to ranked Anderson, top 10 team. They lost to Newberry, who was like a top 15 team at the time. They lost to Emmanuel by two, Mars Hill by two, and Mount Olive by three. So, if you ask me, it proves that Young Harris has come a long way from just a short in a in a really short period of time.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Exactly. And now add into this what coach told us on how they're building on the infrastructure. They've grown their staff to five coaches total. Wow. When he started, I think he was it. Yeah. Yeah. They're building a new stadium and press box that's going to be completed this winter. They installed new turf. They hired a director of sports performance. They renovated the weight room and they expanded a locker room to match their roster's growth. So look at they are building all the things from a recruiting standpoint and from an expansion standpoint to meet the needs and demands of a larger team.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

Big props for young Harris, huh?

SPEAKER_02 39:03

Yeah, they are definitely building. And even though they lose some folks, they've got a ton of depth. And they've got a roster of 53. Okay, so they're young. I expect them to hold steady, and I would watch them watch out for them this year. They're going to be dangerous this year. They're going to be competitive. And I would say in future years, they are going to keep climbing.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

Yeah, you know what? I agree with you. I just think that, you know, again, Geldhart has done a really good job of, again, Kev, to be good. You need you need the ingredients. You need the players. You need the depth. You need the, you know, you need things. And Coach Geldhart has done a really, what I think is a remarkable job of just getting players to get there, playing his brand of ball, knowing that it's not going to be overnight. It's going to take some time, but look what he's done. I mean, I think, I think this team's going to be right where they're going to be. I think they might even improve a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Yeah. Look, we talked about it last week with Coach Jez and Emory Riddle and incremental improvements. We've talked about several teams like this. Young Harris is using that exact same model, right? You can try to build and win in one year, but it's not sustainable. What I think Coach Geldert is trying to do is build a sustainable model for every year going forward.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and he's doing a great job doing it. Conference Carolinas is a tough conference, Kev. To be good in this conference, you need players. You're going to need depth. You're going to need numbers. You're going to need things. And I think what he's doing at Young Harris, again, no team five years ago. You know what I mean? Yeah. Zero. They had to start reboot the whole thing. And what they've done has just been freaking amazing, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Yeah, now they're out of conference this year is Newberry, Thomas Moore, Mars Hill, Emory and Henry, Lander, Coker, and Montevallo. A really good mix, if you've got, in my opinion. Solid.

SPEAKER_00 41:11

Excellent. That's excellent. They'll be tested, and they're going to give some of those teams some pretty good a pretty good game, I bet. Totally agree.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

Alright. Moving on. We talked about this team a little bit. The Barton Bulldogs.

SPEAKER_00 41:27

The Bulldogs of Barton University. Warren Streamate. Located? Wilson, North Carolina. 5-10 overall, Kev, 3-4 in conference. Not the year that the Barton Bulldogs were looking for. Their signature win had a nice 14-10 win over a real tough Wilmington team. But they lost six out of their first seven games, which included, you know, ranked teams like LR and Flat. Yeah. So they put some big boys on their schedule last year and kind of got taught a lesson, didn't they?

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Yeah. They were not the team that we've seen in the past. My question is, can they turn it around to where they were in 2023 at the top? They lost some key guys last year. And look at even with that though, they had some improvements on their stats. Their manup was up to 32%. Faceoff was an improvement to 56%. They clear at 86%, which isn't too bad. Their stats improved. It just did not equate to wins. Right. And I think we talked about it several times. Sooner or later that does turn into wins. The question is, does that happen this year? They lose on attack their number three scorer, Nick Lord, but they return Nick Nelson, Nick Pomelio, Logan McGrath, and Kale Graham. So they've got some key guys coming back that had some good production. Look at Nick Pomelio was 36 points, and Nick Nelson, look at 16 goals, 37 assists. So they've got some guys that share the rock that can put the ball in the back of the net on attack. They're looking fairly healthy on that. They lose on midfield, they lose Bryce Washington and JJ Mitchell, but they return Drew Paxson, Jimmy Carter, Jake Ellison, Justin Washington, and Xander Grimes. That's a good mix.

