November 27, 2023 - With 38 NCAA tournament spots spread across 28 Division III automatic qualifying conferences in 2023, winning the conference championship for a “mid-major” school was essential to getting into the NCAAs. Last season, seven of these mid-majors advanced to the second round, only to fall to a Division III men’s lacrosse blue blood program. One school made it to the tournament’s final 16. Can more of them do it in 2024? Let’s look at our Top Mid-Major Teams to Watch, in alphabetical order by conference affiliation.
Our first Team to Watch is University of Scranton, the Landmark Conference champions from Scranton, Pa. with a 14-6 record in 2023. It was the first time since 2011 that the Royals had won the conference and reached the NCAAs and ended an eight-year run in which either Catholic University of America or Elizabethtown University won the title. Coach Michael Hofmeister’s team fell 22-9 to Gettysburg in the Second Round.
Scranton finished 48th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength in 2023. The Royals open the 2024 season playing Salisbury, Muhlenberg College, and Dickinson.
For the past several years, the constant in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) has been Albion College in Albion, Mich. and Hope College in Holland, Mich. battling for the title. In 2023, Albion won the regular season title, but lost to the Dutchmen in the conference championship, reversing the 2022 result when Hope captured the regular season title, but lost to the Britons in the championship. For 2023, Hope ended the year 20th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength while Albion was 24th in the same rankings.
In 2022, Albion advanced to the Second Round before losing to eventual champion RIT. In 2023, Hope drew Christopher Newport University in the Second Round, falling 17-9. Whichever team emerges from the MIAA in 2024 will be seeking to get the MIAA into the NCAA Third Round.
Babson College from Babson Park, Mass. turned around an 8-9 season in 2022 into a 13-5 season in 2023 and a trip to the NCAA Third Round. Now in his sixth season, Coach Rocky Batty has won New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) titles in two of the past three years, guiding the Beavers to their first NCAA appearance since 1979 and recognition in Top 20 polls. Last year, Babson won three straight games by one goal, twice beating Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including in the NEWMAC championship on an overtime goal.
The Beavers beat Williams College in the NCAA Second Round, before falling to RIT in the Third Round. For the season, Babson finished 46th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Babson’s 2024 non-conference schedule includes four NESCAC opponents (Williams, Middlebury College, Bowdoin College, Tufts University), Union College, and NCAA qualifier Western New England University.
Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio earned a coveted at-large spot in the NCAAs in 2023 following a 15-3 season in which they won the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title, but lost to Denison University, 14-13, in the championship game. The Owls' performance during the season allowed Coach Doug Misarti to guide Kenyon to its first NCAA tournament since 2012, falling to Stevens Institute of Technology in the Second Round.
Kenyon finished 15th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength in 2023, and has scheduled 2024 non-conference games against Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Centre College (see below), two-time OAC regular season champion Baldwin Wallace University, and Albion. A fun fact about the 2024 schedule: the Owls will play only three games all year outside the state of Ohio.
The other dominant Division III conference in the Buckeye State is the Ohio Athletic Conference where John Carroll University has won seven straight conference tournaments, the last six under Coach Joe Rautenstrauch. JCU, in University Heights, Ohio, has defeated Baldwin Wallace University in four of the past five OAC championships. The Blue Streaks were 15-3 a year ago and finished 6th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength.
During JCU’s seven-year streak, the Blue Streaks have won four First Round games but lost all of their Second Round games. Will 2024 be the year JCU advances to the Third Round?
Centre College in the sleepy town of Danville, Ky. burst on the scene in 2021 when Coach Grant Zimmerman directed a 12-11 upset of Denison to advance to the NCAA Third Round. The win marked the first-ever NCAA tournament victory for Centre. The Colonels went 13-4 in 2023 to win the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) regular season title for the third straight year and defeated Pfeiffer University in the NCAA first round before losing to Washington & Lee University in the Second Round. The “Cardiac Colonels” were 4-2 in one-goal games in 2023, and their three regular season losses were by a total of four goals.
The Colonels finished 53rd in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Redrawn NCAA regions place Kentucky with Ohio and Virginia, and the 2024 Centre schedule reflects that with road contests at Kenyon College and Roanoke College, plus home matches against Baldwin Wallace and Albion.
Our final team is St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, Md. who reached the NCAAs for the first time since 2013 and recorded the school’s first-ever win in 2023. The Seahawks, led by Coach Jason Childs, took advantage of the United East’s first automatic qualifier to advance to the postseason, defeating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy before losing to Middlebury College, 10-9, in the Second Round.
