Season Preview: 2026 Men's Lacrosse

By: Cael Dent — Coordinator of Athletics Communications and Broadcast

Jace Delgado

Men's Lacrosse | 2/4/2026 2:32:00 PM

Granville, Ohio - The Denison men's lacrosse team will set their eyes on another NCAA Tournament Appearance after a successful 2025 campaign. The Big Red rank No. 2 in the preseason poll behind last year's champion Ohio Wesleyan.

2025 Season Recap:

The Big Red started off the season hot, going 3-1 in their first four contests with a 14-12 win over No. 4 Washington and Lee University and in-state opponents John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace. The team would then face tough competition on their spring break trip, going up against three top-20 opponents the Big Red would fall in all three games. The team would then go on an eight-game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 133-50 with three games scoring 20+ goals, and had a key ranked win over No. 16 York College. In the regular season finale, Denison fell to Ohio Wesleyan 15-13 for their only regular season conference loss of the season, bringing their record into the NCAC Tournament 12-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play, obtaining the No. 2 seed. They would win their semifinal matchup against Wooster 19-7, but fell to Ohio Wesleyan in the championship 13-10. Denison would receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, heading to Salisbury, Maryland to face Dickinson in the first round in their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance. Down 7-4 heading into the fourth quarter, the Big Red rattled off three goals to tie the game up at seven and force overtime. Dickinson would score early in overtime, ultimately ending the game in an 8-7 decision. The Big Red finished the season 13-7, and were ranked as high as No. 13 in the country. Denison had 10 players named to All-NCAC teams, seven named to first team, while Grant Larson was named Specialist of the Year and Khari Freeman was named Newcomer of the Year. Seven players were named USILA and USA Lacrosse All-Americans, with four returning for the 2026 season.

Returning All-Americans/All-Conference

AJ Boxler - USA Lacrosse and USILA Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-NCAC
Charlie Haight - USILA Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-NCAC, NCAC All-Tournament Team
Andrew Albert - USILA Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-NCAC, NCAC All-Tournament Team
Grant Larson - USILA Honorable Mention All-American, First Team All-NCAC (Specialist of the Year)
Khari Freeman - Second Team All-NCAC (Newcomer of the Year)
Charlie Pellegrino - Second Team All-NCAC
Kevin Berutich - Third Team All-NCAC

2026 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll
Place	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Points
1	Ohio Wesleyan (9)	81
2	Denison	72
3	Oberlin	60
4	Kenyon	55
5	Wooster	42
6	John Carroll	38
7	Wabash	22
8	Wittenberg	20
9	DePauw	15

Position-by-Position Breakdown

Attack

The Big Red will be tasked with replacing their All-American Tommy Quinson, who scored a team-leading 53 goals and dished off 29 assists. Denison does have valuable experience still, as seniors Kevin Berutich and Macky Peck return. The duo combined for 64 goals and 110 points. Berutich led the Big Red in assists with 36, and Peck was the second leading scorer with 42 goals. Junior Liam Gillard and sophomore Graham Harris saw ample time on the field last year, and will be a big part of the rotation in the 2026 campaign.

Midfield

The midfield will be stacked with talent once again, as losing All-Americans Jack Hines and Collin Murphy is not the most ideal, the Big Red fill the room with immense upside. Senior AJ Boxler returns as the forefront, as the All-American scooped up 15 ground balls and had 10 caused turnovers, while also adding a goal and an assist. Junior Michael Cassidy had the most starts last season with 16, and he led all returning midfielders in goals (23). Sophomore Jack Moellering played in 19 games, and put up 16 goals and 10 assists on 71.4% shot on goal percentage. Preseason All-American Augie Oberting played in the most games last season with 20, and was top-five on the team in ground balls (43) and caused turnovers (17). Junior Anthony Savoy saw plenty of action last season, playing in 15 games and netting six goals and scooping up 17 ground balls. Short Stick Defensive Midfielder Drew Merschel saw 11 games of action, scoring two goals and causing four turnovers.

Defense

One of the most experienced groups on the team, the Big Red back line will be a force to be reckoned with. Preseason All-American Charlie Haight returns after starting in all 20 games last season. The junior picked up 32 ground balls and was second on the team in caused turnovers with 16. Seniors Owen Holder, Charlie Pellegrino, and Cian Nicholas return much of the production from last season, as combined the trio played in 52 games with 33 starts. Holder and Pellegrino led the team last season in caused turnovers with 17 a piece, while Nicholas added three. Sophomore Colin Swanson had an impressive rookie campaign last season, starting in seven games and even got it done on the offensive side of the field scoring four goals and dishing off three assists.

