Weekly Cover: Super Sophs Poised for More in 2026

As a redshirt freshman, Chloe Humphrey set college lacrosse on fire — leading North Carolina to a national championship while becoming the first freshman to win the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player.

She wasn’t the only rookie to make her presence felt last season. USA Lacrosse Magazine caught up with five true freshmen from last season poised to continue their stories in our Super Sophs series.

Eliza Osburn

Midfield

Freshman year stats: 35G, 9A, 16GB, 10CT, 56DC

Postseason honors: USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American (honorable mention), NCAA All-Tournament Team, ACC Freshman of the Year, Second-Team All-ACC

Eliza Osburn admits she’s “easily overwhelmed.” As the No. 6 player in the Class of 2024 according to Inside Lacrosse, Osburn knew the calls and texts would hit her phone at midnight on Sept. 1, 2022, her junior year. 

Those closest to her encouraged her to research schools and narrow her list before the big day. Osburn counts herself lucky in that two of those people were in her own home. Her sister, Tess, plays at Marquette, and her brother, Truman, played at Tampa.

“That way, when Sept. 1 did hit and people started reaching out, I would only entertain about seven schools and get to know the people,” Osburn said. “It was hard to create relationships with people, knowing they’d end if I said no and continue if I said yes.”

But that’s the nature of the beast. The predictable subjects made Osburn’s list: Florida, Boston College and UNC. She loved them all, so the plot thickened.

Read the full story here.

Alyssa Chung

Attack

Freshman stats: 66G, 15A, 17GB

Postseason honors: USA Lacrosse Magazine All-American (honorable mention), Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Patriot League First Team

Alyssa Chung long dreamt of suiting up for the Mids — but not necessarily as a lacrosse player. Sure, Chung grew up in lacrosse-hungry Severna Park, Md., about a 20-minute drive from the Academy. But she felt called to become a Mid for another reason.

“I read the book American Sniper and a lot about American war veterans,” Chung said. “It really moved me. I knew serving would be a good calling for me. Then, I saw movies like Top Gun and was like, ‘Yeah, I want to fly planes.’”

The Navy is known for its boats, but it also trains aviators. But when Chung arrived on campus, the adjustment caused turbulence on and off the field.

“You’re a Midshipman, and then you’re an athlete,” Chung said. ”Not a lot of people have to balance all that.”

Chung wants to take flight for the U.S. one day, but it took grounding herself to find success. Chung scored 13 of her 66 goals through the first seven games of the year, getting shut out three times. 

Read the full story here.

CLARK HAMILTON

Attack

Freshman stats: 55G, 15A, 18GB

Postseason honors: Big 12 All-Newcomer team, Big 12 All-Tournament team

Clark Hamilton has been a Gator since birth.

“I was born in Florida and raised a Gators fan,” said Hamilton, who played high school lacrosse at Blessed Trinity (Ga.). “I had the memorabilia all in my house, the posters in my room, even before I started playing lacrosse.”

Lacrosse was a significant factor when choosing colleges for the three-time Georgia state champion and two-time USA Lacrosse High School All-American. But so were academics. Hamilton is a biomedical engineering major.

In the end, it wasn’t rocket science because “Florida fired on all cylinders.”

During Hamilton’s freshman year, she did, too. With an explosive first step and ability to dodge from the wing, the lefty attacker finished second on the team with 55 goals. The Gators — fresh off a 2024 final four run — needed every one of them.

Read the full story here.

ORLY SEDRANSK

Goalie

Freshman stats: .490SV%, 9.99GAA

Postseason honors: Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year, First-Team All-Ivy

Most programs experienced roster upheavals ahead of the 2025 campaign, leaving open spots for freshman attackers, midfielders and defenders to make immediate impacts.  

Goalies are trickier. There can only be one at a time. Penn graduated Kelly Van Hoessen, so there was an open competition between then-freshman Orly Sedransk and then-junior Caitlin Noack, albeit a friendly one. (“She’s one of my best friends,” Sedransk said.)

Sedransk came in with a lengthy brag sheet, considered the top goalie in the Class of 2024 by Inside Lacrosse and a three-time member of USA Select teams (2021, 2022, 2023).

But Sedransk struggled with the adjustment to Division I lacrosse at first.

“I treated every practice like a tryout,” Sedransk said. “I had goals to play and make a difference, but when I got there, it was a rocky start. The main feedback I got from coaches in the fall was that I needed to be more consistent. I’d have some amazing days at practice and then some average days. They wanted to see me perform my best every day and earn the trust of the defense.”

Read the full story here.

KATE LEVY

Midfield

Freshman stats: 14G, 9A, 25GB, 26CT, 24DC

When Jenny Levy — or as Kate calls her, “Mom” — texted her daughter on Sept. 1, 2022, and asked her if she would like to become a Tar Heel, it was almost a rhetorical question.

She long dreamt of being one of “Mommy’s Girls.” Much has been made of the dream-come-true nature of winning a national championship together last year — and it’s, indeed, a nice story. But Levy also dreamt of playing alongside another key cog on last year’s team: Chloe Humphrey.

The two were inseparable at North Carolina clinics, with Levy never far behind the future Tewaaraton Award winner.

“Playing together was something we had been talking about since she was about 10 and I was 8 years old,” Levy said. “She’s so easy to play with, so creative and loves the game. We were finally able to do it. We soaked it in. She was in my warmup line this year, and it was funny. We had so many conversations about how cool it was to be together for longer than three days at camp, finally.”

A true two-way midfielder, Levy officially enrolled at UNC having compiled 135 points in two years at McDonogh (Md.). The statistics from her freshman campaign show that her most significant impact came between the 30s, on defense and in the circle. Levy has no complaints there.

Read the full story here.