Top Teams in NJ Looking to Bounce Back in 2026

With high school lacrosse in New Jersey being as competitive as it has ever been and tons of teams littered with talent, let's break down a few teams that fell short of expectations last spring that are looking for revenge in 2026.   Each of these teams has an immense amount of skill across the board, but all fell short of the ultimate goal, with each program poised to bounce back and leave its mark.   *Teams listed in no particular order*   Chatham   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 record: 15-6 X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='35168' first='Shep' last='Boyd'] (Sr.) Overview: Experience will play a key role in the Cougars' ability to get over the hump next season after they fell short in the sectional finals vs. Summit in a low-scoring affair. However, they have a ton of returning contributors, none as prominent as my X-Factor [player_tooltip player_id='35168' first='Shep' last='Boyd'] (Michigan) who finished with 72 points, with a healthy mix of goals and assists and was able to impact the game in numerous ways at midfield. He'll be looking to get continued help from juniors [player_tooltip player_id='142783' first='Charlie' last='Dunn'] (Villanova) and [player_tooltip player_id='121759' first='Nick' last='Lagunowich'] (Notre Dame) who combined for 145 points as underclassmen, with each having had a stellar summer campaign for BBL. At the X, Colton Walsh and Ryan Hogan will likely lead the charge, as they both posted over a 50% win rate and played a big part in Chatham's success when they were able to control time of possession for their team last year. Defensively, they will be led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id='82263' first='Lochlan' last='Mahoney'] (Rutgers), Carter Newman (RPI), and Paul Kuppenheimer (Middlebury) who all not only make an impact on the defensive end, but also were able to flip the field for their offense with takeaways and knack for the ball when loose. Between the pipes, the Cougars lost Jean-Luc Marlin, but senior Will Davenport will look to step up and continue to perform at a high level to help his team win big games. With many returning players from last season, the Cougars have experience and will be hungry to get back to the state playoffs and capitalize.</li> </ul>   Mountain Lakes   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 Record: 14-8 X-Factor: Holden Gillespie (Sr.) Overview: After a great start to last season, the Lakers hit a rough patch in late-April, but they were resilient and battled back to finish the regular season strong and win the state sectionals with ease vs Ramsey before they came up just short in the group finals against a red hot Glen Ridge squad. Mountain Lakes showed fight and will be returning a decent amount of players from a year ago and that experience will not only fuel them to finish the job this upcoming spring, but also will allow the chance for the returning players to learn from their mistakes. Much like last season, senior Holden Gillespie (Bucknell) will return as one of the leaders of this team and will look to help get his team back to the state finals after he finished with 94 points as a junior. Alongside Gillespie, junior [player_tooltip player_id='143667' first='Lawson' last='Fagan'] (Dartmouth) bursted onto the scene with a team-high 103 points and the offense stayed efficient with help from sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='165991' first='Owen' last='Higgins'] and senior Massimo Corvelli (Denison), each tallying over 50 points as well. At the face-off X, sophomore Jayden Hernando had a stellar start to his high school career, winning face-offs at a 66% clip and kickstarting many offensive chances for the Lakers and if he can keep that production up, while also fine-tuning his offensive skills, he is going to be a handful once again this year for opposing teams. Defensively, it's still up in the air who is be the starter in net, but they will be returning junior defensemen [player_tooltip player_id='121330' first='Ty' last='Plotts'] (St. John's) as well as seniors Duco DeBeijer and Ryan Sluck who each contributed last season for Mountain Lakes and will need to play sound and steady defense to help the offense get their chances.</li> </ul>   Delbarton   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 Record: 19-3 X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='121825' first='Brandon' last='Fodor'] (Jr.) Overview: There is no question that last season the Green Wave were among one of the best teams, not only in the Garden State but nationally recognized as well. However, that didn't seem to matter to a Don Bosco Prep team that bounced them out of the non-public state playoffs in the semifinals after a 4th quarter rally and Delbarton will undoubtedly be looking to avenge that tough loss and will play with a chip on their shoulder come springtime. My X-Factor, junior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='121825' first='Brandon' last='Fodor'] (Johns Hopkins), will lead the way offensively after finishing with 38 points last season as a sophomore and acting as a facilitator of the offense with his dodging ability and vision to jumpstart the offense. With many players graduating offensively, [player_tooltip player_id='37831' first='Jack' last='Sheridan'] (Bucknell), Chase Houser (High Point) and [player_tooltip player_id='17442' first='Pierce' last='Bolger'] (Brown) will all be thrusted into bigger roles in the offense and will look to perform at high levels. At center X, the Green Wave have a committee of talented FOGOs with senior [player_tooltip player_id='25528' first='Christian' last='Troczynski'] (Cornell) leading the way along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='141501' first='Jesse' last='DeNegri'] (Johns Hopkins) and [player_tooltip player_id='143645' first='Kane' last='Quenault'] (Notre Dame), all who won over 60% of their attempts last spring and will look to continue their success as a group. On the defensive end, it is unclear who is start as the Green Wave net-minder, but they do have talented defenders returning like Andrew Henson, [player_tooltip player_id='123560' first='John' last='Fodor'] (Johns Hopkins) and [player_tooltip player_id='17245' first='Dara' last='Corr'] (Cornell) who will lead the charge defensively and will be matched up against a ton of high-level opponents with the schedule that Delbarton plays, but much like last year, I think they have a chance to be considered one of the nations best teams and will look to find a way to get back to the state playoffs to finish the job.