SPEAKER_00 43:37

Yeah. They lose both their face off guys, though. The two guys that they ran out of face off last year, Jaden Arnold and Cole McCarthy. Those guys are gone. So there's a question mark at their face off. I don't know what's going to happen there. They got a good uh LSM, Joe Feeney coming back. Uh junior defenseman, uh Jason Ferrara, Mason Ferrara. And uh Charlie Miller. Yep. They got some guys coming back. They had 42 on their roster, eleven freshmen, they averaged eleven point eight goals a game, shot forty shots a game, shots on goal percentage was at a very admirable sixty-one, thirty-two percent on man up, but they turned the ball over more than their opponents kept. Their face-off was at 56%, and their clear was at very uh admirable 86%. You know, their numbers are decent again, but couldn't just equate the play to W's on the field last year.

SPEAKER_02 44:39

Yeah, so the the question, then a goalie, look at they lose Nate Lair, who was a grab transfer from Flagler. Is that Maddox Van Vliet who's Van Vliet who's takes over?

SPEAKER_00 44:52

Yeah, we don't know. We'll have to see. It's the special teams that really has me concerned for Barton because they lose their starting faceoff guys. Yeah. And their starting goalie. Yeah. So, you know, those are two big spots that have to be filled for the Bulldogs. Um, again, I think they took a step back for sure from their 24 campaign where they went 7-10 and 4-3 in conference. But they got some experience coming back at attack and LSM in particularly, but Bulldogs have a little couple holes to fill. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 45:26

I agree. I think this is a team like Mount Olive where I say I've got to see them play and see who steps up in the positions that where the gaps are.

SPEAKER_00 45:35

I totally agree with that. Totally agree. So I don't know. Barton's got a little bit of work to do, I think, brother.

SPEAKER_02 45:42

I agree. Now, the team that's gonna really, I think, be interesting to see the difference from last year to this year is John Grant Jr.'s Lees McCrae Bobcats.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

The Bobcats at Banner Elk, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

John Grant Jr. enters his second year, Kev. They went 3-10 overall, 1-6 in conference. But let's just start off with this. They increased goals from 104 in 2024 to 162 in 25. They increased assists from 43 to 81. Damn near doubled. Their shot percentage went from 23% to 34%. Their shots on goal percentage went from 57% to 62%. Their man up, get this, went from 11% to 32%. Their ground balls went from 374 total ground balls in 24 to 425 total ground balls in 25. And their face-off percentage went from 45% to 52% in one season with like 26 players.

SPEAKER_02 47:11

Not even I I beg to differ. They had a lot of injuries last year. They had time times when they had maybe 18, 19 guys suited up to play and they got those kind of improvements. Coaching. He motivated those players to play at the highest level they could. If you watch some of their games, they seem to get be starting to get blown out in a game, and the team would not give up. And they fought hard and they made it a a battle almost every game. Don't look at the score. And this is what always gets me. We always talk about stats, right? And you go on the stats, a lot of times the stats, you just mentioned stats that do mean something, right? The improvements. That's exactly what they did last year. And now their roster went from about 23 in 2024 or in 2025 to 42 this year, Danny.

SPEAKER_00 48:15

Astonishing. Astonishing. From 25 players to 42. Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 48:20

They have 13 freshmen, 17 transfers. They've got four from limestone, including Caden Oda Onagi. They've got transfers from Wingate, Marshill, William Jewell, Mercer, Lemoyne, Montevallo, Colorado Mesa. Six of their transfers are seniors. That would not have happened before at Lee's McCray. Oh, hell no.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

Hell no. Dude, this team is going to be really much improved. Senior attack, Cole Morris comes back. He was really good.

SPEAKER_02 48:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:53

You know where he's from? Where's he from? Alberta, Canada. He had 46 goals, 13 assists, 59 points, Kev. Sophomore MIDI, Colton Dotson comes back. 23 goals, 24 assists. Love it when the MIDI's can draw the double and get the ball to the open man. And this kid Dotson did it really good as a freshman last year. He put up 47 points. All right. Junior midfield Adam Ross, 20 goals, 12 assists, 32 points. They got short stick D Middy. Cam Dominowski coming back. This kid had 23 ground balls and eight calls turnovers. Again, on a team with 19, 18, 19 dress for some games, okay? Faceoff uh junior Dryden Murell, 6'2, 53% at the dot. 6 foot, 200 pounds. Are you kidding me? He's gonna be tough now. Goalie. Matt Atkins started 11 games. So they got players that were good for Coach Grant last year, that have a year under his belt, his terminology, his drills, knowing what he wants as a culture. These kids are coming back. They're gonna add so much more for that team now. You know, with that year under his belt. Alex Eppel, the goalie from Hartford Community College, and Kyle Green from William Jewell have now come onto the roster.

