MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's lacrosse team was well-represented on the 2024 New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-New England Teams as five Cardinals made First Team, Second Team, or Honorable Mention honors. In addition,
John Raba earned NEILA Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time in his career, and first since 2017.
Raba and his staff led the Cardinals (15-4) to a seven-win improvement from the 2023 campaign while going on a postseason run to win the 2024 NESCAC Championship as the #2 seed in the conference tournament. Wesleyan was ranked as high as No. 7 in the national polls before falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Raba finished his 28
th season at Wesleyan, earning his fourth career NESCAC Coach of the Year award, while improving his career record to 320-137 (.700) in his time at Wesleyan.
The Cardinals were represented on the All-New England Teams by First Team selections
Jack Raba '23 and
CK Giancola '24 while
DJ Dixon '24 was a Second Team pick and
Ben Burns '26 and
James Bailey '26 are Honorable Mentions.
Jack Raba enjoyed a career year in 2024, finishing with a team-leading 77 points on 20 goals and 57 assists in 17 games played (all starts). The play-making attackman had at least two assists in 15 of his 17 appearances while he dished out 4+ assists nine times. In two seasons at Wesleyan, Raba amassed 132 points in 32 games played, 95 of which were assists.
Giancola produced at an elite level offensively for the Cardinals at the midfield position in 2024, registering 69 points including 58 goals in 18 games played. He led the Cardinals with eight man-up goals and had at least four goals in seven of the final eight games of the season. Giancola led the team in shots (172) this season and has 165 career points (119 goals, 46 assists) in 51 games played.
Making his third career All-New England Team, Dixon had another tremendous all-around season with 34 goals and 17 assists for 51 points while starting all 19 games in 2024. He added 20 ground balls and seven caused turnovers to his season totals while he took 108 shots. Dixon tallied seven hat tricks throughout the season and had 10 games with 3+ points. He graduates with 146 career points (101 goals, 45 assists) in 51 games.
Burns was a revelation in 2024, elevating into a starter on attack after spending his first-year season as a man-up specialist. He piled up 57 goals with six assists for 63 points in 19 games while he added 45 ground balls (2
nd-most on the team among non-faceoff specialists) and had the third-most caused turnovers with 20. The sophomore scored at least once in all 19 games this season and finished the year with a streak of 11 straight multi-goal games.
Another breakout player in his sophomore year, Bailey went for 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) after getting limited playing time as a first-year. Bailey had at least one point in 18-of-19 games played in 2024 and dished out at least two assists 10 times throughout the campaign.
