Pan American Men's Lacrosse Championship Rosters by the numbers, and players to watch this week

The Pan Am Lacrosse Championships kick off this week, featuring nine teams competing to qualify for the next World Championships. Those will take place in Japan in 2027. While the expectation is that the US and Canada will battle for gold, the fact that multiple teams qualify beyond those top two means this tournament has a lot of weight. There is a lot of talented beyond those top two heavyweights. The Haudenosaunee, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica are all stacked as well, while Colombia and Mexico have some serious weapons. 

It’s not just hyperbole. Over 100 college lacrosse programs are represented at the tournament, ranging across D1, D2, D3, MCLA, and more. There are current PLL and NLL pros, there are current high school players with pro aspirations. It’s a a look at the present and the future of the sport in the Pan American region. While the US and Canada probably didn’t send their true A-squad to the event, it’s not exactly scraping the barrel either. The most represented program in the event is Syracuse. There are 11 former Orange taking the field, suiting up for the Canada, Haudenosaunee, and Jamaica though oddly enough not the US. 

Right behind Syracuse is Albany, with ten players taking the field in the event. Eight of those will be playing for the Haudenosaunee. Jacksonville has the third most with six, Notre Dame right behind them with five, and Ohio State with four. There are 36 programs with multiple former players on rosters. There are some fun quirks too. Florida State and Nassau CC have as many players as Princeton and Hopkins (three). The D3 programs with multiple players at the event are RIT, Christopher Newport, and Tufts. 

All nine teams have at least a handful of players that, on their own, are worth the price of admission. For each nation competing, I’ll call out some names that are worth tuning in to see. For the US and Canada, you don’t really need that. For everyone else, some of these names you might not know yet, but you either should or will soon. Enjoy the event. 

Full rundown of team rosters for the event. If I missed a college affiliation, reach out to me via the mailbag link above, or find me on social media and I’ll make the change.

Team USA

Kyle Bergen - Notre Dame

Kenny Brower - Duke (Waterdogs)

Xander Dickson - UVA (Atlas)

Will Donovan - Notre Dame (Cannons)

Jackson Eicher - Army (Chaos)

Blake Eiland - Ohio State (Whipsnakes)

Hugh Kelleher - Cornell (Atlas/Rock)

Brian Kelly - St John’s (Cannons)

Colin Kirst - Lehigh/Rutgers (Cannons)

AJ Larkin - Maryland

Eric Law - Denver (Pro Retired)

Shawn Lyght - Notre Dame

Aidan Maguire - Duke (Archers)

Andrew McMeekin - Princeton (Cannons)

Anderson Moore - Georgetown

Evan Plunkett - Army (Outlaws)

Jack Posey - Penn State (Whipsnakes)

Ben Ramsey - Notre Dame (Cannons)

Ryan Tierney - Hofstra (Pro Retired)

Mikey Weisshaar - Towson (Cannons)

Luke Wierman - Maryland (Outlaws)

Josh Yago - Air Force/Notre Dame (Waterdogs)

Team Canada

Drake Porter - Syracuse

Chase Strychaluk - RIT

Ty Banks - Georgetown

Lucas Fraser - Jacksonville

Taylor Jensen - RIT (Knighthawks)

Alexis Simard - Canisius

Aaron Toguri - Jacksonville

Levi Verch - St Joseph’s

Wyatt Wiggins - Harvard

Levi Anderson - St Joseph’s (Atlas/Rush)

Sam English - Princeton/Syracuse (Redwoods/Rock)

Ty English - North Carolina (Chaos)

Graydon Hogg - Albany (Cannons)

Thomas McConvey - UVM/UVA (Knighthawks)

Jack Oldman - Ohio State

Jake Stevens - Princeton/Syracuse (Atlas/Black Bears)

Casey Wilson - Denver (Waterdogs/Thunderbirds)

Owen Hiltz - Syracuse (Chaos/Rock)

Will Malcom - Jacksonville (Mammoth)

Clarke Petterson - Cornell (Thunderbirds)

Alex Simmons - Denver/Syracuse (FireWolves)

Finn Thomson - Syracuse (Redwoods)