SPEAKER_02 50:28

They've got four four goalies now in the goalie room, four others besides Matt Atkins, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:33

I wonder if Onagi is going to be ready to go by the time the season starts, because he had that ACL tear late in the season, Kev last year. Yeah. It was May. You know, end of April, May. So June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January. He's eight months into post-surgery and recovery. Season starts in February. He might be ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

It might be. It'll be it'll be close. He'll have 10. It all depends on how bad the tears were, right? So like my son, his senior year, he tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus. And so that was a full year recovery before he could really do anything. If it was just the ACL, maybe he's ready to go when the season starts. We'll have to see. But look at this is a team we're not going to recognize from la even last year when what Lise McCrae did. And when you've got now the depth in numbers, and you've got guys that were there last year. Yeah, they've got a guy from Mercer. They've got a guy from Le Moyne. From Le Moine.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

Wow, man. This team's gonna be a lot different this year.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

A lot different. And I like I said, with the culture that he built with the guys he had, if you watch the YouTube their YouTube channel and their episodes of Attack Mountain, you really start to understand that what he's doing is not just bringing in new players and going to forget the guys that he built the team with the the first year. Those guys are still integral. Oh yeah. And so his boys.

SPEAKER_00 52:18

They're his boys. They're like his go-to guys now.

SPEAKER_02 52:21

He's not going to give up on those guys that were playing their hearts out. He only had 19-20 guys playing.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

Because I was at their first game when they played Wingate, John Grant Jr.'s first game. They played Wingate first game. I mean, Wingate put 19 up on him, you know what I mean? But there was no give up. Like you said in the beginning of the of you know, this part of talking about Leeds. There's no give up. This team was down, you know, 12, 13 goals, and they were still fighting for ground balls. They were still checking and playing hard defense and just doing all the things that you're supposed to be doing on the lacrosse field. They didn't put their heads between their legs. They didn't, you know, they just played hard. They just didn't have the horses to run with those types of teams. Now coach is adding horses, man. And he's adding some good ones. They're gonna be good.

SPEAKER_02 53:11

It'll be interesting to see, too, the following year when they've got so many like six or so seniors that transferred in that I don't know how many years of eligibility they have. Are they are they redshirted? What he does in the out years from that, but I only see this building. It's going to be to get it to be sustainable, it's going to take a few years for him. I think even this year, he knows that too. You're going to have to integrate a lot of players coming from different backgrounds, different schools, different programs. That takes a little time, a lot of times.

SPEAKER_00 53:46

You know what, Kev though? These kids, all right. A lot of these kids at the NCAA level, they've played tournament lacrosse where they've been or go to these 1% type showcases and where they're thrown in to play with kids that they never met before and play a whole day or two-day showcase with kids that never played with a coach, trying to do things. It's not new to them for a lacrosse player to go from a coach to another coach and integrate. It's not that hard. It really isn't.

SPEAKER_02 54:17

But when you're playing against other teams that are established, they've got their established systems like a Belmont Abbey, like a North Greenville, and you got guys that are going to come in and say, Yeah, I've played tournaments. They're playing other teams that had the same sort of thing where they're thrown in together because they're really trying to get looks right for recruiting. This is a different animal. I understand. I understand. So I think it's still, do I think they're going to be much better? Hell yeah, I do. The real question is how much do they leap this first year? And then because they're integrating everything, is it just do we see it build through the season? That's what I'm expecting.

SPEAKER_00 54:58

I bet you they go three to four wins in conference, and I bet you they get at least six wins overall. They gotta get three more wins with this team. You would think. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:12

Now they're out of conference, it's not out yet, so I can't tell you what that is.

SPEAKER_00 55:15

You know, we emailed Coach. He never got back to us.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

He he did email and say, Yeah, I'm gonna send it to you, and then we just didn't get it. And I wasn't because of the holidays, I didn't follow up. So But you know what?

