US Lacrosse Community Forum

Yale attackman Ben Reeves originally committed to Hobart College during his junior year at Palmyra-Macedon High School. Besides Hobart, the only other colleges that called were Binghamton and Boston University. During the summer going into his senior year he was re-recruited by Coach Andy Shay to Yale University. With superior work ethic and attitude, Ben developed tremendously over his 4 years at Yale, turning into one of the best players in program history.

Fellow Tewaaraton finalist Pat Spencer (Loyola) is the textbook example of a late bloomer who developed and trusted the process. At Boys Latin, Pat played JV during his freshmen and sophomore seasons. The experienced coaching staff knew he was a late bloomer and wanted him to develop and gain experience. By his junior and senior year he was one of the best players in the MIAA. Pat has been a Tewaaraton finalist in his sophomore and junior years, while being The Patriot League Player of the Year during all three years at Loyola.

Going into his senior year of high school, Trevor was excited to play Division 3 lacrosse for Franklin and Marshall College. He did not receive any division 1 scholarships until March of his senior year. Coach Bill Tierney saw him play and by April he was signed to play for Denver. He is widely considered the best FOGO in the history of the sport. As a FOGO, he has been named a Tewaaraton finalist during his last two seasons.

Team USA Attackman and Tewaaraton winner Rob Pannell was originally committed to Quinnipiac University coming out of Smithtown West on Long Island. Undersized and skinny, he received very little D1 interest during his high school year. Quinnipiac was the only school who offered him a scholarship. He signed for Quinnipiac but Cornell came calling and he was not granted a release by Quinnipiac and therefore had to spend 1 year at Deerfield Academy before heading to Cornell.

A 3-time captain at Villanova, Jack Curran spent most of his recruiting summers on the second team of his club program in New Jersey. Athletically, he had not grown into his body yet and was athletically behind his peers. He even played down a grade year when he was a senior – his coaches knew he was a late bloomer but college coaches needed to see it. Jack committed to Villanova during his senior fall and went on to become a 3 time captain at Villanova and the programs 4th leading scorer with 182 career points.