ADRIAN, Mich. – When the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association released its preseason poll in early-February, tabbing the Bulldog men's lacrosse team in seventh, head coach Brett Wetzel embraced the "opportunity to prove the doubters wrong."

Armed with a healthy mixture of newcomers and returners, including 19 freshmen, the fourth-year leader of the program helped guide the black and gold beyond expectations to clinch their first postseason appearance since 2015.

The local's 2022 campaign came with some early drama in a 12-11 overtime victory over Siena Heights, but from there the team settled in to win seven of their next nine by an average margin of 16 goals.

After wrapping up non-conference action with an 8-2 record, the Bulldogs marched into league-play and prevailed in each of their first three contests, including an action-packed, 10-8 result over Calvin at home, to give Adrian its first conference wins since 2018.

A regular season finale tally at Trine garnered the 'Dogs the conference's third seed heading into the playoffs, and secured them a spot in the top half of the league after originally being projected to finish dead last.

Individually, Adrian locked up five spots on the MIAA's All-Conference teams, including First Team honoree Travis Fox, who appeared in 16 games in 2022, recording 19 goals and seven assists. One of the Bulldogs' five seniors, Fox finished his career ranked tied for sixth all-time with 15 man-advantage goals.

Second Team recipients Chris French, Max Leventis, Cameron Reed and Sam Spangler also left their marks in the program's record books. The latter of the four, the 'Dogs' freshman netminder in 2022, closed his first season ranked fourth in the MIAA in goals-against average and save percentage, while also turning in the third-best single-season save percentage and fourth-most wins in program history.

Fellow freshman, Reed, set a new standard for Adrian defenders with 37 caused turnovers, the most-ever in one season.

French, a senior, paced the team in scoring with 68 points on 42 goals and 26 assists. He closed his tenure in the black and gold ranked first all-time in total shots attempted, and second in total points and goals.

Leventis, another senior, made headlines for Adrian in the faceoff circle. In 17 starts, he racked up the third-highest faceoff winning percentage in Division III, and actively sits third on the NCAA's career leaderboard with 521 ground balls. As far as Bulldog history goes, the Howell, Michigan native now stands alone atop the program's all-time lists for ground balls and faceoff wins, and in June became the first Adrian men's lacrosse player ever to receive Scholar All-American recognition from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

 
 All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

First Team

 - Travis Fox
 
Second Team

- Chris French

- Max Leventis

- Sam Spangler

- Cameron Reed

 
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

- Chris French, Offensive, April 4

- Max Leventis, Defensive, March 7 and April 18

 
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Team of the Week

 - Max Leventis, March 7

 
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Scholar All-Americans

- Max Leventis

- Men's Lacrosse Team


The 2023 Adrian College men's lacrosse schedule is not finalized at this time, but will be available at adrianbulldogs.com!