SPEAKER_00 55:26

They get Caden Donahue from Limestone. They got some Anagi, Everett Campbell, defense. They got some good guys, man. They got good guys coming there. Yeah, they're gonna be good. Do they are they gonna scream and and and just blow people out? No, they're not at that level yet. Yeah, that was basically my point.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:47

They will be surprising people. They're not going to be the old Lees McRae. Lots of times in years past, teams didn't even want to play Lees. Players. They're like, why are we playing these guys? There's only 18 of them. We're gonna destroy them. It's like, you know, now that's not the case at Lees anymore. And I don't think it's gonna be the case at all going forward. No. It's gonna be a much different thing at Attack Mountain up in Banner Elk. It's gonna be popping. I think things are going really well for John Grant Jr. and what everything that's going on at Lee's. Quite frankly, Kev, this is a team that's struggled year in, year in out. Oh, yeah. Year in out. You know, and and just what I mean, just by adding the players and and gives these guys the breathers that they need. I mean, again, they don't uh explode off the page, but it's a win-win for coach. It's a win-win for the university. I mean, uh, it's for again for a program that's quite quite frankly struggled. Right.

SPEAKER_02 56:53

And I don't see that happening anymore. As long as uh as Coach Grant Jr. is still there. I am right. And he when he talked to us, he's like, I'm I was trying to find a spot that I wanted to land and where I wanted to coach, and this is it. This kind of place I'd want my kids to go to.

SPEAKER_00 57:09

Yeah, his daughter's in high school, like he ain't going anywhere.

SPEAKER_02 57:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

He ain't going anywhere. So I think I can't wait to see Lee's play, to be honest with you. That's the key thing. I can't wait either. Yeah. If there's one team I'll just want to see. And I hope and pray that Caden Onagi can come back and play and be the Caden Onagi who we know who kids a piece, man. Yeah. He's tough. So um, can't wait to see Lee's play. Be great.

SPEAKER_02 57:39

Let's move on. Couple more teams left. Chawan Hawks. Chawan Hawks in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_00 57:52

Coach PR Simhouser. Tough year for the Hawks last year, Kev. One and eleven overall. Big goose egg in conference.

SPEAKER_02 58:02

Yeah, we talked about this last year. They were gonna have a tough year after losing Eric George and Eric Dosey. And that basically is what played out. Their only win was against Virginia State, and they had a one-goal loss to Young Harris, which isn't too bad. But look at they they struggled trying to get the production back. When you lose guys like Eric George and Eric Dozey in a small program like that, that's tough. That's really tough.

SPEAKER_00 58:36

Yeah, it is. This team has been up and down a little bit over the last couple of years that we've been doing this podcast. You know, they're okay. They were good with Dozy and those guys there. They were good, but they weren't great. They weren't like, oh my God, the Hawks are coming into town. You know, they were okay. But they were super young last year. A lot of freshmen and sophomores on the field on both sides of the ball for them. But they really had subpar play at the dot, Kev. They just couldn't get possessions. And Hawks were playing defense all game.

SPEAKER_02 59:09

Yeah, and then their clears are at 78%, which doesn't help you. Their man up was 28%, which isn't great. It's not horrendous horrendous, but it's not really great. It's not what's going to get you those extra points. And this year's roster is at about 34, and they are young again. They have 13 freshmen, some red shirt, eight sophomores, and then seven juniors and six seniors. So they're a young, still fairly small team. At least they're at that mid-30 level. They're still going to be at that same level of trying to improve and they're just to get a few more wins or improv in areas.

SPEAKER_00 59:50

You're right. But that attack unit will begin its third year together as a cohesive unit. So I think you're going to see improvement at the attack because they're all, they were all sophomores last year, Kev. You got junior Reed Low at 25 goals, 15 assists, and 40 points. You had junior Jacob Malia, 15-12 for 27. You had junior Seth McKenzie, 13-11 for 24 points. And their midfield was all sophomores last year. Junior, Justin Hall comes back, 7-6 for 13. Not the greatest output from a midfielder, but contributing. Junior, Treston Gatewood, 9-3 for 12. Junior, Scott Cathard, 7 goals, 2 assists, 9 points. Short stick D. Middy comes back. Thomas Rowall, 21 ground balls, two cause turnovers. Defender, Michael Lichfield, very excellent last year. 41 ground balls, 18 calls turnovers. And Harry Edwards, you know where he's from? Where's he from? This defender is from Adelaide, Australia, Kev. There we go. Adelaide, Australia. He's 6'4, 210 pounds. He has 30 ground balls and 10 cause turnovers. 6'4, 210-pound defender. So they do have some big boys and some seasoned players coming back.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:20

