MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College Men's Lacrosse team returns to the field in 2026 with a young group of guys, including 14 freshmen, that will try to continue the upward momentum of a program that has improved their win total every year for the last four years.
 
Any success to be had will under the direction of Nathan Grover, who takes over as the third Marietta head coach since the program was reinstated. Grover is no stranger to the program as he was a four-year letterman standout face off specialist for the Pioneers. Now he faces the task of leading this young roster to battle in a very tough Ohio Athletic Conference.  
 
"I am extremely excited to come back to Marietta and have a chance to lead the program that gave me so much as a student-athlete," says Grover. "I think Marietta is an amazing place and we have a very special group with this year's team." The Pioneers improved yet again last year as they notched their highest win total (8) and winning percentage (.500) since the restart, but losing their final two games of the regular season ruined their chances of making it to the OAC playoffs for a second consecutive season. Although the Pioneers lost 11 seniors from last year's squad, the cupboard is not bare for Grover. Several players return that had opportunities to mature and develop in the season prior and now are looking to be team leaders.   
 
"We have been working extremely hard to make the next step this year and are counting down the days to opening day when we have a chance to write the next chapter of Marietta Men's Lacrosse," said Grover of this year's group. As an offensive unit, the Pioneers will be a young group, but Grover sees that as a positive. "We have a young core on the offensive end of the field this year, which is exciting as we will see guys step into new roles." Tommy Imhof (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) is the main returner on the attack line. In 15 games last year, Imhof came off the bench to score 10 goals and assist on seven others. "He brings a lot of leadership and experience to the freshmen who will be on the field with him," said Grover. "Tommy's leadership and creativity have been extremely valuable through the transition of getting the new guys up to speed, and you can tell the freshmen look up to Tommy on the field." Danner Dorothy (West Stockholm, N.Y./Potsdam Central) will look to get minutes as he returns after an 11-goal debut season.  
 
The Pioneers will be strong in the midfield returning four big performers from last year's team.  Sam Leininger (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) has stepped into the leadership role this year, returning from last year where he finished fourth on the team in goals (20) and points (31). "Sam was voted Captain this year by his teammates and has fully embraced what it means to lead by example," said Grover. Also returning is Alec Anderson (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami), Nathan Hamilton (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) and Thomas Zerman (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) who bring experience on both sides of the midfield and will be extremely valuable as playmakers for the unit. 
 
The Pioneer defense returns a veteran group. Senior Barrett Lindell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont) earned All-OAC status last year as he led the team and the OAC with 32 caused turnovers. He will anchor a line that will include senior Alan Schwab (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) and sophomore Garrett Schweiner (Wake Forest, N.C./Wake Forest), looking to build on the success from last season. Long stick midfielders Caden Alkire (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) and Jacob Grube (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis Desales) also return from last year's team and bring a strong combination of athleticism and physicality to the defensive unit. Alkire led the team with 87 groundballs picked up and he was second with 27 caused turnovers.
 
The goalkeeper position will be a question mark for Grover as the battle will be waged with a pair of young players. Cal Henthorne (Wooster, Ohio/St. Edward) saw limited duty last year appearing in three games and making three saves.  Freshman Jack Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) will also push for the starting position. "It has been an incredibly close race," said Grover. "Both Cal and Jack bring the ability to make incredibly difficult saves and communicate with the defense at a high level. Performance wise, the ability to play consistently between the pipes, lead on the field, and clear the ball at a high rate will dictate who wins the starting position in net."
 
Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy) will return as the main face off specialist, a position that Grover has some knowledge. "I am a firm believer that the face off is an important aspect of the game because it can start a run, stop opponents' momentum, and earn your team extra possessions on the offensive side of the field," said the first-year coach. "Bret looks to be our main face off guy, but we have added depth with freshmen Nathan Disori (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and Nick Renda (Export, Pa./Franklin). They have been pushing Bret all preseason which makes our face off unit better as a whole." 
 
The future looks bright for the Pioneers as they have brought in a very deep and talented freshmen class this year. On the offensive side of the ball, attackers Jeff McKnight (Port Republic, Va./Ignite Christian Academy) and Cannon Fox (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) have made very impressive progress through the preseason and will look to be a big piece of the offense. At the midfield, Dom Cimarolli, Ryan Kenney (Edgemere, Md./Archbishop Curley), and Hutch Melind (Wilmington, N.C./Laney) will all make big impacts on both sides of the field. Defensively, Xzandre Flohr (Akron, Ohio/Copley) and Bryce Lotspeich (Powhatan, Va./Benedictine College Prep) will be in the defensive rotation and look to contribute to the success this defense has had over past years. 
 
Grover hopes that this group will make a splash in a competitive Ohio Athletic Conference.  "With the departure of John Carroll, there is an urgency from the whole conference to take over the top spot," said Grover. "Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace return strong rosters from last year and are poised to be tougher opponents on our schedule. Mount Union and Muskingum are always rivalry type games for us so we need to claim those games if we can.  In the end, it doesn't matter who we play. We will continue our push to be one of the top teams in the OAC!"

The Pioneers are scheduled to open the season Sunday (Feb. 15) as they battle Thiel College at Don Drumm Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.