The University of Scranton Athletics Department recently capped off a historic year for several of its teams with seven Landmark Conference titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances and five NCAA Tournament victories over the course of the 2023-24 academic year.
Multiple programs also set new marks for single-season victories and a total of eight student-athletes earned All-American honors in their respective sports.
“The type of success we experienced this year does not happen by accident. My thanks and congratulations to all our student-athletes, coaches, administrative staff and support staff! I am incredibly proud of the culture that we have built, driven by ‘Royal Way’ touchstone,” Executive Director of Athletics Dave Martin said.
The women’s soccer program kicked things off this past fall with a fourth consecutive Landmark title. Then both the women’s basketball and women’s swimming and diving programs captured conference championships in winter.
The women’s basketball program marked a ninth consecutive Landmark title, and the team advanced to the Elite Eight, following NCAA Tournament victories over Framingham State, Ohio Northern and Johns Hopkins universities.
In spring, the men’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and baseball teams all won Landmark Championships, which helped catapult Scranton to a second-place finish in the Landmark Presidents’ Trophy standings. For the trio of men’s golf and men’s and women's lacrosse, it was a second straight conference crown. Scranton’s baseball program came out on top for the second time in four years.
Men’s lacrosse hosted John Carroll in a first-round NCAA Tournament contest and used an overtime game-winner from senior Matthew McAree ’24 to capture a 10-9 victory, the first NCAA victory in program history.
The women’s lacrosse program defeated Lake Forest College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a score of 18-6, marking the second Tournament victory in program history and the first since 2004.
Scranton baseball and women’s lacrosse teams set records for single-season victories. The former notched the first 30-win season in program history, while the latter posted a single-season best 17 wins and was ranked 24th in the final Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Top 25 poll.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our administration, donors, parents and loyal fans! Without all of you, we would not be able to achieve the many wonderful things that we have achieved,” Martin added.
Eight student-athletes earned All-American honors in their respective sports: McAree ’24 and graduate student Colin Pierce ’23, G’24 (men’s lacrosse), Niamh Healy ’24 (women’s soccer), Katie Redding ’24, G’25 (field hockey), Erin Keaveney ’25 and Deanna Whelpley ’26 (volleyball), Kaci Kranson ’26 (women’s basketball) and Grace Lane ’25 (women’s lacrosse).
