Closer to home, Lexi Lenaghan found happiness at Babson

Lexi Lenaghan spent the first two years of her NCAA career at Hofstra. (Babson Athletics)

The world of college lacrosse is filled with stories of players who head off to big-time Division 1 schools amid lofty promises and over-the-rainbow expectations, only to be humbled back to smaller programs that better suit their talents.

The story of Lexi Lenaghan — and her extraordinary success at Babson College before becoming the 2019 NEWMAC Player of the Year — is not exactly one of those.

Lenaghan (Hanover, Mass.) said she got caught up in the recruiting machine that reached down to players younger and younger each year, and convinced them the grander the stage the better, as they sought a commitment.

As a state champion at Notre Dame Academy (Hingham, Mass.) and part of a family full of Div. 1 ice hockey and lacrosse talents, she said she bought into the path that steered her toward signing to play at Hofstra University.