NCAA draw controls leader Julia Ryan commits to Syracuse for 2028 season
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Syracuse women’s lacrosse landed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps draw specialist Julia Ryan for the 2028 season, the team announced Monday. Ryan will play her fourth season with the Athenas in 2027 and obtain graduate student eligibility to compete with the Orange in 2028.
Despite playing at the Division III level for three years, Ryan has already corralled an NCAA all-time record 892 draws at a rate of nearly 16 per game. She’s topped D-I marks like Duke’s Maddie Jenner’s 791 and Babson’s Claire Connolly’s 766, which were reached in four or more seasons. Ryan has had top-two NCAA finishes in draw controls every season she’s played and has placed first in back-to-back campaigns, accruing 346 and 352, respectively.
Ryan is the first non-high school commitment under head coach Regy Thorpe that was made over a year in advance. SU already has five transfer commitments for 2027, including draw specialist midfielder Natalie Daniels.
Daniels, who’ll also be a graduate student, has displayed prestigious draw control numbers at the D-III level with William Smith, finishing second in Herons history with 316 controls. Daniels could precede Ryan at a vaunted position, as they’ll aim to restore Syracuse as a potent draw threat.
Ever since Kate Mashewske set the Orange’s all-time record with 234 draw controls in 2024, they’ve deployed committees, mainly featuring Meghan Rode and Molly Guzik the past two seasons. Syracuse finished last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in draw controls per game in 2026 with 7.8.
