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AUGUST 4, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
We cover DIII lacrosse like no other publication. #d3lax #whyD3
🎬 Good Morning. Saying hello to the month of August
🥍 D3Lacrosse Headlines. Playing Rules For 2027; Adams Named Academic All-American of Year; Transfer Portal News; College AI Use Spikes
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TOP STORY
1. NCAA Changes Ball Color, Expands Video Review for Men's Lacrosse
“Say goodbye to white lacrosse balls.
The NCAA is recommending for 2026-27 and mandating for 2027-28 that standard game balls for men’s lacrosse be fluorescent green or yellow to improve visibility.
The Premier Lacrosse League uses an optic yellow ball that's optimized for TV, a trend that started with tennis in the 1970s. Women's lacrosse has been played with a yellow ball since the advent of the modern college game.
» Video Review. “Expanded video review rules will allow coaches to challenge goals if they believe the opponent was offsides, had too many players on the field or stepped on a boundary line while in possession of the ball. Officials also can now initiate a review on plays where there is potential contact to the head/neck.
» Overtime. “Until the winning goal is scored, overtime will be played in 15-minute periods. All timeout and video challenge rules will remain unchanged. Previously, overtime was conducted in four-minute periods, with the teams switching sides of the field until the game-winning goal was scored.”
2. Middlebury’s Adams Honored As Academic All-American of the Year; 10 Others Named to First Team
“Middlebury’s Caroline Adams was honored as the Academic All-America® Women’s At-Large Team Member of the Year for Division III by College Sports Communicators. Ten other lacrosse players were named to the first team for their respective sport.
A senior from Norwich, Vt., Adams graduated summa cum laude this spring with a double major in neuroscience and Spanish, compiling a 3.96 GPA. She helped Middlebury win the 2026 NCAA Division III national championship in lacrosse, the Panthers’ fifth consecutive NCAA crown. In 2026, Adams won the IWLCA National Player and Attacker of the Year awards. She was named the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Women: Caroline Adams, Middlebury (Sr., 3.96, Neuroscience & Spanish); Nicole Donlan, Tufts (Sr., 4.00, Cognitive Brain Science Studies); Maddie McDonald, Roanoke (Jr., 4.00, Biology & Biochemistry); Caroline Messer, Middlebury (Sr., 3.80, Psychology); Lauren Sullivan, Stevens (Sr., 4.00, Biomedical Engineering) | Complete Team
Men: Alex Byrne, Bowdoin (Sr., 3.92, Economics); Joe Holenstein, RIT (Jr., 3.97, Mechanical Engineering); David Koffler, Skidmore (Sr., 4.00, Management & Business/Economics); Will Miller, Wesleyan (Sr., 3.99, Economics); Jeff Mueller, York (Sr., 4.00, Mechanical Engineering) | Complete Team
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3. Transfer Portal News
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Courtesy of Inside Lacrosse and other online sources, here is what we know about the state of transfers in DIII men’s and women’s lacrosse since our last edition.
Incoming Transfers (M)
Sam Azbill, LSM, Fr., Lynchburg ⬅ Mount St. Mary’s
Zachary Brittman, A, So., St. John Fisher ⬅ Stony Brook
Arek Cellura, LSM, So., Trinity ⬅ Stony Brook
Dominick Deering, D, So., Springfield ⬅ Merrimack
Jack Durham, M., Fr., Denison ⬅ Mount St. Mary’s
George Ely, D, Jr., Trinity ⬅ Mercer
Brenden Ferraro, D, Jr., Salisbury ⬅ UMass Lowell
Andrew Lindsay, D, Jr., Trinity ⬅ St. John’s
Brett Mersdorf, M, Fr., Geneseo ⬅ St. Bonaventure
Robert Pope, M, Sr., Colorado College ⬅ Bellarmine
R.J. Radonis, F/O, Fr., St. Lawrence ⬅ Rutgers
Thomas Vandenberg, DM, Babson ⬅ Dartmouth
Josh Younger, A, So., Springfield ⬅ Merrimack
4. NCAA Committees Recommend Simplified Penalty Structure for Women's Lacrosse
“Members of the two NCAA women’s lacrosse rules committees have proposed modifications to refine the penalty rules in the sport, effective for the 2026-27 academic year. The changes also are designed to avoid unintended consequences.
