Friday, March 14, 2025 <br> Produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications <br> Produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications © 2022 <br> Heading Into March Madness, Terps Are Providing Plenty of Reasons to Cheer on the Court, Mat and Field <br> By <a href="/author/annie-krakower">Annie Krakower</a> <time datetime="2025-03-14T05:30:00-04:00"> Mar 14, 2025 </time> <br> Men's lacrosse and women's and men's basketball are among the Terp teams surging this season. <br> Photos courtesy of Maryland Athletics <br>With this weekend’s Selection Sunday signaling the tip-off of March Madness, Maryland is poised to pop up frequently in the brackets of casual and fervent fans around the country: Both the men’s and women’s teams are widely projected to earn top-5 seeds. And beyond the court, teams across Maryland Athletics are helping to put together quite a highlight reel.<br>As some winter sports, like wrestling and gymnastics, wind down successful seasons, spring ones like the perennial powerhouse men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have made early statements.<br>“This winter has been a season of tremendous success for our athletic programs,” said Damon Evans, Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics. “We have two of the most successful, nationally ranked basketball teams, and we are excited for them to begin postseason play. Our wrestling team has achieved records never seen before in program history, and gymnastics continues with its steady performances. When it comes to the spring, you have to start with the lacrosse programs, consistently ranked among the best in the nation.” <br>Here’s how Terp teams have surged and what to watch for next:<br><br><strong>Men’s Basketball<br></strong>The affectionately named “Crab Five” of starters Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese and Derik Queen have led the Terps (24-7) to a No. 11 national ranking and a No. 2 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament—their highest seed since 2015, their inaugural season in the conference. They enter Friday’s quarterfinal game, tipping off at 6:30 p.m., as one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 11 of their last 13 contests.<br>Star center Queen, leading the Terps with 15.7 points per game, headlined the team’s conference honors announced this week, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team nods. Gillespie and Reese earned Third Team and honorable mention recognition, respectively, while Miguel won the league’s sportsmanship award.<br>“Everyone’s really enjoyed watching these guys play,” said head coach Kevin Willard. “I think that’s what I’m more excited about than anything. The way these guys have played has electrified the fan base.”<br><br><strong>Women’s Basketball<br></strong>Though they made an unexpectedly early exit from last week’s Big Ten Tournament after earning a No. 4 seed and a double bye, the No. 18 Terps (23-7) are poised to secure their 15<sup>th</sup> straight NCAA Tournament bid. That would mark Maryland’s 21<sup>st</sup> appearance in 23 seasons under head coach Brenda Frese, who notched her milestone 600<sup>th</sup> win with the Terps this season and now sits at a program-best 605.<br>The women’s team also racked up conference honors. Senior <a href="https://today.umd.edu/shooting-for-success-fueled-by-family">Shyanne Sellers</a>—the first Terp to notch 1,500 career points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists—earned her third straight All-Big Ten First Team honor. Junior Kaylene Smikle was named to the First Team by the media and Second Team by the coaches, junior Bri McDaniel earned honorable mention, and graduate student Sarah Te-Biasu won the sportsmanship award.<br><br><strong>Men’s Lacrosse<br></strong>The Terps are celebrating their <a href="https://today.umd.edu/sticking-to-success-from-truitt-to-tillman">100<sup>th</sup> season</a> in dominant fashion, going 6-0 to propel them to a No. 1 ranking. The last time they started a season undefeated through six games was in 2022, when they finished a perfect 18-0 campaign with a national title.<br>Maryland is coming off a 14-3 win over Delaware, when it allowed the fewest opponent goals since 2015. That’s thanks in large part to graduate student goalie Logan McNaney, named to the Tewaaraton Watch List for the award annually given to the sport’s best male and female players, who moved to second on the program’s all-time saves list with 665.<br>With their next game at storied rival Virginia at 4 p.m. Saturday, the Terps can earn their 900<sup>th</sup> program victory.<br><br><strong>Women’s Lacrosse<br></strong>The No. 5-ranked Maryland squad, off to a 5-1 start, began its road slate with a convincing win vs. another top-ranked team: Its 11-5 takedown of No. 13 James Madison snapped the Dukes’ 19-game home winning streak, which had dated back to 2022.<br>Junior midfielder Kori Edmondson, also named to the Tewaaraton Watch List, is powering the offense, already recording five hat tricks and leading the team with 18 goals.<br>After opening Big Ten play with a 19-11 victory at Penn State on Thursday, the Terps will host Michigan at 1 p.m. Sunday. <br><br><strong>Wrestling<br></strong>Maryland has pinned down its best season since joining the Big Ten, finishing last weekend’s conference championships with program records in points, team place and individual placers.<br>UMD’s 54.0 team points were good for an eighth-place finish, and grapplers Jaxon Smith, Braxton Brown, Kal Miller, Seth Nevills, Ethen Miller and Branson John earned top-eight finishes. They’ll all represent the Terps at next week’s NCAA Championships in Philadelphia.<br><strong>Gymnastics<br></strong>The GymTerps (11-7) are flipping into a two-meet weekend after topping both Yale and Long Island to win last Sunday’s Yale Tri Meet. Season-high scores from Alexa Rothenbuescher and Rayna Engelmayer led Maryland to the top of the podium for the uneven bars, beam and vault.<br>Earlier this season, while hosting new Big Ten foe UCLA and Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles, Maryland shattered its attendance record, with 7,287 fans packing the Xfinity Center.<br>The Terps will look to keep the scores soaring at 6 p.m. Friday in Washington, D.C., as they face George Washington, Towson and NC State. They’ll then host Towson, George Washington and Yale for Senior Night at noon Sunday.<br> <a href="/tags/athletics" class="base"> Athletics </a> <br> <a href="/topic/gymnastics" class="base"> Gymnastics </a> <a href="/topic/mens-basketball" class="base"> Men's Basketball </a> <a href="/topic/mens-lacrosse" class="base"> Men's Lacrosse </a> <a href="/topic/womens-basketball" class="base"> Women's Basketball </a> <a href="/topic/womens-lacrosse" class="base"> Women's Lacrosse </a> <a href="/topic/wrestling" class="base"> Wrestling </a> <br> <a href="/topic/department-intercollegiate-athletics" class="base"> Department of Intercollegiate Athletics </a> <br> <strong>Maryland Today</strong> is produced by the <a href="https://osc.umd.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Office of Marketing and Communications </a> for the University of Maryland community on weekdays during the academic year, except for university holidays. <br> Faculty, staff and students receive the daily Maryland Today e-newsletter. 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