After losing the national championship to Cornell, No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse entered the off-season with a need to reload on talent.
The Terps opted to dive into the transfer portal and took full advantage.
Maryland brought in the No. 1 transfer class in the country, according to Inside Lacrosse. The class includes three of the top-five ranked players in the portal and will have sky-high expectations.
The Terps brought in a highly touted duo from Yale — Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson. They were ranked No. 3 and No. 2 players in the portal by Inside Lacrosse and both had great success at Yale.
“Two experienced guys that can do a lot of different things, very unselfish,” head coach John Tillman said of Lyons and Johnson. “The goal for those guys is they just want to win.”
Lyons totalled 128 goals over three seasons and tacked on 35 assists. Last season, Lyons scored 30 goals, including a six-goal performance in Yale’s 21-12 win over Dartmouth. He also had 11 assists.
Johnson has scored 101 goals in his career, along with 71 assists. In 2025, Johnson tallied 26 goals and 20 assists. Johnson’s best performance of the season also came against Dartmouth — he had four goals and four assists.
However, both Lyons and Johnson put up their best numbers in 2023. Lyons scored 62 goals, which was third in the nation. Johnson added 40 goals of his own. The pairing was among the top-scoring duos in the country, both finishing top-30 for points per game.
Joining returners Eric Spanos and Braden Erska, the Terps will look to have a formidable offensive lineup. Lyons and Johnson will give the Terps an attacking boost, where they struggled occasionally last season.
The Terps also brought in defender Michael “Mikey” Alexander from Yale. Alexander has made 52 starts over his career, which started in 2020.
In his three seasons of play that were unaffected by injury, Alexander averaged nine caused turnovers per game (CTOs). He totaled 13 in 2023, which was second-most on Yale.
Due to an injury in his senior season, Alexander regained a year of eligibility and opted to join the Terps. He will look to help out Maryland’s already loaded defense, alongside key returners Will Schaller and Eric Kolar. The addition of Alexander will provide some more firepower on the backline, along with plenty of experience.
“[Alexander] brings a nice little edge for us, being a Long Island guy. He’s physical and tough,” Schaller said. “But he’s done a really nice job buying into our process.”
The Terps brought in more defensive help with UMBC transfer Trey Fleece. The short stick defensive midfielder had a career year in 2025, forcing 10 CTOs and fielding 47 ground balls.
Alexander and Fleece will add depth and versatility to a defensive group that lost multiple key players, as Colin Burlace and Jackson Canfield graduated.
The Terps’ dive into the portal wasn’t done.
Vermont transfer Henry Dodge will be one of Maryland’s most important players this season.
Dodge will contend to be the premier faceoff specialist in the country, coming off a season where his 71% win rate led the nation. Dodge’s performance was enough to earn American East All-Conference First Team and Faceoff Specialist of the Year honors.
“Henry has taken a leadership role in [faceoffs] right away. He’s been great for Jonah [Carrier] and our other faceoff guys,” Tillman said. “Anytime you talk to him, he’s like, I just want to win. When you have guys like that, it gives you a good chance to be successful.”
The Terps struggled with faceoffs last year; Shea Keethler’s 55.6% win rate ranked fourth of six qualified players in the Big Ten. Jonah Carrier had just a 52.1% win rate.
The addition of Dodge could provide Maryland with a new dimension that it did not have all of last season.
Tillman and company will look to impact transfers to help get over the hump and win the national championship after falling just short in the last two seasons.
“We try to make sure we get the right guys,” Tillman said on his approach to transfers. “Guys that fit our culture, that’ll be happy here.”
