Top 10 storylines for high school boys lacrosse season on Long Island
Bayport Blue-Point’s Pat Ahern clears the ball against Mount Sinai during the Phantoms’ 7-6 win over the Mustangs in the Suffolk High School boys lacrosse Class C semifinal playoff game at Bayport Blue-Point High School on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Credit: Jonathan Singh
1. Will Shoreham-Wading River return to the playoffs?
The Wildcats missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, going .500 last season after graduating 16 seniors two years ago.
SWR returns sophomore Noah Gregorek — who had 85 points as a freshman — as well as High Point commit Lucas Diamond, Richmond commit Andrew Cimino and Siena commit George Greene. Add Tyler Nowaski (Molloy), Ben Coggiano (LIU) and a budding star in freshman Jack White, and all signs point to a return to form for coach Mike Taylor’s squad.
2. Bayport-Blue Point drops to Class D
Coach Doug Meehan and the Phantoms captured a state Class C title in 2024 and competed in the Suffolk Class C championship last year, returning proven players like Pat Ahern and captain Colin Clark.
Suffolk hasn’t won a Long Island Class D title since Cold Spring Harbor joined the class in 2021. Bayport-Blue Point, Center Moriches and Babylon are the leaders to change that.
3. Year 2 of the shot clock
Coaches love the shot clock, which helps college commits prepare for the next level while increasing the speed of play. But it wasn’t uncommon to see growing pains, like a premature reset of the shot clock. New changes, headlined by a 70-second shot clock that starts upon crossing midfield, should make for a simpler process.
4. The Stony Brook Bears are no longer hibernating
Once a staple of Long Island lacrosse, coach Andrew Miller believes Stony Brook School could return to form. It will field 14 new players, including St. Dominic transfer and CHSAA Class AA Co-Player of the Year JJ Ramsay. The Bears have an impressive freshman class, led by Nico Spallina of Miller Place. They should at least compete for the PSAA title.
5. Coaching beginnings, endings and milestones
Dan Gill (Port Washington), Nick Armstrong (Manhasset) and Sean McAleavey (West Islip) all take over county finalist teams. John Greaney does the same for Babylon, having coached the Panthers for 11 years in the past.
Chaminade coach Greg Kay notched his first win at the helm of the Flyers, who have a new leader after 45 seasons under Jack Moran. Glenn Lavey returns to Harborfields after coaching the Tornadoes from 2013-2021.
South Side’s Steve DiPietro notched his 200th career win on March 20, and Comsewogue’s Pete Mitchell continues to march toward 400 career wins.
Riverhead’s Vic Guadagnino will coach his final season after 16 years.
6. Can POB JFK take another step forward?
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK returns several key midfielders like Alex Kantrowitz (83 points) and Chris Tripoli (69 points), but it also brings back star senior goalie Jake Ilardo and a solid faceoff specialist in Brett Lipins. The Hawks’ No. 6 preseason seed is among the highest in school history, according to coach Michael Schatt.
7. A changing of the guard in the CHSAA?
Can Chaminade end St. Anthony’s streak of six consecutive Class AAA state titles? Both are already booked for the state final. Both St. Dominic and Kellenberg reached the Class AA and A state final, respectively. Young talent like St. Dominic’s Logan Bracco and Kellenberg’s Finn Lavelle will try to maintain the standard.
8. Half Hollow Hills' encore
Coach Connor Hagans will tell stories of 23-0 Hills’ first state title. It’ll inspire kids to break Anthony Raio’s all-time Long Island scoring record. But the Thundercolts graduated 553 points between Raio, James Bruno, Luke Bradley, Zach Marco and Ryan Chung, all members of Newsday’s 2025 All-Long Island first or second team. Hills returns Jake Casamento (Penn), Daniel Chung (Albany) and Nick Haugen (Bucknell).
9. Can Whitman continue its ascent?
Last season, 16 of Whitman’s 23 players were first-year varsity players. Nine were sophomores as the Wildcats finished with a 6-8 record in coach Robin Naggar’s debut year.
That matched the win total of the two previous seasons combined. Ryan Perilo (Salve Regina) leads a Whitman side looking to take another step in the right direction.
10. Wantagh, South Side challengers? We'll 'C'
How about Plainedge? The Red Devils were tied with Wantagh in the third quarter of the semifinals before the latter pulled away. Junior Dom Agovino enjoyed a terrific sophomore campaign alongside Casey Auer (Hofstra). Nick Coscino, Brady Kelley and Jonny Cynar all return for Plainedge.
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
