MEDFORD, MA (February 26, 2026) – The Tufts University men's lacrosse team opens its 2026 season this Saturday afternoon on Bello Field amid one of the best runs in the history of Division III men's lacrosse. The Jumbos have made the NCAA title game in three straight years, capturing back-to-back national crowns in 2024 and 2025. That included an undefeated season in 2025, the first in program history and the 23 wins were the most for a national champion since Salisbury University in 2016.
The Jumbos are currently riding the longest win streak in all of NCAA lacrosse right now at 28 games, and are looking to become the first team to three-peat since Salisbury did it from 2003 to 2006. But the look of this team will be decidedly different, despite the large group of holdovers from the previous two title-winning teams.
It takes just one look at the 2025 statistical page to realize that some positions return a lot, and some return very little in terms of starters and minutes played. Despite that unknown at spots like close defense and goalkeeper, head coach Casey D'Annolfo is excited about the make-up of this team.
Tufts has the luxury of returning one of the best players in program history and a leader in the attack in senior
Jack Regnery. The 2025 National Player of the Year and Preseason Player of the Year by multiple publications will anchor an offensive group that brings back five of their top seven scorers. That unit will allow a younger defensive unit to play with some freedom knowing that the goals will come.
"I feel like I've seen the offensive group really moving the ball well so far this spring," said D'Annolfo. "We had some ball dominant players last season, but we've seen the ball moving more so far and it's been great to see some younger guys step up and really mature from the previous seasons."
While the three close defenders of
Joey Waldbaum,
George Panagopoulos and
Michael Ayers each graduated last season after starting virtually every game for the past three seasons together, D'Annolfo thinks this new group brings an athleticism and ability to track defenders down that he is looking forward to seeing.
"The losses are significant, those guys were rock solid in everything they did," said D'Annolfo. "This group we will have back there this season is rangier and can cover a lot of the field so now it's about putting them in the right places. We have tried a lot of guys in different places so far, but I'm excited to see these guys this year."
In the end though, the calling card of the Tufts program hasn't always been the personnel but the work ethic they possess, the belief in one another as well as the passion for the game of lacrosse that they all play with that helps them succeed when the game is on the line.
"We know we lost a lot of guys from last year's team, but we're trying to improve as much as we can and take that workmanlike approach to every practice and every film session," said D'Annolfo. "Our senior group has done an excellent job to keep us focused. We are not feeling a ton of pressure, we just want to get on the field and get going together."
Below is a positional breakdown of the team:
ATTACK
The Jumbos ranked as one of the top scoring offenses in the nation last season, scoring 18.17 goals per game in 2025, fourth-best in NCAA Division III. The team led the NESCAC in assists as well, averaging nearly 10 per game on the year.
Regnery returns to lead the offensive attack after scoring a team-high 78 goals to go with 25 assists on 249 shots. Regnery also tallied five game-winning goals, seven man-up goals and his goals per game of 3.90 was sixth-best in the nation.
Tufts did graduate a big-time player in
Max Ettinghausen on attack, but
Brooks Hauser also is back in the fold after finishing with 54 goals and 27 helpers on the season. Hauser is a lethal shooter and was the top option offensively for the Jumbos when Regnery missed three games a season ago.
Junior
Will Emsing played more midfield last year because his skill set was needed on the field, but look for Emsing to get some looks on attack this season after the sophomore potted 29 goals and helped out on 27 more for 56 points. Emsing scored eight goals in the NCAA Tournament and is poised for an even larger role in 2026.
Senior
Beau Keough was a vital piece for the Jumbos last season as a player to spell at attack, while also getting some runs on midfield. The shifty, athletic shooter is great at getting to the middle with his strong shot. Keough recorded 21 goals in 23 games of action, starting three times.
Junior
Chase Beyer had a solid first season with the Jumbos, but he was hampered by injuries last season. The big-bodied lefty from Utah will also look to get back to his first-year form that saw him score nine goals.
That group, along with a strong underclassman supporting cast, will be key to the offense's success this season.
OFFENSIVE MIDFIELD
The Jumbos had one of the deepest and most dangerous attacking midfields in the nation last season, led by now-departed
Charlie Tagliaferri and senior
Garrett Kelly. Kelly is back after tallying 41 goals as a junior, and had a knack for netting big goals throughout the season in big moments.
Keough and Emsing could slide back into the midfield, while junior
Jackson Redd also had a solid role at middie as well last season. Redd scored eight times and dished out 11 assists, but if he can improve on his shooting percentage of .187, look for his goal total to skyrocket.
