2024 NCAA Lacrosse Preview: No. 2 Duke (Men)

The 2024 Division I men's college lacrosse starts Feb. 2. We’re featuring every team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 leading up to opening night. 

NO. 2 DUKE 

2023 Record: 16-3 (5-1, ACC)
Final Ranking (2023): No. 2
Head Coach: John Danowski
Assistants: Ron Caputo, Matt Danowski, Alex Ready

First things first, no one is going to shed a tear for Duke given the talent they have coming back. But the Blue Devils weren’t able to do as much as they normally do in the fall. 

Some of that was by design — like how veteran faceoff man Jake Naso, who has taken 1,298 in three college seasons, took it easy. 

“We didn’t let him take one faceoff in the fall,” head coach John Danowski said. 

In other cases, injuries played a role. 

“We were a little banged up,” Danowksi said. “Offensively, we weren’t able to get the reps. We need to build chemistry, and it was painfully obvious.” 

The top three scorers are back — Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O’Neill, 60-goal scorer Dyson Williams and the dangerous Andrew McAdorey. All three played attack last season, but so did incoming transfers Josh Zawada (Michigan’s all-time leading scorer) and Alex Slusher (Princeton’s leading goal scorer in 2022). McAdorey played midfield earlier in his career, and O’Neill mostly ran out of the box on his way to earning MVP honors at the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship in San Diego. 

How do the pieces fit for the Blue Devils in 2023? 

“We want people to get settled in and feel comfortable,” Danowski said, “but the growing pains were there in the fall.” 

TOP RETURNERS 

Kenny Brower, D, Gr. (39GB, 22 CT)
Jake Naso, FO, Sr., (62.0 FO%)
Brennan O’Neill, A, Sr. (55G, 42A) 

Duke’s offense attracts a lot of attention, but Brower is set to wrap up a stellar collegiate career. A first-team All-American last year, Brower already has 61 career starts. He can play physical with an edge and can also use his feet and stick to shut down his opponent. A gold medal winner with the 2022 U.S. Men’s U21 team, he enters his final season with 54 caused turnovers and has upped his total each season. 

KEY ADDITIONS 

Griffin Rakower, G, Gr. (56.4 SV% at Princeton)
Alex Slusher, A, Gr. (11G, 8A) at Princeton)
Josh Zawada, A, Gr. (36G, 29A at Michigan)

Duke brought in some talent in the transfer portal, but there are also some freshmen that should step into big roles. Freshman goalie Patrick Jameison has been “as good as advertised,” according to Danowski, and is very much in the mix with returning starter William Helm and Rakower, the Princeton transfer. Even with a veteran defense, Danowski expects rookie LSM Mac Christmas to find a role and 6-foot-1, 220-pound freshman midfielder Benn Johnston has big-time potential. 

NOTABLE DEPARTURES 

Graduations: Owen Caputo, M; Garrett Leadmon, M; Tommy Schelling, A; Wilson Stephenson, D

X-FACTOR 

Charlie O’Connor, SSDM, Sr. (4G, 2A) 

Duke has stars all over the field, but the little plays win the games. Danowski is fired up for O’Connor to have a standout senior year as he gets more comfortable in his short-stick d-middie role.

“He made the move from O to D last year, and he’s just a really solid human being,” Danowski said. “He doesn’t get too high or low, and he’s going to get better this year.” 

THE NARRATIVE

John Danowski wants no part of anyone saying Brennan O’Neill didn’t do enough in the NCAA championship game last year. 

“That’s a disservice to his opponent,” Danowski said. “That happens. You tip your cap to the defender or to the goalie, who had a great day.” 

O’Neill had a goal and an assist in the 13-9 loss to Notre Dame, but Irish All-Americans Chris Fake and Liam Entenmann were able to help limit the Blue Devils to a season-low nine goals. O’Neill didn’t have to think about it long. Just over a month later, the youngest player on the U.S. men’s team scored five goals in a 10-7 gold-medal victory over Canada. 

Danowski also isn’t all that concerned about social media keyboard warriors — “I don’t think Brennan reads any of that” — but playing with a chip wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Duke’s 2023 success was driven in part by a rare miss on making the NCAA tournament in 2022. 

“You want to prove something to yourself, alumni, parents,” Danowski said. “It’s a lot easier when you have something to play for. We didn’t use that as motivation — that was the year before. The years come and go, but that did come up.” 

ENEMY LINES 

“O’Neill in just one word? Unstoppable. If he decides to go to the goal, there’s really no stopping him with just one man.” 

BEYOND THE BASICS
POWERED BY LACROSSE REFERENCE 

Brennan O'Neill’s evolution into a dual-threat defense-wrecker reached a new level in 2023, with his share of the team’s assists skyrocketing from 14.9% to 28.8%. However, this increased facilitator role came with a trade-off, as his ball security decreased from the 90th to the 76th percentile. His individual efficiency was still in the 85th percentile, so let’s not get carried away, but you wonder if the Duke staff is looking to find someone to take on more of the responsibility for creating offense. 

Lacrosse Reference Glossary