</li> </ul>   Ridgewood   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 Record: 13-6 X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='37802' first='AJ' last='LoSauro'] (Sr.) Overview: Two seasons after their state title win in 2023, the Maroons are looking to get back to the top of the mountain after a tough finish last year, losing to Bridgewater-Raritan in the North Jersey, Group 4 semifinals, but they have a ton of young talent and a lot of experienced players including my X-Factor, senior [player_tooltip player_id='37802' first='AJ' last='LoSauro'] (Penn State) who is a game-changing threat for any team he faces and can create chances for himself and his teammates. He led the way offensively, with 51 points last season and got some help from sophomore Will LoSauro and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='120652' first='Cooper' last='Adkins'] (Le Moyne) who combined for 52 points last spring as well. At the X, Ridgewood will likely look to sophomore FOGO Ryan Inzerillo who performed well, winning 66% of his face-offs on 61 attempts as a freshman and that experience should help him to continue to put up solid numbers if he becomes the starter. The defensive unit is led by a trio of seniors including Quinn Conneen (Colgate), [player_tooltip player_id='120626' first='Trevor' last='Colm'] (Washington & Lee) and LSM Jack Ginn (St. John's Fisher) who all played a huge role in Ridgewood's ability to hold teams to low goal totals in the second half of the year and will be critical if the Maroons can make it back to the state title game. In net, with two goalies having graduated, senior Ben Wilday may be called upon to step up and will look to replicate the production that Eli Pounds gave them a season ago. With a lot of returning contributors, the Maroons have a great chance to put the Garden State on notice this upcoming spring and have all the pieces in place to do so.</li> </ul>   Moorestown   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 record: 16-5 X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='127515' first='Wes' last='Canton'] (Jr.) Overview: The Quakers lost a one-goal heartbreaker vs. Shawnee in the sectional finals last spring, but they've got a lot of young contributors returning this spring looking to avenge that loss and get another chance this spring to finish the year by hoisting the state title trophy like in 2024. Among the returning offensive players, none will catch your eye more than senior [player_tooltip player_id='121526' first='Aidan' last='Ruff'] (Dickinson) who had a breakout year as a sophomore and followed that up last season with a team-high 83 points. Senior Caden McDonough (Stevenson) and junior Max Cavellos, who combined for 19 points, will each likely see more playing time this spring and will need to capitalize off their opportunities alongside Ruff. At the face-off X, junior Ben Labroli will probably see more action after producing at a high level, recording a 70% win rate on 87 attempts as a sophomore and 10 points to help his offense with quick action off the draw. Defensively, they are led by my X-Factor, junior [player_tooltip player_id='127515' first='Wes' last='Canton'] (Loyola) who had a great 2025 campaign, totaling 124 saves and was a big part of Moorestown's success down the stretch against some tough competition and with guys like seniors Joey Blanch and Michael Oatway returning on the defensive end among others, they will also look to bring that past experience into this spring to help the Quakers redeem themselves and get back to the state title game.</li> </ul>   Rumson-Fair Haven   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>2025 Record: 15-9 X-Factor: [player_tooltip player_id='37838' first='Luke' last='Lydon'] (Sr.) Overview: The Bulldogs had a gut-wrenching loss to end their 2025 season at the hands of eventual state champions Glen Ridge in OT in the South Jersey, Group 1 semifinal round, and there's no doubt they will come out firing this spring to start the journey back to the state playoffs and will look for revenge if they see the Ridgers again. Rumson-Fair Haven is bringing back a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, but my X-Factor, senior [player_tooltip player_id='37838' first='Luke' last='Lydon'] (Boston University), will lead the charge offensively after posting a team-high 69 points and leading the team in goals as well with 53. Lydon will be accompanied by a host of returning contributors like seniors Blake Ahmann and [player_tooltip player_id='17524' first='Joseph' last='Whitehouse'] (Washington & Lee), who combined for 89 points, along with three sophomores in Kevin Collard, [player_tooltip player_id='165837' first='Teddy' last='Whitehouse'], and Liam Haggerty, who each had their fair share of playing time and performed well and will look to build off that success. At the X, junior Jaden Cavise looked confident last season and will want to gain more consistency with the playing time he will likely see with Rory Keane having graduated. Defensively, the Bulldogs may see sophomore Daniel Jaroschak in net after playing behind Peter Kessler last year and with the limited playing time he saw, Jaroschak still came up with 46 saves on the year. The defense is stacked with experienced players all around, such as juniors [player_tooltip player_id='123622' first='John' last='Paik'] (Princeton) and [player_tooltip player_id='123612' first='Danny' last='Sullivan'] (Virginia), along with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='82352' first='Toby' last='Najenson'] (Brown) and Luke Passalaqua (Trinity) who all played great down the stretch last season, holding quality opponents to low goal totals and will want to continue that success as they look to hoist the state title for the first time since 2023.</li> </ul>

With high school lacrosse in New Jersey being as competitive as it has ever been and tons of teams littered with talent, let's break down a few teams that fell short of expectations last spring that are looking for revenge in 2026.