Lacrosse season is so back, and so is Nimbus—riding the tides of chaos, drowning bad takes, and making it rain with winners. Welcome to the gospel according to Nimbus, where we break down conferences, rank the top programs, and throw down three-ish bets each week so you can profit off my brilliance (or at least drink away the losses). They call me Mr. May for a reason—year after year, Memorial Day weekend lines my pockets while the doubters (Emperor) weep. Last year, 3 decorated marines thanked me for my service after my unconscious performance in the Notre Dame – Denver game. If you’re expecting polished takes and wholesome banter, you’re in the wrong place—this is unfiltered, unhinged, and unbiased. Saddle up, nerds, it’s time to talk some lax.

(Real) Conference Breakdown

B1G Preview:

Maryland Terrapins 

Graduation ransacked the Terps starting lineup, with key losses including B1G Defensive POTY and unanimous All-American selection Ajax Zappitello, Maryland’s career faceoff wins leader Luke Wierman, and starters Eric Malever, Daniel Maltz, Jack Koras, and Ryan Siracusa. However, the Terps return a (finally) healthy starting goalie in Logan McNaney, attackman Baden Erksa, A/M Eric Spanos, and attackman Daniel Kelly. Head Coach John Tillman (hardo) attacked the offseason as well, with key transfers in D3 Salisbury (lowkey a wagon) standout Jack Dowd, Fairfield transfer Bryce Ford, Binghamton transfer Matthew Keegan, supplemented by five-star freshmen Spencer Ford and Peter Laake. Although the lack of continuity from last years’ Final Four squad appears concerning on paper, the 2024 Terps were the second worst team Tillman has ever coached at 11-6. I expect the Terps to rebound in a big way, with Erska and Spanos facilitating a remodeled offense. 

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

Hopkins enters its fifth season under head coach Peter Milliman with great expectations once again… but can they finally live up to the hype? After 2 consecutive B1G regular season titles and NCAA quarterfinal appearances, the Jays feel this is their B1G season to lose. But as the great Lee Corso says “Not So Fast”. Hopkins mourns the losses of quarterback Jacob Angelus (fantastic dye partner I might add), sharpshooter Garrett Degnon, and starting goalie Chayse Ierlan to graduation. But, unlike their crosstown rival Maryland, they return a slew of starters on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Russell Melendez looks to return to the form he was in during ‘23 after an embarrassingly bad ‘24. Kid has the unlimited green light and still manages to be a turnover machine while posting horrifically cringe Tiktoks and hype reels. If Russ decides to play WE BALL lacrosse this year, expect a star-studded lineup featuring returning playmakers Matt Collison, Dylan Bauer, Jimmy Ayers, and Hunter Chauvette. Defensively, expect graduate students Scott Smith and Patrick Deans to lead a very physical group. With this lineup, Hopkins should be preseason #1 in the B1G, but until they solve the problem between their ears, they slot in at #2.

Penn State Nittany Lions

You think Hopkins misses Angelus badly? I can assure you that Penn State misses PLL ROTY T.J. Malone more. Malone finally decided to close the yearbook after dropping 70+ points in his 5th and 6th year seasons, and coupled with graduations from midfielder Mac Costin and attackman Jake Morin, there will be a lot of new faces on the Nitts’ offense. There is some good news though – Elite netminder Jack Fracyon returns in-between the pipes. When this kid is on, there is nobody better in college lax. That being said, Penn State is going to need guys to step up in a big way. Senior Matt Traynor will need classmates Luke Walstrum and Ethan Long to contribute mightily if they want to return to the B1G championship game and the NCAA tournament. Overall, despite key departures year after year, Penn State typically finds a way to get hot in April and May, and this year will probably be no different. Gimme the Nitts at #3.

Michigan

The Back to Back B1G champions slot in at #4 for me in 2025. In 2024, the Wolverines went through an absolute gauntlet in non-conference play before going 2-3 in the B1G to finish as the 4 seed. Rumor has it the boys watched the “Survive and Advance” 30 for 30 before the B1G tournament, inspiring them to go on an absolute heater to win consecutive conference titles. After two fairly unexpected seasons of greatness, regression seems imminent for the Blue and Maze. Replacing a combined 128 points from Cleveland’s finest Michael Bohem and FLID Justin Tiernan will be no easy task, and definitely serves as a gut-check for Kevin Conry’s group. Leading scorer Ryan Cohen headlines a motley crew offensively which expects to feature retuner Bo Lockwood and NESCAC Transfers Will Byrne (Bowdoin) & DJ Dixon (Wesleyan). I can tell you from personal experience, that Will Byrne kid is lowkey nasty, and I expect him to be a significant contributor right away. Defensively, Michigan will miss All-American SSDM Beau Pederson, but return starting goalie Hunter Taylor, SSDM Carson Billig, 3 Defensemen all with starting experience, while also adding Princeton Transfer Pace Billings. The X-Factor for this team will be, ironically, at the X. The Faceoff unit will ultimately dictate how far this team will go. All in all, this Michigan team will be interesting to watch, as the Wolverines are at their best when they’re underrated.

