Preseason High School Rankings: Malvern Prep Starts at No. 2

Last season marked the start of a new beginning for the Malvern program following the retirement of John McEvoy after 17 seasons and 11 Inter-Ac championships, and longtime assistant and former captain Matt Mackrides was quickly announced as successor. To say that 2023 was a wild ride for the Friars is quite an understatement. Topping Bullis (Md.), La Salle (Pa.), and Calvert Hall (Md.) to start the season 3-0, the Friars dropped five consecutive games (including four losses by three or more goals) albeit to some of the top programs in the country, took a nosedive in the national rankings, and were forced to regroup heading into the meat of their conference schedule. Malvern's two blemishes through the end of the regular season both came in OT against Haverford (Pa.) and Salesianum (Del.) and in the Inter-Ac title game, the Friars turned things around and defeated Haverford in a hard-fought 9-5 victory to take home yet another championship and finish the year with a 16-7 record and No. 12 ranking. Heading into 2024, the Friars are sure to benefit from being another year older and hardened by adversity. Last year's senior class will certainly be missed, with Cornell freshman and former New Balance All-American AJ Nikolic headlining the list of starters that will need to be replaced. However, this group's senior leadership will be a strong suit thanks to game-changing LSM [player_tooltip player_id='14838' first='Lucca' last='DiBartolomeo'] (Penn State) and fellow captains [player_tooltip player_id='19705' first='John' last='Majka'] (Army), [player_tooltip player_id='15038' first='Kyle' last='Worsnup'] (Rutgers), and [player_tooltip player_id='14906' first='Ennis' last='Udo'], a two-sport Brown commit at attack. Along with his SSDM brothers Perri and Roman, the eldest DiBartolomeo has served as the heart and soul of the team for much of his career, making highly impactful plays all over the field as one of the most dominant players in the area. Majka missed last year with a torn ACL but is back to impose his will as a two-way threat, and Worsnup is the next most experienced returning pole behind the eldest DiBartolomeo. Udo is a multi-year starter at the lefty attack spot, where he's an imposing and athletic force whom the Friars can always lean on when looking for a big play. [player_tooltip player_id='15159' first='Nick' last='Wehmeyer'], a Yale commit and nationally-ranked wrestler, is back as the Friars' primary face-off specialist, while seniors [player_tooltip player_id='15125' first='Jack' last='Lehman'] (Ohio State) and [player_tooltip player_id='15083' first='Brad' last='Piffath'] (Penn State) are two more Big 10-bound veteran presences for Malvern on the defensive side of the ball and will look to step up with Malvern losing Roman Buono (Yale) and Patrick Keenan (Penn State) to graduation. Malvern's junior class, which features four Top 50 recruits and another seven DI commits, saw significant minutes a year ago, so the core should be ready to see an increased workload and leadership responsibilities. Leading the way is No. 4 junior [player_tooltip player_id='14544' first='Michael' last='Ortlieb'] (Duke), who quarterbacked the offense in a cerebral fashion a year ago to finish with a whopping 49 goals and 25 assists. With Nikolic gone, Ortlieb will be more of a focal point of opponents' game plans, however, he'll have plenty of options around him. Among the four sophomores on last spring's EMO unit, fellow Blue Devil and No. 43 recruit [player_tooltip player_id='14539' first='Owen' last='Mears'], a load of a lefty, and No. 21 junior [player_tooltip player_id='14517' first='Jake' last='Bickel'] (Georgetown) ran with the first midfield as sophomores, with Bickel filling in on attack for a handful of games due to injuries. Harvard commit [player_tooltip player_id='19765' first='Logan' last='Turley'], a big-bodied shooter, and Duke commit [player_tooltip player_id='14550' first='Will' last='Tantillo'] — heralded as the best d-middie in the Class of 2025 — also return. With the starting goalie job now vacant, junior [player_tooltip player_id='19762' first='Heath' last='Jones'] (Rutgers) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='19759' first='Thomas' last='Ploszay'] are among the contenders to fill in. Back in January, <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2024/01/2024-schedule-rundown-malvern-prep-haverford-gonzaga/">we highlighted Malvern's 2024 non-conference schedule</a>, a loaded slate that features neutral site showdowns with Boys' Latin (Md.) and St. Anthony's (N.Y.), with the latter now set to take place at Rutgers at 7:00 on April 3. The Friars will open with Georgetown Prep (Md.) on March 17.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NfmfV_E9VQ </div></figure>

Last season marked the start of a new beginning for the Malvern program following the retirement of John McEvoy after 17 seasons and 11 Inter-Ac championships, and longtime assistant and former captain Matt Mackrides was quickly announced as successor. To say that 2023 was a wild ride for the Friars is quite an understatement.

