2024 Recap
The Bulldogs finished last season with a .500 record of 8-8, which included a 3-3 MIAA conference record as well. Adrian made its way into the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed after a solid regular season, but fell short in the first round when they suffered defeat at the hands of Hope College.
Adrian looks to return to the MIAA Tournament for the fifth season in a row in 2025, with hopes of moving further past the opening round.
The Offense
Last season, the Bulldogs tallied 179 goals and 111 assists over 16 contests, while adding 672 shots and 509 ground balls throughout the year. Key contributors Michael Jonas, Brandon Hoerauf, Austin Selvage, Jake Coakley, Derek Hassel, Alec Winegar, and Riley Edwards accounted for a large portion of the Bulldog offense in 2024, in which they will be relied on to do once again in 2025.
The Defense
With 188 caused turnovers a season ago, Adrian’s defensive core will look to play a key role in the Bulldog transition game this coming campaign. Leader of the backend, Cameron Reed, holds the program record for caused turnovers all time, and within a single season, and will be a force once again during his senior year. The Bulldogs managed an 85.4 clear percentage last season, moving the ball up field efficiently. In order to advance themselves further in the postseason, Adrian’s hopes are to continue to improve those defensive numbers.
Key Returners
Returning for the Bulldogs in 2025 is the team’s main core of Reed, Jonas, Edwards, Hoerauf, Coakley, Sam Spangler, and Mark Picano. Each of them is poised for stellar seasons, contributing to all situations of the game. Newcomer, Nico Palazzolo, stands out as one of the freshman midfielders to make an immediate impact in his first college season.
Potential History
With sports comes numbers, and with numbers comes records, which is what presents itself this season with a few of Adrian’s most valuable players. Michael Jonas, Cameron Reed, and Sam Spangler have all established themselves in the Adrian College men’s lacrosse record book, and have great opportunities to continue to cement themselves into program history.
Jonas’ name is written all over the record book as he’s seen on numerous categories, and holds a handful of single season records. Most notably, the senior lies third in program history in points with 207, as well as fourth in program history in goals with 122 and assists with 85. The attacker also sits third in shots attempted with 329, and fifth in shots on goal with 211. Jonas is not far off the program lead in any of those categories, and with a strong senior season, the Michigan native can eclipse each one to take sole possession of first after 2025.
Reed carries the same weight in Adrian’s program record book as one of the most decorated defenders to come through the program. The Canadian currently stands fifth all-time in grounds balls with 209, and already shattered the program record for caused turnovers with 127. Like Jonas, Reed also owns plenty of single season records in the CT and GB categories.
Spangler, who’s been a consistent presence in the Adrian goal for the last three-plus seasons, is on the brink of shattering some goaltending records for the Bulldogs. Only 22 saves away, Spangler can overtake the number one spot in career saves early this season. Spangler has already surpassed and claimed the top spot in the all-time save percentage category with a .568 SV%. He also sits fourth all-time in goals-against-average with 9.88 going into his final season. Finally, the Canton product sits second with 24 behind Kevin Lerg ’14 (43) for the all-time most wins as a Bulldog.
Watch for each player to make history this season in their final games in an Adrian College jersey.
Words from Coach Wetzel
Brett Wetzel, a 2009 graduate of SUNY Potsdam, enters his seventh season as Head Coach of the Adrian College men’s lacrosse team. With an all-time record of 40-44 and a conference record of 11-19 with Adrian, Wetzel looks to lead his team past the semifinals of the MIAA tournament for the first time since taking over the program in 2019.
"This is going to be an incredibly fun and incredibly challenging year at the same time. We have a tougher schedule than we have ever faced here at Adrian but we know that learning from those matchups with top teams can help elevate our program to the next level in the MIAA. I'm looking forward to having our program pushed to the max and seeing how we respond in those moments this season. Our league is extremely competitive and every matchup is vital for us to be able to reach our goal of playing for an MIAA Championship."
Wetzel and Assistant Coach, Kyle Hibbard, announced their leadership group earlier this week, naming Riley Edwards, Cameron Reed, and Sam Spangler as team captains. Wetzel was eager to chat about the value that each of them bring to the table.
"We are very excited to see Edwards return as a captain and two first time captains in Reed and Spangler. Riley has grown tremendously as a leader over the last two years and his maturity has been a benefit for the young guys on the roster already. I am looking forward to seeing Cam and Sam in these leadership roles, they have both done great jobs leading the defensive unit and excelling on the field.”
Things to Know/Notable Games
The Bulldogs will open their season at No. 6 Christopher Newport University tomorrow, February 15 at 1:00 PM in Newport News, Virginia. MIAA conference play will begin on April 2nd when the Bulldogs host Calvin University at Docking Stadium.
Other notable match-ups for the Bulldogs in 2025 include 2/22 versus nationally-ranked Kenyon, 3/15 versus Dubuque, 3/29 at Illinois Wesleyan, 4/9 at Hope, and 4/23 at Albion to wrap MIAA play. The MIAA Conference Tournament will commence on April 26, with the championship game being played on May 2.
All home games will be streamed live on the Adrian College TV YouTube page, while live stat, broadcast, and ticket links can be found on the team's page of the Adrian College Athletics website all season.
For all home games at Docking Stadium, fans are asked to purchase tickets ahead of time through Hometown Ticketing by clicking the link below. In addition, no pets of any kind, with the exception of service animals, are allowed inside Docking Stadium.
For more information on the Adrian College men’s lacrosse team, follow them on social media @ACMensLax or visit www.adrianbulldogs.com! You can also download the Adrian College Athletics mobile app on your smart phone device.