National Collegiate Box Series: The Americans are here
Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
It was the official regular season start day of the newly formed Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League.
Announced several months earlier through a partnership between the US Box Lacrosse Association, National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth and Warrior Lacrosse, the CCBLL was geared towards local college-aged players as a place to develop their overall game and blossom into more complete players when it came time to return to campus, and even further if they desired.
With fewer Americans playing box professionally in the NLL at the time, would a league like this even work? Would players register for rosters? Was there any real industry interest? Would anyone care?
USBOXLA streamed that first night of games on June 14, hoping at least a small handful of people would tune into their little new league.
Partway through Game 1 between the Bighorns and Gold Miners, the stream stopped working.
2017 Stoneflies, Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League
The sky-high traffic for the CCBLL’s season openers overwhelmed the association’s servers. Thousands tuned in, and then out almost immediately. While fans must have been frustrated with the failed feed, the fact that the league already had actual fans, seemingly thousands of them, was mind blowing to USBOXLA’s brass.
So, they got off the ground, but who was actually playing in the league?
Actually, some really good talent.
In addition to having top-tier NCAA name like Trevor Baptiste (University of Denver, now San Diego Seals) taking part in Year 1, the CCBLL was also able to pull from a sizeable pool of local players that had grown up playing indoors through USBOXLA-sanctioned club LXTC. The group was founded by Bill Tierney, Trevor Tierney, and Matt Brown in 2009 when the three coaches took over the University of Denver men’s lacrosse program. Brown, who also co-founded USBOXLA with former NLL player and fellow Canadian Shaydon Santos, and both Tierneys have been massive supporters of box at all levels in the US. Often working with the Mammoth organization, LXTC had essentially developed their own minor lacrosse system (LXTC Mammoth Elite Box Training Series), a travel team program (Denver Elite) and now the pinnacle of their developmental ladder, the CCBLL.
Trevor Baptiste, 2018 NLL Entry Draft
Other programs were quickly interested in doing the same in their state. USBOXLA was flooded with requests to start leagues throughout the country. Again, the interest was immense.
As a result, the National Collegiate Box Series was formed, an umbrella organization that would govern the CCBLL, and soon several other leagues.
Today, the NCBS has leagues in Ohio (established in 2018), Connecticut (2020), Upstate New York (2020) in both Buffalo & Rochester, California (2021) in both San Diego & NorCal, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia (2022), and most recently Pennsylvania (2024). League champs or state all-star teams meet to compete for a national title every August. The San Diego-based Royals have won that last three times, and should be a top contender again this year. For the second straight season, the NCBS nationals will be held in Utica, New York (August 6-10).
Expansion talks are already underway for 2025 too.
So, will anyone care about a college-aged box league in the US? A bit, yeah.
Taking over from the NCBS’s original commissioner, Niko Blankenship, prior to the start of the 2022 season, Charlie Ragusa is extremely optimistic about the direction the leagues are headed.
“I’m really excited about where the NCBS is going,” said Ragusa, who also works in a lead media role with the NLL’s Halifax Thunderbirds. “The NCBS is giving players the opportunity to get better for their next college season, but is also giving them the training, competition and exposure to hopefully move on to the next level within the sport too.”
That next level is the NLL, which in more recent seasons has seen an increase in Americans playing in the pro league, many of which have spent time somewhere in the NCBS.
While the NCBS saw just a single player taken in the first few NLL Entry Drafts after the series was formed, things starting slowly but steadily ramping up in 2020: two in 2020, five in 2021, nine in 2022, and ten in 2023. That’s significant considering four NCBS teams existed in Year 1 just seven summers ago. That total club count is now creeping close to two dozen.
Jack Hannah, Rivermen, 2022 NCBC National Championship Tournament
The most notable name the NCBS has seen drafted is most definitely Jack Hannah, who was selected 31st overall in the 2021 draft by the Panther City Lacrosse Club, later traded to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs before making his NLL debut. Most teams around the league are likely kicking themselves they didn’t draft Hannah when they had the chance. The University of Denver alumni, who played for the Rivermen in the Ohio Collegiate Box Lacrosse League and prior to that excelled with U18 Team USBOXLA during British Columbia-based tours, was an NLL Rookie of the Year runner-up and has since solidified himself as one of the premier American-born forwards in the league today.
