Three years removed from an All-Pro selection at attack, Grant Ament is a first-team selection yet again. This time, though, it’s at midfield.

Consequently, Ament joins Gary Gait as the only players to ever earn All-Pro selections at both attack and midfield. 

Your 2024 First-Team All-Pro Selections 🥇🥍 pic.twitter.com/0h6dOFwYbY

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) September 19, 2024

For Ament, it’s a reflection of a position switch in his prime that has contributed to a pair of Cash App Championships for the Utah Archers. 

Despite entering this summer’s training camp competing to start at attack, Ament made the permanent move to midfield when the coaching staff decided to roll with Matt Moore, Connor Fields and Mac O’Keefe down low. It was a decision that required tough conversations between Ament and head coach Chris Bates before, during and after camp. 

“He had a choice to make different decisions and maybe be an attackman elsewhere, or [to] not truly embrace the role” Bates said. “It’s pro sports. There are egos involved and guys can make choices.”

But Ament committed to playing midfield and put his club first by embracing his positional switch. And, as the season progressed, his transition to midfield looked like a greater success every time he stepped on the field. 

The former Penn State Nittany Lion started the 2024 season hot with four points in Utah’s season opener. As he displayed that he was fully healthy again after a pair of injury-riddled seasons in 2022 and 2023, he dominated short-stick matchups out of the box and expanded his game as a midfielder. 

“I started to believe in myself as a midfielder,” Ament said of his progression throughout the season. “And [Bates] put more belief in me. The road wasn’t linear. But I’m damn proud of where we’ve come from.” 

At the season’s halfway point, Ament was an All-Star starter at midfield for the Western Conference. Then, he was a finalist for Midfielder of the Year (only losing out to teammate Tom Schreiber). Now, he’s recognized as one of the top three midfielders in the world just days after helping clinch Utah’s second consecutive title.

“Flat out, we don’t win if Grant doesn’t accept his role and excel in it.” Archers assistant coach Brian Kavanagh said. “He deserves every little bit of praise he gets at the end of this season because he earned it and then some. Everybody is so proud of him.” 

Ament led all midfielders in scoring in the regular season with 28 points (15G, 13A). It was the first season in his professional or college career in which he registered more goals than assists. In the Cash App Playoffs, he scored five points across Utah’s two games to help lead the club back to the top of the lacrosse world. 

Schreiber’s absence down the stretch forced the Archers to adjust on and off the field. Ament was a key part of that effort.

“Grant just really developed in a way that speaks to his character, his work ethic, his competitiveness, being a great teammate and a great human being,” Bates added. “To see him reap the rewards, not only of being a really highly effective midfielder in the league, but to be that much more of a respected teammate, voice and leader in a highly functioning locker room is a real credit to him.” 

Ament’s sacrifice to play midfield and his full-fledged commitment to excelling at it was a huge factor in the Archers’ run to another Cash App Championship. In a league that is overrun with offensive talent, particularly at attack, he embraced a new challenge and thrived in a different role. That’s what it takes to win championships, and Ament’s two rings are stone-cold evidence.