Topping Bullis (Md.), La Salle (Pa.), and Calvert Hall (Md.) to start the season 3-0, the Friars dropped five consecutive games (including four losses by three or more goals) albeit to some of the top programs in the country, took a nosedive in the national rankings, and were forced to regroup heading into the meat of their conference schedule. Malvern's two blemishes through the end of the regular season both came in OT against Haverford (Pa.) and Salesianum (Del.) and in the Inter-Ac title game, the Friars turned things around and defeated Haverford in a hard-fought 9-5 victory to take home yet another championship and finish the year with a 16-7 record and No. 12 ranking.

Heading into 2024, the Friars are sure to benefit from being another year older and hardened by adversity. Last year's senior class will certainly be missed, with Cornell freshman and former New Balance All-American AJ Nikolic headlining the list of starters that will need to be replaced. However, this group's senior leadership will be a strong suit thanks to game-changing LSM Lucca DiBartolomeo Lucca DiBartolomeo 6'0" | LSM | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 #36 Nation PA (Penn State) and fellow captains John Majka John Majka 6'0" | SSDM Malvern Prep | 2024 PA (Army), Kyle Worsnup Kyle Worsnup 5'10" | 145 lbs | LSM | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 PA (Rutgers), and Ennis Udo Ennis Udo 6'1" | 170 lbs | A | Left Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 PA , a two-sport Brown commit at attack.

Along with his SSDM brothers Perri and Roman, the eldest DiBartolomeo has served as the heart and soul of the team for much of his career, making highly impactful plays all over the field as one of the most dominant players in the area. Majka missed last year with a torn ACL but is back to impose his will as a two-way threat, and Worsnup is the next most experienced returning pole behind the eldest DiBartolomeo. Udo is a multi-year starter at the lefty attack spot, where he's an imposing and athletic force whom the Friars can always lean on when looking for a big play. Nick Wehmeyer Nick Wehmeyer 6'1" | 185 lbs | FO | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 PA , a Yale commit and nationally-ranked wrestler, is back as the Friars' primary face-off specialist, while seniors Jack Lehman Jack Lehman 6'2" | 205 lbs | D | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 PA (Ohio State) and Brad Piffath Brad Piffath 6'1" | 195 lbs | D | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2024 PA (Penn State) are two more Big 10-bound veteran presences for Malvern on the defensive side of the ball and will look to step up with Malvern losing Roman Buono (Yale) and Patrick Keenan (Penn State) to graduation.

Malvern's junior class, which features four Top 50 recruits and another seven DI commits, saw significant minutes a year ago, so the core should be ready to see an increased workload and leadership responsibilities. Leading the way is No. 4 junior Michael Ortlieb Michael Ortlieb 6'0" | 160 lbs | A | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2025 #29 Nation PA (Duke), who quarterbacked the offense in a cerebral fashion a year ago to finish with a whopping 49 goals and 25 assists. With Nikolic gone, Ortlieb will be more of a focal point of opponents' game plans, however, he'll have plenty of options around him. Among the four sophomores on last spring's EMO unit, fellow Blue Devil and No. 43 recruit Owen Mears Owen Mears 6'2" | 195 lbs | M/A | Left Hand Malvern Prep | 2025 #101 Nation PA , a load of a lefty, and No. 21 junior Jake Bickel Jake Bickel 6'2" | 180 lbs | M/A | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2025 #21 Nation PA (Georgetown) ran with the first midfield as sophomores, with Bickel filling in on attack for a handful of games due to injuries. Harvard commit Logan Turley Logan Turley 6'3" | 210 lbs | M | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2025 #73 Nation PA , a big-bodied shooter, and Duke commit Will Tantillo Will Tantillo 6'0" | 190 lbs | SSDM | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2025 #19 Nation PA — heralded as the best d-middie in the Class of 2025 — also return. With the starting goalie job now vacant, junior Heath Jones Heath Jones 6'0" | G Malvern Prep | 2025 #112 Nation PA (Rutgers) and sophomore Thomas Ploszay Thomas Ploszay 5'11" | G | Right Hand Malvern Prep | 2026 PA are among the contenders to fill in.

Back in January, we highlighted Malvern's 2024 non-conference schedule, a loaded slate that features neutral site showdowns with Boys' Latin (Md.) and St. Anthony's (N.Y.), with the latter now set to take place at Rutgers at 7:00 on April 3. The Friars will open with Georgetown Prep (Md.) on March 17.