Division I Men's Impact Transfers for 2024

Notre Dame’s first national championship was fueled by homegrown talent, with Liam Entenmann and the Kavanagh brothers leading the way. But there’s no questioning the impact that Yale transfers Chris Fake and Brian Tevlin had on the Irish finally hoisting the hardware on Memorial Day.

The bonus seasons of lacrosse resulting from the COVID pandemic and the NCAA’s decision to allow an extra year of eligibility will soon come to an end, but not yet. Transfers, especially grad transfers, will continue to make an outsized influence on the college lacrosse season in 2024.

Here are some of the players poised to make a difference in Division I men’s lacrosse in the spring.

Nick Alviti, LSM (Vermont to Maryland)

Second-year Maryland assistant Jake Bernhardt ran the offense when he coached at Vermont, but the Terps are loading up on defensive talent from the Catamounts. Alviti and defenseman Jackson Canfield, both first team All-America East selections the last two seasons, will be joined by SSDM Colin Sharkey. In 2022, Alviti set a Vermont record with 32 caused turnovers and led the nation in goals by an LSM with eight. He had a school-record 75 caused turnovers in his career.

Cole Brams, FO (Utah to Rutgers) and Matt Soutar, FO (Monmouth to Rutgers)

The Scarlet Knights have two faceoff transfers coming in that ranked in the top 20 nationally last season. Brams was an absolute workhorse at Utah, taking over 1,200 draws in his career. He won 57.7 percent last year — setting career highs with 261 wins and 452 total faceoffs. Brams was the Atlantic Sun Championship MVP after winning 21 of 23 against Air Force in the title game. Soutar, the first team All-CAA faceoff specialist last year, won 58.1 percent of his 857 career draws, including a 68.5-percent mark his sophomore year when he ranked fourth in the country and set a Monmouth single-season record.

Tommy Burke, FO (Vermont to Ohio State)

The Buckeyes have a host of transfers coming in, and Burke could be among the most important. Burke, a three-time first-team All-America East selection at Vermont, finished third in the country with a 64.8 winning percentage. That was an area of concern for Ohio State last year with the team winning just 45.5 percent of its draws.

Chayse Ierlan, G (Cornell to Johns Hopkins)

After helping Johns Hopkins reach the NCAA quarterfinals, starting goalie Tim Marcille opted not to use his final year of eligibility. That opens the door for the experienced Chayse Ierlan to use his final year at Homewood. Ierlan made 50 career starts at Cornell, helping the Big Red reach the NCAA title game in 2022, and was an honorable mention All-American last year. He’s made 590 saves in his career.

Devon McLane, A (Brown to Notre Dame)

McLane was a nightmare for Ivy League defensive coordinators the last two seasons and will now try to frustrate ACC coaches. After the 2020 and 2021 seasons were limited in the Ivy League due to COVID-19, McLane was an honorable mention All-American in 2022, going off for 71 points (47 goals, 24 assists). He followed that by leading Brown in scoring last year with 51 points (28 goals, 23 assists) despite missing four games.

Beau Pederson, SSDM (Princeton to Michigan)

The Wolverines are rebuilding their defense with a pair of Princeton defenders: Pederson and LSM Cathal Roberts. Pederson was a second-team All-America selection last season and plays with a passion that coaches love. A three-sport athlete at Park City (Utah) High School, this will be a family homecoming for Pederson. His dad, Chip, was a tight end for Michigan’s football team.

Alex Slusher, A (Princeton to Duke)

The U.S. U20 gold medalist in 2022 seems like a perfect fit for Duke’s offense — perhaps stepping into the role that Lehigh grad transfer Tommy Schelling filled a year ago. Slusher led Princeton with 46 goals in 2022 before cooling off in an 11-goal, eight-assist season last year. With his talent and defenses forced to focus on Duke’s big guns, Slusher could easily produce big numbers.

Jake Stevens, M (Princeton to Syracuse)

Stevens had 24 goals last season for the Tigers, earning honorable mention All-America honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine, but there’s more to his game than scoring. After playing short stick defensive midfielder as a freshman, Stevens has shown a knack for the ball. Had had 179 ground balls in his career, twice topping 60 in a season. He’ll find a way onto the field to contribute for the Orange along with former Princeton teammate Sam English.

Matt Wright, LSM (North Carolina to Syracuse)

Syracuse lost its defensive coordinator, Dave Pietramala, to North Carolina, but the Orange are picking up some defensive talent on the field from the Tar Heels. Wright has 57 games of experience under his belt. He had his best year in 2022 when he had 54 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers. He can create havoc for a defense looking to improve from last year’s 12.1 goals allowed per game.

Josh Zawada, A (Michigan to Duke)

Let’s be real, the Blue Devils are loaded on offense, so what more do they really need? They may not need it, but they’ll certainly find plenty of ways to use Zawada. He was an honorable mention All-American last year and finished as Michigan’s all-time leader in goals (119) and points (213). Zawada, combined with Slusher, and Duke’s top three returning scorers from a year ago — Brennan O’Neill, Dyson Williams and Andrew McAdorey — is going to create match-up problems galore.