Based on individual team draft results, it's obvious that most NLL scouts aren’t overly dialled into the NCBS just yet, and San Diego Seals defender Cam Holding, who is also extremely involved in the California Collegiate Box Lacrosse League and coaches the Royals alongside Seals teammate Wes Berg, see that as an advantage for the teams who’ve invested into these college-aged leagues.
“I think once we start seeing some of these players start taking more of an impact role in the NLL, I think those coaches and GMs will start to recognize a little bit more of what the NCBS has to offer,” said Holding. “Until then, I'm totally fine knowing what we have and trusting the process that we have with the NCBS and specifically the Royals, and we'll keep those players for ourselves.”
Jake Govett, San Diego Seals (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
Right now, there are a total of five players with NCBS ties playing for the Seals: Mac O’Keefe (CTCBLL), Danny Logan (CCBLL), Jake Govett (CCBLL & CACBLL), Payton Rezanka (CACBLL), and the previously mentioned Baptiste (CCBLL).
Teams who support NCBS leagues, like the Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Knighthawks and the Mammoth, have also spent draft selections on players in their nearby NCBS loops. Teams like the Georgia Swarm, Philadelphia Wings and Panther City have dabbled a bit on draft day too.
In fact, last year the Swarm selected three players who had previously played in an NCBS league: Kaleb Benedict (UCBLL), Jake Taylor (CCBLL), and Richie Connell (CCBLL). While Benedict had played most of his pre-pro career in Canada prior to competing in the Upstate league, Taylor & Connell are two Denver-area talents that grew up developing in Brown’s and the Tierney’s LXTC box-specific programs. Georgia did their research.
The Wings are actually a partner in the Greater Philadelphia NCBS league that started it’s first season just a few weeks ago. Philadelphia currently has the first pick in the upcoming NLL Entry Draft. More on that in a bit.
Richie Connell, Stoneflies, 2022 Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League
No matter who does or doesn’t draft NCBS talent, Holding has seen firsthand that American players who were previously unfamiliar with the NLL, now not only cheer for their local pro team, they want to play for them too.
“The NCBS shows them a direct pathway to get to the NLL, and part of that pathway for a lot of these kids in San Diego is the Junior Seals, then the Royals, and then the actual Seals hopefully,” said Holding. “If you can develop these players that live in an NLL market, specifically for the American teams, on the business side, there's so many benefits to having a San Diego-born player on your roster, whether that's saving on per diems, flights, hotels, ticketing…they're connected with your fan base already, right? There's a lot of positives in developing local talent.”
One such talent certainly appears to be California kid and Princeton University midfielder Marquez White, who has been a centrepiece of the Royals three-peat and hopes to one day play in the NLL. He’s draft eligible this year.
White is considered by many to be a Top 5 player in the NCBS, many putting him as high as number one. Royals high-scoring teammate and Rancho Santa Fe-native Miles Botkiss, who still has a season left at Harvard, would be another to rank that high.
Marquez White, Royals (Photo: San Diego Seals)
Like a lot of NCBS players, Marquez hadn’t played what would be considered legit box lacrosse before joining the league.
“I played basically field lacrosse in a box,” said Marquez. “We didn't play real box rules or have real box refs. It wasn't anything that serious. I didn't really learn box until I played with the Royals.”
And has he ever played for the Royals. White is a tremendous transitional defender that takes care of business in the Royals’ own end, but is a serious threat on their offensive press too. He’s the type of player NLL teams want in today’s uber-athletic modern era of the game.
“I look at myself as a true defensive player in box,” added White, who’s above-average speed and timely decision making should help him transition quicker than most at the pro level. “And then I think I have the green light pushing transition, getting a couple possessions on offense, trying to catch some offensive player down on the D end. I think that's how I've started to see my role develop with the Royals and then hopefully at the next level as well.”