Yeah, the one thing I would point out, though, Danny, is they lose one of their attackmen, Jacob Malia. He is not coming, he's not returning this year. Even though he was, what, a sophomore last year? He is not returning what the other two attackmen, Reed Low and Seth McKenzie. So still, they have a lot of, I mean, they've got two-thirds of their attack unit coming back. And like you said, they lose no one on defense. And I think in face-off, they lose Ronaldo Williams, but Kennedy Moore returns, and their goalkeeper, Rocco Smith, returns.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:54

Yep. But here's the thing they only scored 98 goals because they couldn't get a face-off cap. So they need they need face-off play. They really do. They need them, they need to get that kid that's going to come in there and get them possessions. So Coach Simhauser, open up the bank book kid. Get a face-off guy in there. He only scored up uh 98 goals. They were man up, but it's only 27%. Only average about 28 shots a game. They average about 12 turnovers per game. They clear at 78%, and their face-off was bad at 37%. So if they can improve face-off play, protect the rock, work on improving the clearing game, and again, get a face-off kid. But I think this team is going to improve this year. I really do. With this group, again, they played two years together. They're entering their third year as a group, as a cohesive unit. I think you're going to start to see some consistency and better play.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:56

Yeah, and I add in the fact, you know, I I kind of disagree with you. I think Eric George and Eric Dosey were really, really good players. I mean, phenomenal players. And when you have a small roster like that and two dominant players, we always talk a little bit about addition by subtraction with some teams. We talked about Wingate. We talked about some others. And in fact, this year coming forward. That's not the case with Chwan. You had two dominant players on offense, and it takes more than, like you said, it takes these players now some time playing together. They're in their third year now. Remember their freshman year when they were in there. They weren't in there all the time because of Dozy and George. Now you got these guys who played a full year together, minus Jacob Malia is not coming back. You got those guys now coming back together for a second year, maybe three years, where they've had some time to gel, and their chemistry's getting there. I agree. I think it's going to be different. I think they're going to have more than one win. They may even win a game in conference. We'll have to see. And one or two. And let's see where that's another team. You just got to see what they do on the field. Right. I agree. Last team, Danny, to go over. Shorter University, the Hawks. Well, shorter, you remember last year, Danny. They were 0-3 in 2025. Then they canceled their season because of low numbers and injuries. So are they putting out a team this year? Yeah, they have a roster. It's about 20 folks, 12 freshmen, one redshirt freshman, three sophomores, one junior, one senior, two grad students. Not a big roster. They don't have their out of conferences not out there yet. Coach Stefan Ducett now is in his second season. He graduated from Reinhard University in 2024. They remember, they are a top NAIA team, but he is young. So we could go over stats in 2025. They really don't matter.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:59

Yeah, too small of a sample. I didn't even think that they were putting out a squad. That's why I have nothing on them. Yeah, no, they are.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:06

Here's the bottom line. They're very young with a very young coach and a very small roster. My opinion is their goal is to kind of stay healthy and see if they can complete the season. I mean, they started last year and then had injuries and had to cancel because they just couldn't compete with probably 16, 17 guys. Yeah. Yeah. 20 is a small roster to try to make it through a full season. And we'll just have to see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:39

This conference is tough, Kevin. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:43

Their schedule, 2026 schedule for shorter, is now out. And they are playing it looks like Tennessee Wesleyan. William Jewell, Montreat, Scad, Savannah. So they've got a bunch of D three teams in there. Tiffin. And then they start doing conference play.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:09

Yeah, so they don't have a lot of games on their schedule. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:14

They're and it looks like they're playing, you know, three D three teams or N A I A, Montreatus N A I A. I don't know. So and the and then add and William Jewel and Tiffin who are D2. So there's a win for Chawan. So what I would say is look at they just need to stay healthy and finish the season.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:36

And then build. Good luck, coach. It's gonna be uh long season for the shorter boys. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:46

All right, well, there we go, Danny. There's the Conference Carolinas preview.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:52

