Cavaliers Now

Virginia Men's Lacrosse 2025 Roster Preview

Aidan Baller|
Virginia Athletics

It's a brand new year of UVA men's lacrosse and the start of a new era, with four-time First-Team All-American Connor Shellenberger's career in the orange and blue finally coming to a close at the end of last season. Other significant departures include NCAA all-time leading goal scorer Payton Cormier, who finished his collegiate career with 524 goals, lockdown defender Cole Kastner, who now plays basketball at Stanford, and standout transfers Jack Boyden and Chase Yager. 

Shellenberger, Cormier, and Boyden combined for 199 points in 2024, leaving the 2025 Cavaliers with some major holes to fill this upcoming season. Despite this, a lot of elite teams are facing similar challenges with a massive load of talent departing the collegiate level with college greats such as Pat Kavanagh (Notre Dame), Brennan O'Neil (Duke), Ajax Zappitello (Maryland), TJ Malone (Penn State), Liam Entennmann (Notre Dame), Matt Brandau (Yale), Dyson Williams (Duke), Jake Stevens (Syracuse), Jake Piseno (Albany), Kenny Brower (Duke), Eric Dobson (Notre Dame), Graham Bundy Jr. (Georgetown) and many more.

With the exit of so much top talent, the college lacrosse world welcomes new stars to step into the fold, with this year's race to the top of the mountain being the most open it has been in years. That said, here's the roster that will endure the race to improve over these next couple of months to reach Championship Weekend before being crowned champions. 

Virginia Lacrosse Roster Preview: The Offense

As previously mentioned, the Hoos are losing a ton of talent on the offensive side of the ball. With Shellenberger gone, McCabe Millon, after dropping 41 goals and 25 assists his first year, is set to step up as the Cavaliers' No. 1 guy and quarterback in 2025. Alongside Millon at attack, following the same lineup as the 2024 Bob Kemp Classic in October, I see Ryan Colsey and Truitt Sunderland slotting alongside Millon. Colsey, who registered 19 goals in 2024, spent this past summer playing Junior A box lacrosse and has equipped himself to slot into that lefty attackman role. Rounding out the attack, Sunderland, who missed the end of 2024 with a broken foot, is set to play on the right side. Tucker Mullen, who is finally healthy and ready to go in 2025, could serve as the fourth attackman rotating in as needed. 

Griffin Schutz returns for his fourth and final season up top at the midfield. The senior from Trumbull, Connecticut, has averaged 35 points over the last three seasons, utilizing his physicality as a dodger to score. In March of last year, Schutz scored a career-high four goals against Maryland, including a nasty long-range shovel finish. 

Joining Schutz up top, Bryant transfer Johnny Hackett will look to make an impact on the starting line. Hackett recorded 47 points last season for the Bulldogs and is known for his quick speed from above the goal as a lefty dodger. Rounding out our projected starting midfield is Thomas Mencke, who is a physical dodger.

Behind the top three, others set to receive offensive minutes is two-way midfielder Joey Terenzi, who was a star in 2024, embracing his role on both sides of the ball, similar to Ryan Conrad due to his tenacity on faceoffs. Other offensive threats include Duke transfer Charles Balsamo, captain Jack Walshe, Will Inderlied and Hudson Hausmann. Highly-touted freshmen Ryan Duenkel, Kyle Colsey and Sean Browne will miss the 2025 season due to injuries and will be taking medical redshirts.

Virginia Lacrosse Roster Preview: The Defense 

Ben Wayer, UVAs star long-stick midfielder, led the country in non-faceoff ground balls in 2024 with 98, leading the charge on the defensive end of the field. Wayer earned an honorable mention All-American last season but can be a First-Team All-American in 2025. Behind Wayer, Tommy McNeal should also see time as the secondary option. 

Moving down to close defense, John Schroter and George Fulton return after starting in 2024. Schroter will guard the primary dodger, while Fulton specializes in off-ball defense. Griffin Kology is also a capable off-ball defender. As for the third starting defender, there'll be a competition between Max Wooten, freshman Luke Hublitz, and Tommy Snyder.  

Senior Noah Chizmar leads the charge at short stick midfield after recording 32 ground balls; nine caused turnovers, and six goals in 2024. Behind Chizmar, sophomores Will Erdmann and Wills Burt will see plenty of time after receiving considerable minutes in their freshman years. Freshman Hudson Hausmann and JP Lagunowich should also see some time, with both of them looking to play a two-way midfielder role similar to Joey Terenzi. 

Why Noah Chizmar is Virginia Lacrosse's Toughest Player

Last but not least, at goalie, the starting job will be a battle between senior Matthew Nunes and junior Kyle Morris. Nunes played almost every minute of every game until he was pulled in the first quarter of the Cavaliers' quarterfinal matchup against Johns Hopkins. Morris finished the game before starting in Virginia's semifinal loss against Maryland. Coach Lars Tiffany preached last season that the position has always been evaluated every week, so expect to see much of the same in 2025.

Virginia Lacrosse Roster Preview: Faceoff

Anthony Ghobriel returns after finishing 55% from the stripe in 2024 while battling through injury. After missing the fall to recover, Ghobriel should be a full-go in 2025. Alongside Ghobriel, transfers Andrew Greenspan and John Totaro will pick up the slack. Greenspan joins the Hoos after one year in South Bend, while Totaro joins after a year with Denver. 

At the wings, these faceoff men will be accompanied by LSM Ben Wayer and SSDM Joey Terenzi, with McNeal, Erdmann, and Chizmar also taking reps from the wings. 

Virginia starts its season against Colgate at Klöckner Stadium on February 8th at noon.

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Published
Aidan Baller
AIDAN BALLER

Aidan has been writing for Virginia Cavaliers On SI since January of 2023 and covers UVA football, basketball, men's soccer, and men's lacrosse. He is from New York and is currently in his fourth year at the University of Virginia, enrolled in the M.S. in Accounting program.

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