Casey Powell, Rochester Knighthawks (Photo: Larry Palumbo)
The last time an American was taken first overall in the NLL Entry Draft was when the Knighthawks selected Casey Powell with the top pick in the 1998 draft. Since then, over 25 years later, only 26 US-born players have had their name called in the first round.
That may change this year, at least when it comes to an American going first overall.
Many expect Duke’s Brennan O'Neill to go #1 in September’s yet-to-be-announced draft. Born in Bay Shore, New York, O’Neill was supposed to play in Connecticut’s NCBS league (owned & managed by Albany FireWolves Partner & CEO Oliver Marti) a few years ago, but the pandemic prevented that from happening. Since then, his Team USA field lacrosse demands have obviously been a high priority. Already a gold medal winner with USA’s U21 team, last year O’Neill was the lone collegiate player selected for the American’s World Championship roster. How would he do playing alongside and against the best talent in the world? Well, the red, white and blue won gold, and O’Neill was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. So, kinda good.
With a limited box lacrosse background, can O’Neill find the same success he’s had outdoors now in NLL rinks? He’s likely one of the few Americans that has the tools to transition seamlessly indoors based on his high-end skill, size and strength. He’s a unique talent, one that virtually any NLL team would like to have at their training camp this fall. Few Americans during the league’s modern era, especially on the offensive side, have found immediate success in the NLL, but you can probably soon add O’Neill’s name to that super-short list.
Joey Spallina, Orangeville Northmen (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Fast forward a few seasons, and Joey Spallina will be one of those players as well. A junior at Syracuse University this upcoming season, Spallina is currently crippling Ontario Junior Lacrosse League defensive units for a second straight summer while playing for the Orangeville Northmen. While box wasn’t brand new to Spallina prior to joining the Northmen, his hours logged indoors are far, far, far fewer than what his mostly Ontario-born teammates and opponents have registered on their resumes. The New Yorker has produced 300 points in just 53 OJLL games (regular season and playoffs combined) so far, stupid silly stats that virtually any Canadian would kill for. He was right-away good, but again, Spallina is one of the very few that can pull something like that off.
Obviously only one team will get O’Neill this September or Spallina in a few seasons, but there are many more Americans playing across the country right now that are well worth a look when draft day arrives. Plus, box isn’t new to them.
“Seeing is believing,” says Ragusa. “Until you’re at a league game or watching the best of the NCBS at our national tournament, you probably think what we’re doing here is cool, but aren’t entirely sure about the quality of our product or the players. I get it.
“But with that said, all the ex-pros and current NLL players that coach in our leagues that see these players develop, all of them say to me, ‘Wow, these kids are really talented’, and that’s why so many of them keep investing their time here. They see the value. They see the future. They get it.”
Dan Coates & Ryland Rees, Rochester Knighthawks players and UCBLL coaches
Prior to the NCBS, you could probably count on one, maybe two hands the number of drafted Americans that had played serious box lacrosse before being selected by an NLL club. Most of those careers died soon after the player was drafted. Those selections, even some as high as first rounders, were pretty much wasted.
Now, instead of rolling the dice on an American and hoping they can cut it, and cut it quickly (the NLL has no developmental system or farm league, so unless you can land on the practice roster, you’re pretty much SOL), NLL GMs and scouts can watch US-based players compete during the summer in several states, talk to NCBS coaches (many of which, like Ragusa mentioned, are current & former NLL players themselves) about their top pro prospects, or take in their national championship in Utica. In fact, like last year, NCBS national tournament games will be streamed on the NLL’s YouTube channel, for free.
In a USBOXLA article published soon after the NLL’s 2015 season, one where a record-low 13 Americans played in the league that year, they confirmed essentially three must-haves most American players would need in order to make it to the box big leagues: opportunity, commitment and experience, in that order.
Since that article, two things have happened to buck those sad state-side stats when it comes to pro box rosters: NLL expansion and the NCBS.
Over 30 Americans played in the NLL last year, while this summer it’s expected as many as 300 mostly Americans will play in an NCBS league across those seven states or regions.
The Americans aren’t coming, they’re already here, and expect to see more drafted this September and stealing roster spots this winter.