With the transfer portal flurry now complete and teams turning their attention toward 2025 prep, Inside Lacrosse named Maryland men’s lacrosse incoming seven-man transfer class the best in the nation.
The Terps have the deepest class and a particularly large one for John Tillman’s squad. Is it the best in DI? That will depend. Noah Armitage (Stony Brook) and Jack Dowd (Salisbury) give them hulking midfielders. Zack Goorno (Bowdoin) is a beast who was the DIII SSDM of the Year. Attackmen Matthew Keegan (Binghamton) and Bryce Ford (Fairfield) can be big contributors and more valuable than their profile; think of how Keegan Khan contributed in 2022.AJ Hernandez might be the key piece. If he steps in to become an everyday starter and potentially an All-America-type player, that elevates this class in a huge way.Maryland went to the NCAA Tournament and had some young pieces. They had their losses, particularly on the defensive end (and Eric Malever to the Portal, too), but this group has potential to elevate all around.
Head coach John Tillman has landed seven transfers this offseason, led by Zach Goorno (Bowdoin), who was named D-3 short stick defensive midfielder of the Year. Maryland also added a pair of offensive midfielders in Noah Armitage and Jack Dowd, three attackmen in Bryce Ford, Matt Keegan, and Luca Ward, in addition to a close defender in AJ Hernandez.
Dowd finished his Salisbury career as a two-time first-team all-American, along with being named the USILA Fran Mcall Outstanding Midfielder in 2024. Over his four-year career at Salisbury, Dowd recorded 150 goals and 111 assists as well as winning the 2023 national championship. Dowd, along with Armitage, will look to bolster an offensive midfield that lacked depth in 2024 and hurt them in the national championship.
While they are listed as attackmen, it would not be a surprise for any of Ford, Keegan, or Ward to come out of the box as offensive midfielders this season due to the Terps’ strength at attack. Ford is the most likely to earn a spot on the attack line if any of them do. This season, Ford did a lot of his damage from the x and was the quarterback of the offense for Fairfield which is something the Terps have missed the last two seasons on offense. Keegan is another player who could earn a spot on the attack line on the right wing but will have to battle for it against veteran Daniel Kelly.
The Terps are not expected to lose a lot on defense and they have lots of returning guys that can produce which is a big reason they did not attack the portal much on that side of the field. However, by far, the weakness of the defense last season was their short-stick defensive midfield spot. Goorno is a two-time short-stick defensive midfielder of the year at the division three level. He has nice size to him and he is physical and he is a massive get to boost the quality of the short stick defensive midfield group. AJ Hernandez did not play lacrosse last season at the Naval Academy, but he proved himself as one of Navy’s best defenders during his freshman season. Inside Lacrosse tabbed Hernandez as someone who “might be the key piece” where his play could turn the portal haul from ‘good’ to ‘great’. The Terps return Colin Burlace and Jackson Canfield at close defense, but with the loss of Ajax Zappitello there is a massive hole to fill at close defense. Will Schaller and Riley Reese both saw the field at times last season and will likely be battling with Hernandez for the final close defense spot in the starting lineup.
Other notable teams in the top ten rankings were Johns Hopkins at two, Virginia at three, Michigan at four, Ohio State at six, Notre Dame at eight, and Rutgers at ten. All these teams are likely teams that the Terps will face in the regular season and possibly the postseason as well. The Terps will look to use their top transfer class as well as a highly ranked incoming freshman class to bolster the roster and make it back to memorial day for two years in a row, but this time with a different result.
Related Links