There’s only one athlete in the world with an award named after him while still actively playing. At 41 years old in his 18th season, Brodie Merrill continued to set the standard for not just long stick midfielders but lacrosse players everywhere in 2022. 

The Cannons captain made history this past season. In his 200th game played in the Cannons’ final game of the season versus the Whipsnakes, Merrill tied faceoff specialist Greg Gurenlian as the career leader in groundballs with 1,120. 

A 10-time All-Star, 5-time MLL Defensive Player of the Year, 3-time MLL Champion, 2005 MLL Rookie of the Year, and now the namesake of the PLL LSM of the Year Award, there’s few players in the history of the sport as widely respected as Merrill. 

A commander for the Cannons’ defense these past two seasons, Merrill’s presence both on and off the field has left a lasting impact on those around him. The winner of the 2022 Jimmy Regan Teammate award, Merrill does not take his role as a teammate and leader lightly. 

“That’s the cool thing about being in the locker room. The locker room’s a very sacred place, but once you have a teammate, you know, they could be a teammate for life.”