The Syracuse Orange defense has themselves quite the foundational starting point as they enter into the 2026 season.
The 1-2 punch that is Billy Dwan and Riley Figueiras is elite, and gives defensive coordinator John Odierna a strong anchor to build around.
Really, they’re a 1-1 punch, as either of them can lay claim to being the No. 1 defender on any given game day with it often coming down to the matchup preference with the opposition’s best offensive player. They’re both captains, they’re both members
of the senior class, and both were named as honorable mention selections on Inside Lacrosse’s preseason All-American teams on Wednesday.
The Orange defense is coming off a year in which they finished the season 29th in scoring defense at 10.37 goals-against per game, 28th in man-down defense at 66.2 percent success rate and 27th in caused turnovers at 8.58 per game. The scoring defense was actually the team’s best number since the 2019 season.
While Dwan and Figueiras, along with Jimmy McCool in net, provide plenty of strength, leadership and experience for the back line, there are still plenty of questions created by a few key departures from last year’s unit.
Third close defender Michael Grace, starting LSM Nick Caccamo and top SSDM Carter Rice have all run out of eligibility, leaving the 2026 Orange with lots of unknowns on their rope unit and a big decision on the final close defender, as well as the plan for this year’s man-down unit.
The defensive midfield is probably the biggest question from a unit perspective for this team, primarily due to the relative dearth of options at SSDM. With Rice and Nathan LeVine gone, there’s lot of playing time up for grabs at the always crucial shortie positions.
Ryder Ochoa and Jake Spallina return from last year’s rotation, and a pair of newcomers look to figure heavily into the mix, as well. Graduate transfer Dante Bowen is coming off a senior year in which he appeared in 12 games for Ohio State, and on the other end of the spectrum, true freshman Jayden Kittelberger after a HS All-American career at the Salisbury School.
Kittelberger brings a ton of athleticism to the group, and I think he has a very good chance to be SU’s biggest impact freshman this year given the team need at his position.
At LSM, Chuck Kuczyński is set to move into that starting role after doing a very nice job backing-up Caccamo last season. Vincent Bolognino is a bit of a wild card here as he split time at pole and shortie last year, but he’s definitely a good candidate to contribute somewhere on the rope unit, and possibly multiple places.
Michael Grace’s close defense spot was all ready to be filled by sophomore Cam Ryan, but he picked up an injury and is out indefinitely for the time being. So, the search goes on for the final starting pole. There’s a handful of guys with limited or no college experience who could be in the mix like sophomore Dillon Stephens, freshman Louis D’Agostino and noted college football quarterback Joe Filardi, but I think the top choice will end up being senior Jordan Beck.
Beck is easily the most experienced of the group as a member of the man-down unit the past couple seasons. He also brings a ton of size at 6’4”, 242 that would make he and Dwan (6’4”, 231) and formidable and imposing duo down low.
If Beck is the choice to join the close defense, it brings up the question of how exactly will Odierna handle his ‘junkyard dog’ man-down unit. It’s already a group that suffered losses in the offseason, including ‘Mr. Everything’ Sammy English as their short-stick, and if Beck is now also being moved it would make you wonder if Odierna could keep up his total line shift for man-down like he did last year. LSM Dylan Sageder is back and would likely play a role there one way or another, but most of the rest of that unit will remain to be seen.
Much like with the offense, this year’s ‘Cuse defense is a group anchored by star power that will be in need of younger players emerging for the first time to fill in for key departures and provide support and playmaking if the Orange are going to make a return to Memorial Day weekend this season.