Long Stick Midfield

NCAC Newcomer of the Year Khari Freeman had a masterful first-year en route to his postseason award. The rising sophomore recorded four goals and two assists on 40% shooting. He also racked up 34 ground balls and had 12 caused turnovers. Also seeing time last season was juniors Joseph Holtzer and Graham Michener, who got multiple games with experience under their belt.

Face-Off Specialist

Grant Larson returns as the main Face-Off Specialist, as Colin MacLean graduated with a 62.9% win percentage and over 100 face-offs won. Larson, a preseason All-American, had the most face-off attempts on the team, and went 162-281 (57.7%) on face-offs. In addition, he scooped up 106 ground balls and added four goals as well. Rising sophomore Luke Marascio also saw many chances inside the circle, posting an impressive 61-73 (83.6%) on face-offs in 11 games played.

Goalie

Senior and preseason All-American Andrew Albert returns in the net for the Big Red, as last season he started in every game and saved 196 shots with a 53.8% save percentage. He posted 13 games with double-digit saves, and logged over 1,000 minutes of playing time.

Preseason Recognition: USA Lacrosse Magazine released their 2026 Division III Preseason All-Americans, and four Big Red received honorable mention honors. Seniors Grant Larson and Andrew Albert along with juniors Charlie Haight and Augie Oberting were recognized.

Staying Hot: Head coach Eric Koch will be entering his fifth season for the Big Red, and has had an impressive four seasons at the helm. He has won three NCAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons, two of which were to the Third Round. Koch is currently 60-22 overall, the third most wins in Denison history.

On Top: Since 2016, Denison has compiled a 68-4 record in conference play, with five of them being undefeated seasons (2020 excluded due to COVID). The Big Red have made the NCAA Tournament every year since then, and have won 13+ games in every full season.

Cream of the Crop: The Big Red ranked in multiple top-three statistical categories in the conference, including goals per game (14.58), points per game (23.0) shots percentage (36.6%), and assists per game (8.42).

A Look at the Schedule

The Big Red start a three-game homestand to kick off the season, with their first game coming against No. 4 ranked RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) on Valentine's Day. The first away match will come against No. 10 ranked Washington and Lee on Saturday, February 28 before heading back home for a non-conference matchup against Adrian College on March 3. Then a four-game road stretch will ensue against some of the toughest competition across the nation. The Big Red will start off with No. 13 Lynchburg, then face the reigning national champions and No. 1 ranked Tufts and a rematch against No. 6 Dickinson in the Mustang Classic. Their final game of the stretch will be their first conference game against Ohio Wesleyan University in a rivalry battle against the NCAC's best. The rest of the regular season features NCAC play, with home games slated against John Carroll (March 28), Wooster (April 11), Kenyon (April 14), and DePauw (April 25). The NCAC Tournament is scheduled for April 29 and May 2, with the semifinals slated for the 29th, and the finals on the 2nd.

Date	Location	Opponent	Time
2/14/26	Granville, Ohio	RIT	1 pm
2/21/26	Granville, Ohio	Elmhurst University	12 pm
2/24/26	Granville, Ohio	Baldwin Wallace University	5 pm
2/28/26	Lexington, Va.	Washington and Lee	1 pm
3/3/26	Granville, Ohio	Adrian College	7 pm
3/7/26	Lynchburg, Va.	University of Lynchburg	1 pm
3/13/26	Owings Mills, Md.	Tufts (Mustang Classic)	5:45 pm
3/14/26	Owings Mills, Md.	Dickinson College (Mustang Classic)	1:15 pm
3/21/26	Delaware, Ohio	*Ohio Wesleyan	1 pm
3/28/26	Granville, Ohio	*John Carroll	3 pm
4/4/26	Springfield, Ohio	*Wittenberg University	1 pm
4/8/26	Crawfordsville, Ind.	*Wabash College	4 pm
4/11/26	Granville, Ohio	*The College of Wooster	3 pm
4/14/26	Granville, Ohio	*Kenyon	7:30 pm
4/18/26	Oberlin, Ohio	*Oberlin	1 pm
4/25/26	Granville, Ohio	*DePauw	1 pm
4/29/26	TBA	NCAC Semifinals	TBA
5/2/26	TBA	NCAC Finals	TBA