Those changes include:
Making all yellow cards two-minute, nonreleasable penalties.
Naming illegal checks and illegal contact as fouls in a way that defines and simplifies impermissible actions with one’s stick or body. An illegal check would be called when a player initiates contact using an uncontrolled or swinging (chopping or hacking) motion of the stick to strike an opponent’s stick, hand or body, regardless of whether the opponent is in possession of the ball. Illegal contact would be defined as using one’s stick or body against an opponent’s body in a manner that is unsafe or reckless or that pins, restrains or detains an opponent’s movement, including using the webbed area of the stick to hook.
Classifying flopping as a flagrant foul, resulting in a yellow card and two-minute nonreleasable penalty.
Adding targeting as a new flagrant foul. A player who commits targeting would be assessed a red card. The following definition was proposed: any action in which a player initiates forcible contact with an opponent without making a legitimate attempt to play the ball and where the primary purpose of the contact is to strike, hit or otherwise make significant physical contact with a high potential for injury rather than to contest possession.
» Video Review. “In addition to the existing use of video review, officials also would be able to use video review to identify or confirm the correct offender when a card is administered.”
» Elsewhere. “Teams on a power play at the expiration of a quarter, overtime half or overtime period would retain possession to begin the subsequent quarter, overtime half or overtime period. Players receiving red cards still would be ejected from the game, but the automatic suspension for the next game would be eliminated.”
5. Lightning Round ⚡
» News. “Following a review of participation and recruiting for the upcoming season, Linfield University has decided to discontinue its women's lacrosse program. Recent participation in women's lacrosse has declined to the point that the university determined the program is no longer sustainable.”
» Coming Back. “Effective immediately, California Lutheran University will reinstate women’s lacrosse. In April, Cal Lutheran made the incredibly difficult decision to discontinue the women’s lacrosse program due to a history of lower interest when compared to other women’s programs. In response to advocacy from the lacrosse student-athletes, our university leadership, athletic department, and community stakeholders have worked to find an alternative path that included potential reinstatement.”
» Transfer. “Syracuse University women's lacrosse head coach Regy Thorpe announced the addition of graduate transfer Julia Ryan, one of the most prolific draw specialists at any level in NCAA history, for the 2028 season. Ryan currently plays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), where she rewrote the NCAA record book at the draw and established herself as the most dominant circle presence the sport has seen at any level.”
» Scholar-Athlete. “Recent graduate Lauren Sullivan of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team was named the Division III Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association. Sullivan maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, graduated as the valedictorian of her class, and earned second-team All-America honors from USA Lacrosse and the IWLCA.
6. Comings and Goings
ALBION - Jake DeCola resigned as head men’s coach for assistant position at Michigan. Named Sam Puzevic head coach
BATTEN - Named Emilee Heffner head women’s coach
BERRY - Named Ned Kaish head men’s coach
BREVARD - Named McKenna Kincaid head women’s coach
CLARKSON - Named Christian Diaz head women’s coach
CURRY - Named Chris Piatelli head men’s coach
EMMANUEL - Named John Carroll head men’s coach
GEORGE FOX - Jordyn Merkel stepped down as head women’s coach
GREENSBORO - Named Drew Sizemore head men’s coach
HARTFORD - Named Kevin Sanna head men’s coach
HIRAM - Named Alec Eldridge head women’s coach
MUSKINGUM - Named Faith Engle head women’s coach
RANDOLPH - Named Brett Capps head men’s coach
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA - Named Luke Christiansen head men’s coach
STEVENSON - Mike Faith resigned as head women’s coach for similar position at UMBC
SUNY DELHI - Named Andrew Gardner head men’s coach
SWEET BRIAR - Named Taylor Lanzillo head coach
TRINITY - Named Taylor Mendoza head men’s coach
7. College AI Use Spikes
“The share of business students regularly using AI has increased from 6.2% to 29% over the past three years, according to research from American University's Kogod School of Business.
Why it matters: The chorus of AI boos at college graduations last spring doesn't tell the whole story: Students increasingly see AI as a critical job skill but want more guidance on using it responsibly.
The big picture: Those commencement jeers aimed at AI boosterism captured real anxiety about the future. But most students aren't fully avoiding the technology.
The bottom line: Students may not love the AI-shaped future awaiting them, but they know that they need to prepare for it.
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