Team Puerto Rico

Jourdain Algarin - Messiah

Jaden Algarin - Goucher

Nicolas Bucello - Florida Southern

Dominic Bucello - Lenoir-Rhyne

Matt Chlastawa - Bates/Fairfield

Wilfredo Crispin - Kean

Mark Davison - Christopher Newport

Dominick Deering - Merrimack

Owen Fasulka - Mount St Mary’s

Ian Gonzalez - Tennessee Wesleyan

Chase Jackson - Webber

Christian Laureano - Mercer

Aiden McCaffrey - Delaware/Marist

Will Mercado - Christopher Newport

Colby Morales - South Carolina

Ryan Stowell - Keiser

Nelson Telemaco - Rollins

Nick Testa - Johns Hopkins

Chris Testa - Brown

Luke Vando - Nassau CC/Dominican

Jayden Vega - Brown

Kyle Youmans - Florida State

Two names in particular really excite me on this roster. The first is Nick Testa, which should come as no surprise. He set scoring records at the U20 World Championships in Korea, including a 17 point game against Netherlands. He led the event in scoring. He’s a Hopkins commit, and a whirling dervish of an offensive weapon. Second, Mark Davison. He was one of if not the best close defenseman in all of D3 lacrosse last year. Posted 30+ caused turnovers in each of the last two seasons. He also does his best work in big moments. He had a five CT game in a win over Salisbury. He’ll enter 2027 with DPOY hype. 

Team Haudenosaunee

Julien Watts - Yale (commit)

Sakaronhiotane Thompson - SUNY Potsdam

Jack VanValkenburgh - Albany/Mount St Mary’s

Dalton Kane - Albany

Stone Jacobs - Vermont

Mason Sanden - Albany

Sgahendade Martin - Guelph (Pro retired)

Jerry Staats - Onondaga CC/Syracuse (Pro retired)

Logan Lee - Tufts

Masen Powless - Detroit Mercy

Trenton Jacobson - Minnesota

Kelvin Jonathan - Onondaga CC

Ron John - Albany

Kyle Jackson - Michigan

Teharonhiorens McComber - Albany

Daylin John-Hill - Jacksonville/Albany

Jakobe Sanden - Jacksonville (commit)

Greg Elijah-Brown - Syracuse

Chase Scanlan - Loyola/Syracuse

Winter Rivera - Ohio State

Koleton Marquis - Hopkins/Albany

Obrigh Tallchief - D’Youville

Blayze Becker - St Bonaventure/Belmont Abbey

A very talented group, and you might say they’re missing some names you’d expect to see at a World Championship level tournament. Still a good combination of season veterans like Kyle Jackson and Jerry Staats with the future of the team. Daylon John-Hill has become one of my favorite players to watch in college lacrosse. He’s got a great sense for the game on offense, and understands when to play as a feeder, shooter, or dodger based on what will hurt the defense most. Second, I’m excited to see Julien Watts in this competition. He’s a class of 2027 Yale commit, but is a four star recruit at the faceoff spot. He’s a multi sport athlete at Loomis Chaffee, one of the top prep teams in the country. Faceoff weapons like Jack Oldman and Andrew McMeekin are on the menu, so let’s see what the kid has. 

Team Colombia

Anthony Courcelle - Marquette

Marcus Winn - Lycoming

Christian McLean - Jacksonville

Kai Switlick - Williams

Johnathan French - Boise State

Nicholas Sheedy - Lewis

Alex Gutenmann - Buchholz

Jordan Casto - Lincoln Memorial

Henry Kurtzman - Breck

Juan Valderrama - Texas A&M

Daniel Sussingham - Florida State

Joshua Blanchard-Hinestrosa - Cal

Rob Mendez - St Leo/Albany

Charlie Surrez - Hood

Jacob Haas - Young Harris

Yhonathan Andrade - Pereira

Sebastian Gomez - Oneonta

Joaquin Forero - Texas

Nick Park - UChicago

Oscar Cifuentes - Tennessee Wesleyan

Branden Tello - Pace

To start with, if you’re an MCLA fan, this is your team. If you’re a fan of those “what school needs to add D1 next???” hypotheticals, this is DEFINITELY your team. What a rundown of the big names it is. Florida State, Texas, Cal, Texas A&M. To the players to watch, I would start with Branden Tello. Pace is in the NE10, which is a fierce crucible of a D2 conference. It’s not unusual for the entire conference to be ranked nationally, and to have multiple top 10 or even top five teams. Pace is in there with that group, and Tello has been a regular contributor down low for them for years. An excellent steady presence on defense that’s seen high end, even pro level, talent before. The D3 version of the NE10 is the NESCAC, and that’s where Kai Switlick played. He was a freshman at Williams last year and played sparingly, but scored his first college goal against Tufts. He’s got a solid upward trajectory in front of him.

