After graduating significant talent and facing questions about their identity on both sides of the ball, Duke is in what many consider a "down year". However, this reset could be exactly what the Blue Devils need. While they haven’t won a championship since 2014—even with four years of Brennan O’Neill—they remain a strong contender for the title this season.
Consistency on both sides of the ball.
There’s no question that Duke had the talent to win it all last season, but you never knew which Duke team would show up.
I still believe that Duke has the talent to win it all in 2025. They just need to find their identity on both sides of the ball.
The Blue Devils lose their starting attack line from last season. Brennan O’Neill by far is the biggest loss, along with X attacker Josh Zawada and the goal-scoring Dyson Williams.
That being said, is it possible that a Duke offense can get more consistent in an era without Brennan O’Neill?
In 2024, Duke’s assisted goal rate was 52.7%, compared to the 2024 final four teams below.
These numbers make sense, meaning sometimes Duke would live and die on the unassisted goal, which ties to a lot of the conversation around Brennan O’Neill. If the offense was doing well, it’s because O’Neill was playing well, beating his matchup, and hitting his shots. If the offense was bad, O'Neill's lack of involvement dominated storylines.
So for the first time in four years, it feels like Duke doesn’t have a certified superstar on their roster. And perhaps this is a good thing for Duke.
I think in 2025 we could see a more consistent (and efficient) offense that focuses on drawing slides and moving the ball quickly rather than thinking O'Neill or someone else needs to be superman and take the game over.
Defensively, Duke has the pieces, but would sometimes give up inexplicable goals or big runs like we saw in the quarterfinals against Maryland.
Tightening up these inconsistencies will be key for Duke.
It’s true that the offense and coaches would sometimes think to ‘force’ the ball to O’Neill to let him take over games, and it’s true that it worked more often than not. But like I said, it brings inconsistent offensive output.
Here’s how Duke can stabilize that in 2025.
Guys like Andrew McAdorey and Benn Johnston will be elite at drawing slides and moving it quickly in 2025. These two will be the most important pieces of the offense.
I think we will see McAdorey at attack to start the season, but I think his true value is just what I said - a speedy midfielder that can draw slides coming out of the box to get the offense moving.
Duke will only feel comfortable moving McAdorey back to the midfield if they feel comfortable with their attack unit, which I think could be sneakily very good. Maryland transfer Eric Malever looks to lead the offense at X, his natural position, while Richmond transfer Luke Grayum is a great finisher on the left side that could slot in nicely for Dyson Williams.
The right wing is more up for grabs, with McAdorey, Harvard transfer Graham Blake, or freshmen Liam Kershis or Austin Hicks being options.
I like the midfield unit a lot. I’ve said this and I’ll say it again, I think Benn Johnston is one of the best (if not the best) midfielders in the nation and could be a First Team All-American in 2025.
Max Sloat is a perfect complement to Johnston as a lefty shooter, and look for an attackman I mentioned above not in the rotation to join this line (my preference would still be McAdorey).
The second line is also solid with Jack Pappendick returning. I expect sophomore Tomas Delgado to have a breakout year on this line with the third options being Providence transfer Chris Cusolito or Cornell transfer Aiden Blake.
The faceoff position seems poised for a rotation between Cal Girard, Luke Engelke and highly-rated freshman Ben McCarthy, all capable options.
SSDM might be the strongest unit of this bunch with Jack Gray and Aidan Maguire returning. Look for Princeton transfer Paul Weathington and freshmen Luke Warrington and Connor Nolen to get some run here as well. Aiden Blake and Tomas Delgado could likely see some chances as a two-way midfielder here too.
The goalie position seems set with Patrick Jameison returning as the starter. Jameison showed consistency and poise beyond his years as a freshman starter last season.
LSM and close defense is by far the biggest question mark for this team.
Henry Bard and Keith Boyer return, but who will take the third spot? Likely candidates include junior Charlie Johnson, graduate student Cole Krauss, or top-ranked freshman Nikolas Menendez.
At LSM, Jake Wilson returns, but there’s not much experience beyond that. Could one of the poles not in the close defense rotation bump up? Or maybe a player like sophomore Mac Christmas could take the reins of the second LSM spot? There’s a lot to figure out here.
As much as I’ve talked about some of the inconsistencies with O’Neill, he was the 2023 Tewaaraton winner and just an absolute special talent for Duke. They were always in the mix for a title whenever he was on the field.
You can’t replace a player like O’Neill, but it gives Duke an opportunity to shift their identity to a more assist-oriented offense. This could be super beneficial for Duke.
Like we’ve seen with Notre Dame bringing in Chris Conlin, Brian Tevlin, Chris Fake and Devon McLane, being intentional in the transfer portal can pay great dividends in areas of need. For Duke, I like what they’ve done bringing in midfield help in the form of Chris Cusolito (Providence) and Aiden Blake (Cornell) as well as attack help with Graham Blake (Harvard) and Eric Malever (Maryland). Paul Weathington (Princeton) could be a nice piece at SSDM as well.
These players not only can bolster their respective units, but bring veteran leadership to a team filled with young talent.
Perhaps a question I’ve asked for every single team I’ve done a preview on, championship winning teams need at least two young players to step up. Likely candidates include Liam Kershis on the offensive side of the ball and Nikolas Menendez on defensive side of the ball.
While I asked which freshmen will step up, I also think some sophomore breakouts will be important too, like Tomas Delgado and Mac Christmas.
It’s possible this Duke team could perform better than last year. With a mix of graduate transfers and talented players that maybe didn’t have a chance to play much last year, Duke could mesh into a pretty formidable team.
Like with all Duke teams, it’s just finding the right mix on both sides of the ball.
For Duke offensively, I think they’ll have the best midfield line in the nation if they keep McAdorey there. This midfield unit has a chance to wreck games with their ability to draw slides and get the offense moving as well as creating their own chances.
Defensively, their SSDM unit will be terrific, and someone needs to emerge as a top pole at close. Early signs point to Henry Bard taking over this task. Jameison will be solid in the cage, and look for him to take a step forward and even steal some games for the Blue Devils this season.
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