The Jumbos also brought in a large class of midfielders that should battle for time quickly, while sophomores like
Henry Tweedy and
Beau Ryan also had moments as first-years and could have a larger role. Junior
Peter Kraemer also scored a pair of goals in 17 games, and will look for a larger role as well.
SSDM
The short-stick defensive midfield group for the Jumbos graduated multiple contributors including now assistant coach and former All-American
Cam Delcristo, while solid performers
Sam Frisoli and
Louis Timmins also were also lost to graduation.
Despite the losses, the group returns some incredibly talented and experienced players this season, led by team captain
Ethan O'Neill. The now senior has been on the field for the Jumbos a lot since his first-year season in 2023, and he netted four goals to go with 22 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 2025.
Senior
Harrison Stockdale worked himself in a significant role in 2025, as he played 22 games for the Jumbos and had a solid five goals and two assists while causing nine turnovers and picking up 17 grounders.
Two other names to look out for are
Jordan Ito and
Brayden Beyer. Ito missed the entire 2025 season due to injury but played a lot during his freshman campaign, especially later in the year of that title-winning team. Beyer, the brother of Chase, is an athletic, strong midfielder who can grab those tough loose balls.
Sophomore
Mack Leonhartt also had a strong first-year campaign, and will slide into the short-stick room this year after playing at LSM last season.
DEFENSE
The Jumbos will certainly feel the loss of their starting close defense, but Tufts does return most of its starting long-stick midfielders this season including Preseason First-Team All-American
Ben Frisoli. One of the most dynamic players on the field, Frisoli scored 13 goals and assisted on six more from his LSM spot while posting 36 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers as well.
Frisoli was joined on the Preseason All-American list by now junior
Logan Lee, who had a great year as a sophomore with three goals, three assists, 30 ground balls and a team-best 24 caused turnovers.
Senior
Ben Clarke transferred from Colorado College as a sophomore and has known only winning since he's arrived, as he had another steady, efficient season as a junior in 2025 with 30 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.
Now sophomore
Davis Owens got into 17 games as a first-year last year, and had a substantial impact as he finished with 11 caused turnovers and 18 ground balls, and classmate
William Bonner also showed promise as a first-year last season with 11 loose balls and four caused turnovers.
The Jumbos return some other experienced players on defense in
Elliot Rutherford and
Cole Friedlander, each who played a ton of minutes for the Jumbos over their careers. Sophomore transfer
Mason Moore also comes in from Colorado College this season, where he had 17 caused turnovers and 33 ground balls last year in Colorado Springs.
Sophomore
Sean Collins was on the team at the University of Maryland and is in his first season at Tufts, and first-years
Jack Donovan,
Max Kukla and
Jules Capone all have shown potential this fall into the spring.
GK
For the first time in four seasons, the Jumbos will look to a different player in goal as the all-time leader in minutes and wins at Tufts
Conner Garzone has graduated. Garzone had a knack for making the big save at the big moment, but it will be someone else's turn to man the pipes this year for the Jumbos.
The group of four goalkeepers is talented, and three of the four had the luxury of getting into a solid amount of games last season. Sophomores
Jack Old and
Alex Dircks both looked stellar as first-years in limited time, as Old stopped 64.3 percent of shots on cage while Dircks stopped 57.1 percent of shots.
Junior
Will Anderson was also solid in his 39 minutes of action as a sophomore, also posting a save percentage of .571. Those three will be pushed by first-year
Sam Juhnke, who was a High School All-American out of Apopka, Florida last year. The quartet will be inexperienced early, but the talent level of all four players is extremely high.
"We have four outstanding goalkeepers on the roster, and I've been really pleased with the group thus far and we really can't go wrong with anyone that's in there for us," said D'Annolfo.
FACE-OFF
Tufts had two of the best face-off men in the nation last year on draws, and the ability to go to both
Parker Merril and
Victor Salcedo were a staple of keeping the team in control by keeping both players fresh.
Merril has graduated after his All-American season in 2025, but Salcedo is a Preseason All-American after winning 60.7 percent of his draws a year ago. Senior Erik Helgesen was third on the team in face-offs won last season with 38 and will have a larger role in 2026, while junior Lucas De La Paz won 64 percent of his face-offs and should see his number of 25 draws tick up this season.
Senior
Chris Tsetsekos got into 10 games and won 10 of his 19 face-offs, and that contingent will be joined by newcomers
Carter Fears and
Asher Lewis this season.
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Tufts will host Colby Saturday at noon on Bello Field in Medford, MA in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play to open the 2026 campaign.
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