The Seahawks finished 15-6 in 2023, good for 64th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Following a merger with the CSAC, the United East Conference has a new look with six teams. St. Mary’s beefed up its schedule with 12 non-conference games including powerhouses Dickinson, University of Lynchburg, and Salisbury.
Our first Team to Watch is University of Scranton, the Landmark Conference champions from Scranton, Pa. with a 14-6 record in 2023. It was the first time since 2011 that the Royals had won the conference and reached the NCAAs and ended an eight-year run in which either Catholic University of America or Elizabethtown University won the title. Coach Michael Hofmeister’s team fell 22-9 to Gettysburg in the Second Round.
Scranton finished 48th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength in 2023. The Royals open the 2024 season playing Salisbury, Muhlenberg College, and Dickinson.
For the past several years, the constant in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) has been Albion College in Albion, Mich. and Hope College in Holland, Mich. battling for the title. In 2023, Albion won the regular season title, but lost to the Dutchmen in the conference championship, reversing the 2022 result when Hope captured the regular season title, but lost to the Britons in the championship. For 2023, Hope ended the year 20th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength while Albion was 24th in the same rankings.
In 2022, Albion advanced to the Second Round before losing to eventual champion RIT. In 2023, Hope drew Christopher Newport University in the Second Round, falling 17-9. Whichever team emerges from the MIAA in 2024 will be seeking to get the MIAA into the NCAA Third Round.
Babson College from Babson Park, Mass. turned around an 8-9 season in 2022 into a 13-5 season in 2023 and a trip to the NCAA Third Round. Now in his sixth season, Coach Rocky Batty has won New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) titles in two of the past three years, guiding the Beavers to their first NCAA appearance since 1979 and recognition in Top 20 polls. Last year, Babson won three straight games by one goal, twice beating Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including in the NEWMAC championship on an overtime goal.
The Beavers beat Williams College in the NCAA Second Round, before falling to RIT in the Third Round. For the season, Babson finished 46th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Babson’s 2024 non-conference schedule includes four NESCAC opponents (Williams, Middlebury College, Bowdoin College, Tufts University), Union College, and NCAA qualifier Western New England University.
Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio earned a coveted at-large spot in the NCAAs in 2023 following a 15-3 season in which they won the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title, but lost to Denison University, 14-13, in the championship game. The Owls' performance during the season allowed Coach Doug Misarti to guide Kenyon to its first NCAA tournament since 2012, falling to Stevens Institute of Technology in the Second Round.
Kenyon finished 15th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength in 2023, and has scheduled 2024 non-conference games against Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Centre College (see below), two-time OAC regular season champion Baldwin Wallace University, and Albion. A fun fact about the 2024 schedule: the Owls will play only three games all year outside the state of Ohio.
The other dominant Division III conference in the Buckeye State is the Ohio Athletic Conference where John Carroll University has won seven straight conference tournaments, the last six under Coach Joe Rautenstrauch. JCU, in University Heights, Ohio, has defeated Baldwin Wallace University in four of the past five OAC championships. The Blue Streaks were 15-3 a year ago and finished 6th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength.
During JCU’s seven-year streak, the Blue Streaks have won four First Round games but lost all of their Second Round games. Will 2024 be the year JCU advances to the Third Round?
Centre College in the sleepy town of Danville, Ky. burst on the scene in 2021 when Coach Grant Zimmerman directed a 12-11 upset of Denison to advance to the NCAA Third Round. The win marked the first-ever NCAA tournament victory for Centre. The Colonels went 13-4 in 2023 to win the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) regular season title for the third straight year and defeated Pfeiffer University in the NCAA first round before losing to Washington & Lee University in the Second Round. The “Cardiac Colonels” were 4-2 in one-goal games in 2023, and their three regular season losses were by a total of four goals.
The Colonels finished 53rd in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Redrawn NCAA regions place Kentucky with Ohio and Virginia, and the 2024 Centre schedule reflects that with road contests at Kenyon College and Roanoke College, plus home matches against Baldwin Wallace and Albion.
Our final team is St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, Md. who reached the NCAAs for the first time since 2013 and recorded the school’s first-ever win in 2023. The Seahawks, led by Coach Jason Childs, took advantage of the United East’s first automatic qualifier to advance to the postseason, defeating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy before losing to Middlebury College, 10-9, in the Second Round.
The Seahawks finished 15-6 in 2023, good for 64th in Lacrosse Reference’s Lax-ELO Team Strength. Following a merger with the CSAC, the United East Conference has a new look with six teams. St. Mary’s beefed up its schedule with 12 non-conference games including powerhouses Dickinson, University of Lynchburg, and Salisbury.