(Quick teaching lesson here, SSDM= Short Stick Defensive Midfield. There’s 2 of them on defense at all times, they’re constantly attacked by opposing offenses, and they play a huge role in how well a team can clear the ball and get it back to their offense.) 

Ohio State

The Buckeyes return quite a few big names from last year’s squad. Leading scorer Alex Marinier, 20 goal scorer Jack McKenna, and 2 year starter Ed Shean provide much needed stability offensively. Former five-star Caleb Fyock is back in cage for his sophomore campaign and looks to build off a full year of starting experience. Jack Oldman enters his sophomore year at the dot, and projects to have a big impact once again after a solid .519 freshman season. Parlay these returners with five-star freshman Liam White from Boys’ Latin, and there’s certainly some promise in years to come. Now, I wouldn’t be overly surprised if the Buckeyes knock off Penn State and/or Michigan in regular season play, but I project them as a first round exit in the B1G tournament. Buckeyes at #5 for Nimbus. 

Rutgers

As a New Jersey native, picking the Scarlet Knights to finish last in the B1G should validate my ball knowledge. After a dominant ‘22 season (15-4, Final Four appearance), Rutgers finished ‘23 and ‘24 with a combined 15-13 record overall, and a PITIFUL 2-8 record in conference play. Unfortunately, the forecast for the boys in Piscataway seems eerily similar to the recent past. If you want to destroy a locker room, you should over-recruit, pile on grad transfers, and let players stick around for 5th and 6th years while ignoring younger talent—that’s the recipe Rutgers has been cooking up. Sure, it worked in ’22—those extra years of experience were the secret sauce, and it all came together like a Michelan star meal. But now? That recipe’s beyond spoiled. Brecht might think he’s Gordon fucking Ramsay, but in reality, he’s just a desperate line cook, throwing random ingredients into a pot and hoping it doesn’t turn into a disaster. Instead of cultivating his young players and teaching them The Way of his NASCAR offense, he adds 26 new guys to the room! At this point, Brechet is just praying for a miracle. Spoiler: It’s not happening. The Scarlet Knights will be drowning their sorrows in Pike’s basement come April

Other Conference previews coming out soon

Nimbus’ Power Rankings: Preseason

1. Notre Dame
2. Cornell
3. Cuse
4. Princeton
5. UVA
6. Maryland
7. Duke
8. Hopkins
9. Yale
10. Army

Nimbus’ Lax Locks

Week 1: 3 Team Parlay: (+319)

Leg 1: Penn State -3.5 vs. Colgate

After an embarrassing home loss to the Raiders to open the ‘24 season, Nimbus has the Nitts bouncing back in a HUGE way to open ‘25. Penn State’s offense forgot how to play lacrosse in last year’s matchup, and college lacrosse’s top rated goalie in ‘25 allowed Colgate to score 12 goals. That ain’t happening again. The Nitts are ready to send a message, and I expect this to be a 6+ goal win straight into an all-time mixer with KKG. 

Leg 2: Mount St. Mary’s -1.5 vs. Queens

My jaw hit the floor when I saw this line. Now, I do want to get this out of the way so that when you watch the game you aren’t completely appalled. Both teams SUCK in the grand scheme of things. I’d take a majority of the NESCAC’s (D3 lax’s best conference, littered with D1 players who wanted to become Private Equity megabeasts) to absolutely embarrass both of these squads. But nonetheless, this is an absolute fumble of a line. Queens started their lacrosse program like 4 minutes ago, and although the Mount hasn’t been legitimately good in quite some time, they are miles better than Queens. I like this line more than Penn State -3.5, but since I’m not an avid watcher of either progrum here, it’ll be my number 2 for this week. 

Leg 3: Ohio State ML vs. Utah

Left hand up here. Horrific value on this pick. However, it provides a nice little boost to the Week 1 Parlay. Ohio State won this game by 3 a year ago, and Utah loses 5 of their top 6 point scorers. Ohio State figures to be much more talented in ‘25 as opposed to ‘24, but Coach Myers is a bot. His teams can be very streaky and have potential to allow for backdoor covers when favored. I do like the Buckeyes to cover -3.5, but for the safety of the ‘lay, I’d take that as a straight pick. When more teams kick off their seasons in the coming weeks, you’ll get 3 value picks, but for now, play it safe here and parlay all 3 picks.