team-peters-minniti
Randall K. Wolf

Lacrosse

VMI Lacrosse 2025 season recap

Mark it down as arguably the best season in VMI Lacrosse program history dating back 43 seasons to 1983.
 
Over the past five years under Head Coach James Purpura, the Keydets have shown continued improvement in an upward trajectory to success. Following one victory in 2021, VMI improved to four wins in 2022, six wins in 2023, seven in 2024 and most recently 10 wins in 2025, its most victories dating back 37 years to the 1988 campaign.
 
The team finished its 2025 season receiving Top 20 votes by the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), which based on USILA and VMI archives marks the first time VMI has received USILA Top 20 votes in 33 years dating back to the 1992 season. Back in March, VMI received Top 20 votes by media entity Inside Lacrosse for the first time ever.
 
VMI finished the season with a 10-4 overall record, its most wins since earning 11 victories during the 1988 campaign. The Keydets with a 4-3 record in Northeast Conference play, marking the first time the Keydets have ever earned a winning record playing in a conference.
 
Finishing the regular season as the No.2-ranked scoring offense in the NCAA, the Keydets registered 205 goals on the season to set a new program benchmark for goals in a single season, besting the previous mark of 198 goals.

The graduating senior class of 2025 hit 27 wins for their VMI career over the past four seasons – all Division I wins. The closest to the mark was the 1995 class which totaled 19 Division I wins. The 1995 class finished with 27 wins over four seasons, which the class of 2025 just matched.
 
The class of 2025 produced some of the best players in program history, most notably in Luke Rusterucci, who culminated his VMI career being named a USA Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American for his accomplishments.  Just the third All-American in program history, the Peachtree City, Georgia, native scored 42 goals on the season – a career high – which marks the fifth highest single season total in VMI program history. He tallied 32 assists on the year – second highest in program history for a single season – to combine for 74 points, which breaks the single season points record held by David Hope (72) from the 1988 season.
 
Rusterucci is the only Keydet in program history to reach the century mark in both career goals (125) and assists (109). He finished third in the NCAA this season in points per game at 5.29 and led VMI to the No. 2-ranked scoring offense in the nation at 14.64 goals per game, a new school single season record.
 
He finished his VMI tenure with 125 career goals – second highest in program history – to go with 109 career assists, which is the highest career assists total by a large margin (85 by Rob Worrell from 1994-97 is the second-highest total). His 234 combined career points rank second all-time in VMI history only behind David Hope's mark of 239 career points from 1986-89.
 
Senior goalie Damian Levin earned the starting role in his final year at VMI and made the most of it by achieving a .599 save percentage – third best in the NCAA – to go with 14.07 saves per game, the fifth best mark in the country.
 
Sophomore Dayton Bagwell finished the season ranked No. 16 in the NCAA in goals per game by logging 2.93 on average to become one of the most dangerous scoring threats not only on the team but also throughout the country.
 
The Keydets return a solid number of key players from this season to continue the upward trajectory of the program.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

A/M
6' 0"
Sophomore
Damian Levin

#44 Damian Levin

GK
5' 10"
Senior
Luke Rusterucci

#8 Luke Rusterucci

A
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Dayton Bagwell

#55 Dayton Bagwell

6' 0"
Sophomore
A/M
Damian Levin

#44 Damian Levin

5' 10"
Senior
GK
Luke Rusterucci

#8 Luke Rusterucci

6' 0"
Senior
A