2022 Players Top 50: #42 Jack Hannah
By Sarah Griffin
Dec 5, 2022
Jack Hannah made his mark in his rookie season with the Waterdogs. He was fearless for the Dogs taking 65 shots, tied for third-highest in the league with Atlas’s Bryan Costabile.
Now with a professional championship already under his belt, the sky’s the limit for the young midfielder on the Waterdogs’ offense.
“He can impact offensively in so many different ways,” said teammate Mikie Schlosser. He can do it with speed, he can lean in with strength, he’s incredibly strong. He’s very multidimensional.”
Waterdogs head coach Andy Copelan described Hannah’s style of game to Adam Lamberti as a hybrid.
“He’s an American field player, but he kind of has a little bit of a hybrid style in terms of his ability to beat you over the top or underneath,” said Copelan.
As a rookie, Hannah assimilated into his role at the midfield seamlessly, something Schlosser says isn’t always easy for young guys.
“He’s really coachable. Especially when you’re a rookie and you’re new to the league, being able to come in and just fit into an offense, some players struggle with that because they’re used to doing more in college. Being around him all season I thought he was incredibly coachable.”
Week after week, Hannah progressed not just as a midfielder, but a team player doing whatever was asked of him and making the necessary changes along the way.
“There’s so many talented, athletic players, but that doesn’t mean they’ll fill the role asked of them,” remarked Schlosser. “One thing that can help midfielders when they join the league is simplifying their game and he did that throughout the season and took care of the ball really well.”
“The way our team works is you know every weekend your role can change a little bit, but every weekend there’s some guys who finish with 4 goals, then there’s some who finish with 0 goals but 4 hockey assists. There’s weekends where Jack was playing that hockey assist role, and there were weekends where he was playing that goal scorer. He always came in and did what was best for the team.”
Aside from the championship, perhaps the most memorable regular season win for Hannah was back at the University of Denver. In an overtime thriller versus the Atlas at Peter Barton Stadium, it was none other than the former Pio himself who called game.
“It kind of felt like a home game for me, kind of like it was the college season,” Hannah said postgame. “But it felt good and it felt normal to be back out there. I couldn’t have been more excited to get to shoot that shot with all of the DU fans here.”
Now a champion at just 23 years old, this is just the beginning for Hannah’s career.
“We’ve been really pleased with his development here, his evolution here,” remarked Copelan. “He’s a special one.”
#50-#41 of the 2022 Players Top 50 are out now. Check back tomorrow for #40-#31.