What do you think of the Conference Carolinas, Kev? Your overall thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:58

I think once again, they're gonna have several teams in the top 20. You look at North Greenville, you look at Belmont Abbey, really, really strong. You've got teams like Lees McRae, Young Harris that are up and coming, that are going to be dangerous no matter who they play. Can Barton come back to where they were in years past? What does Mount Olive look like? I think that that's my question mark. Teams like Barton and Mount Olive, where they are, is kind of what I'm thinking right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:32

Yeah, I'll have to agree with you. I think it's actually, I really like Belmont Abbey this year. I just think they they are loaded for bear. And I just think what they're bringing back is just a lot of depth, a lot of senior leadership, uh, a new offensive coach. They're gonna have like it's gonna be a new thing over there going on at Belmont Abbey. And Chris Barrett does a great job. I and I don't know. I just think it's Belmont Abbey on paper with the way I see it. Yeah. And North Greenville, right there underneath. That's what I think. They're right there, but they're underneath. I think those guys, when they play, it's gonna be some of the better lacrosse brand that you're gonna see. You're gonna see two really good teams in the South. Totally agree with that. You know, so I do like what John Grant Jr. is doing at Lee's McCray. Again, they're not gonna be a crazy great, but they're gonna be so much improved that people cannot walk in and think that they're just gonna get a W over the Bobcats anymore. You know, Emmanuel, what Destro's done, you know, he's got uh decent numbers. He needs a little help, but I think they can kind of be around the same. Emmanuel. Chawan needs help. Barton and and and like you said, I agree with you with Barton and uh Mount Olive. Can they get back over that hump and get back into the race and make a make a stab at the championship? But I think Belmont Abbey's going back to their third in a row. That's my prediction. Yeah, I would agree with that. So I love I like this conference. Carolinas, I think they're really strong. They always play good schedules. They'll play the Wingates and the LRs and the Tampas like a lot of these teams will do, you know? So good conference overall. And then and it's in great states.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:25

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:26

South Carolina. Just retire there, Danny, and you can just be right around the corner from so many games. Dude, if I was retired down there, I would go to a lot of games. Yeah. You can get on the road and actually get from point A to point B in Carolinas. Yeah. Totally agree.

Shout outs

SPEAKER_00 1:09:50

All right, moving on to shout outs. Do you have any? I just want to say Happy New Year to all our listeners. Thank you so much for keeping on listening and the DMs. You guys have been great. Love you guys. Give us uh meaning and hope every year and uh every week that we do this podcast. And happy new year to you, Kev, my prolific podcast producing partner in uh Northern Virginia and you and the family. Uh I wish you all the all the best.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:19

Yeah, happy new year to you, and I agree to all our fans. Look, it we get updates like we just did with the CACC. We get people DMing us when we screw up with audio and it's not playing right on the podcast platforms. Because they're tuned in, and I love that, man. I love the podcast. I know these people are tuning in. And they don't do it. We've said this several times. They don't do it like, hey, idiot, why is there such bad audio? They're like, Merry Christmas. Uh, what's going on with the audio? You know, it's really, really great. And I we love, love, love the feedback. Keep it coming in 2026. The only other shout-out I've got, Danny, is to D2 men's lacrosse. We talked about this last time that they're best of lacks 2025. It was on the lacrosse network. It came out in USA LaCrosse magazine. We talked about those that were in D2 that were in the running. Right. Well, guess what? The fan vote winners are out there. And both of them from D2 won their respective uh categories. Best men's game in 2025, a Delphi versus Tampa. Winner. How cool is that? Best goalie play, Cam Dorfman, winner. Those both of those just show you the caliber of what D2 Men's lacrosse brings, and I can't wait to see it in 2026.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:51

You know, when USA Lacrosse has two Division II things going on in their in their little categories of best of, it's like their little SB awards or whatever you want to call them. But you know what? That D2 game between Adelphi and Tampa was an amazing game. And to win, they deserved to win the game of the year, because it was.

unknown 1:12:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:11

It was great.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:13

All right, Danny. And that ends our Conference Carolina preview.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:27

Happy New Year to all our listeners out there in podcast land. Wish you a joyous 2026 season from the two knuckleheads. I didn't agree. And that, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:43

That's a wrap. That's a wrap.