Team Jamaica

Dante Bowen - Ohio State/Syracuse (Redwoods)

Elias McLaughlin - colgate

Hayden Hiltz - Marquette

Cole Jackson - Yale

Nate McPeak - Syracuse

Karl Robinson - Uncommitted 2028

Tony Diallo - UMBC

Antoine Campbell - Nassau CC/Stony Brook

Owen Stephenson - Mercy

JT Mathura - Hopkins (commit)

Matt Marrett - District of Columbia

Clifford Kurker - UMass Lowell

Danielo Parkinson - Howard CC/St John’s

Khairi Sears - UMass Lowell/LIU

Stone Evans - Providence

Isaac Newland - High Point

Tanner Sims - Flagler/Florida

AJ Knox - Pace/LIU/Hampton

Josh McLaughlin 

Marcus Minichiello - NLL Free Agent

Joel Brown - Florida Southern

Another year where you look up and down the Jamaica roster and just see a group that’s pretty damn talented. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jamaica leave this event with a medal. I enjoy watching Tony Diallo play in these competitions every chance I get. He was an outstanding defender in college, and is a tone setter for this team on that end of the field. He’ll guard top matchups, he’ll be the organizer, he’s a really high level defender. Another defender to watch, Owen Stephenson. The Mercy product graduated in 2022 with a monster season of 31 CTs and 55 GBs. He runs the field, can score and move the ball in transition, and will be a key part of the game for Jamaica. Finally, Cole Jackson was a treat to watch at Yale last year. That team really came into its own as the year went on, and Jackson is a key part of their young offense. He’ll put defenders on their heels as a dodger with an explosive first step and shoot on the run. 

Team Argentina

Connor Hollison - Utah

Daniel Seltzer

Joe Amden - HS Class of 2027

Erston Caneva - CUI

Nico Recabarren

Francisco Gomez

Nícolas Hovakimian

Nico Read - Colorado Mesa

Joaquin Read

Cisco Williams - Hofstra

Matias Bort

Mariano Carugatti

Emanuel Hernandez

Augustin Paganini

Felipe Bort

Axel Hoffman

Tomas Acuna

Silvio Vasquez

Cisco Williams will likely be asked to do a lot for this team. The good news is, that’s exactly his game. He is a two way midfielder with incredible speed. He’ll be playing defense, part of the clear, he’ll be a party starter on offense and relied on to draw slides. By far the player I’m most excited to watch on this squad. Second, Connor Hollison. He’ll be seeing plenty of rubber in this event. Hollison played at Utah but was stuck behind some really great goalies in his time there. Don’t let that fool you, he’s a serious student of the game and the position. I’m interested to see how he competes against these shooters given how much he works with goalies and prepares. 

Team Mexico

Wyatt Guerra - Uncommitted Class of 2028

Lanston Goodwin - Nassau CC

Ezekiel Peraza - St Michael’s

Baron Mazariegos - Uncommitted Class of 2028

Gustavo Gonzalez Lima

Tommy Agents - Uncommitted Class of 2026

Ethan Villagrana - Illinois

Mike Hernandez

Henry Alvarado - CUI

Gabriel De La Paz - Michigan-Dearborn

Taylor Fialkowski - UC Irvine

Ricky Tinoco - Elmhurst

Alonso Moralez - Illinois Wesleyan

Ernie Melero - Tufts

Osvaldo Rodriguez

Christian Chuisolo - Alabama Huntsville

Federico Serrano Castro De La Torre

Nathan Ryan - NJIT

Luca DiCarlo Leon

Gunnar Higdon - Bryant

Matt Murakami - UMass Lowell/Providence

Weston Guerra - Uncommitted Class of 2028

Obviously the place to start is the Guerra boys. Both are at McDonough, and regarded as some of the top talent in the 2028 class. Weston will be the netminder. His footwork is outstanding, and he plays angles as well as any high school goalie in the nation. Wyatt plays attack. He’s a big body at 6’2, but can hurt you with both hands, as a dodger, without the ball, he can do a bit of everything at a high level. These two will both be D1 college players, and it’ll be fun to watch them compete against current college talent, let alone pros. Ezekiel “Zeke” Peraza will be a fun name to watch too. He plays at St Mike’s, who had a great run in the D2 NCAA tournament. He was a freshman last year, part of a youth movement for the Purple Knights, and finished with 26 points. 

Team US Virgin Islands

Tyler Dunn

Jake Walter

Dante Poli - Stockton

Anthony Bardonille - Hampton

Ryan Cochran

Taymon Brown

Caymen Callahan

Kyle Murphy

Calvin Fritsch - Aurora

O’Khari Hughes - Kentucky Wesleyan football

Mike Murray

Dane Bentley - Geneseo

David Benjamin - New England College

Elijah St Louis

Jack Channell

Xander Harmon

Ben Duhoski - Denison

Blake Runkle - Albany

Isaiah Wilson - La Roche

Anthony Bardonille deserved to get a lot more pub than he got last spring. Not many people were tuning in for Hampton games, but believe me, he’s worth a watch. He had 38 points as a freshman, including 29 goals. He had four games with 5+ points and was held scoreless exactly once all year. He is a legit offensive talent. Dante Poli put up some straight up video game numbers at Stockton. One of those guys where you check the box score every week just to see what he did. He finished his career there in 2023, having totaled 362 points including an absurd 133 point season in 2022.