The 2024 Kalamazoo College men's lacrosse team is two weeks away from starting its season by traveling to DePauw on Feb. 25. The Hornets will look to continue to build off last season's momentum when Kalamazoo made the conference tournament for the first time in program history after finishing 7-8 (3-3 MIAA).
Schedule Breakdown
- After two exhibition games against Lawrence Tech and Siena Heights, Kalamazoo will open the season with back-to-back road games at DePauw (Feb. 25) and Benedictine (Mar. 2).
- The Hornets' first two home games of 2024 will be against MSOE (Mar. 9) and North Central (Mar. 13) at MacKenzie Field.
- The last three games of March will be on the road during spring break at Aurora (Mar. 23), Hanover (Mar. 27), and Transylvania (Mar. 30).
- Kalamzoo will begin MIAA play at Alma (Apr. 6) before returning home to host Albion (Apr. 9).
- The Hornets will then travel to Calvin (Apr. 13), host Adrian (Apr. 17), and travel to Hope (Apr. 20) in eight days.
- The final game of the regular season will be at home as Kalamazoo takes on Trine (Apr. 27).
Roster Breakdown
- Kalamazoo returns 26 players from the 2023 season and will add eight new members for a total of 34 heading into 2024.
- The six seniors will lead a team of nine juniors, eleven sophomores, and seven freshmen.
Returning Statistical Leaders
- Logan Gillis returns from an All-MIAA Second Team season after leading the team with 27 goals, 13 assists, 40 points, 106 shots, and 57 shots on goal in 13 games. He also had four goals with a man advantage, one goal down a man, 27 ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
- Jack Bungart was also an All-MIAA Second Team selection in his first collegiate season by leading the team with 45 ground balls and 33 caused turnovers in 10 games. He also added two goals and an assist for three points.
- Jake Asnis started his college career well, collecting 25 goals, eight assists, 33 points, 87 shots, 53 shots on goal, five man-advantage goals, 42 ground balls, and five caused turnovers.
- Ryan Warezak also had 33 points last season on 24 goals and nine assists, with three man-advantage goals, 32 ground balls, and eight caused turnovers.
- The Hornets return their top-four goal scorers as Ronin Honda rounds out the quartet with 16 goals, 13 assists, 29 points, three man-advantage goals, 26 ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
- JJ Ohren-Hoeft is another solid defender returning after collecting 41 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers.
- Dylan Wickey started 13 of the 15 games in net last season, finishing with 129 saves, a 12.55 goals-against average, and a 48.7% save percentage.
- Sam Hughes took most of the face-offs for Kalamazoo, going 80-203 with 30 ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Stepping Up
- Eli Routt returns after missing last season with an injury. Two years ago, as a freshman, he finished with 19 goals, 10 assists, 29 points, 32 ground balls, and six caused turnovers.
- Cam VanGalder's season was also cut short last season, and is looking to play a significant role as an attacker after scoring 10 goals as a freshman.
- Vincent Tremonti (12) and Grayson Pratt (10) scored double-digit goals last season and will look for more prominent roles as juniors as Jack Jesko graduated last spring.
- James Dailey, Alex Dubin, and Colby Skinner all saw some significant time with some spot starts on the defensive side and will look to fill a starting hole left by Nick Matuszak.
- Ethan Huebsch, Carson Ihrke, Max Plesscher, and Oskar Sears all saw time in the midfield in their first seasons and will look for bigger roles.
- Max Saxton (39-88) will compete for more face-off opportunities.
- Newcomers to watch are Dylan Adkins offensively, Ryan Everham in the face-off circle, and Cole Russell defensively and in the face-off circle.
Head Coach Vince Redko
Coach Redko is set to begin his ninth season as the head coach of the Hornets. Redko has been the lead man for the Kalamazoo men's lacrosse team since the program started before the 2016 season. In 2023, he led the program to its first MIAA Tournament appearance and a program record seven wins. He has developed five different players to become All-MIAA selections. Before his time at Kalamazoo, Redko served as the recruiting coordinator and defensive coach at Connecticut College for two seasons. He also spent two years as a defensive and recruiting coordinator at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa.
Quoting Coach Redko
"We were a young team last year who found a way to win close games and take a step forward with a conference playoff berth. Most of the significant contributors return from last year's team, and we have several upperclassmen who have shown great off-season development. Preseason has been competitive, fast-paced, fun, and filled with love. We look forward to staying neutral, staying sleepy, and playing the script!"