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One New Player to Watch for Each Team During the Champ Series

By Adam Lamberti | Feb 13, 2024

The Championship Series is starting this week - here is a new face on each of the teams and an idea of what they bring to the table.

Boston Cannons - Josh Stout 

Josh Stout is one of the best stories in the Championship Series. A trailblazer for the University of Utah lacrosse program as they made the jump to Division I in 2019, the attackman is third in career points for the Utes.

While undersized, he’s an athletic right-handed dodger with a nose for the goal. Don’t be surprised to see Stout make some diving plays like he did in college.

Like he did at Utah, Stout will be looking to make a name for himself in the professional lacrosse ranks with a gritty and fearless attitude.

California Redwoods - Ryan Tierney

The Redwoods also added Ricky Miezan, who has an opportunity to be one of the most dominant players at the Championship Series, but I’ve opted to talk about Ryan Tierney.

Highly-touted coming out of Hofstra University, Tierney has bounced around the league, starting with the Maryland Whipsnakes in 2021 then the Boston Cannons in 2022 before being picked up by the Redwoods ahead of the 2023 season. 

Because Tierney didn’t appear in a game in 2023, I’m considering him a ‘new’ face, but he shouldn’t be an unknown in the lacrosse community.

A sharp-shooting lefty, I’m particularly excited to see Tierney play looser in the sixes format like he did in college. It felt at times during his first two years as a pro that Tierney was playing tense and because of this, shooting the ball at a lower clip.

He’s at his best when he’s letting the ball go in rhythm and not thinking too much about it. This format will allow him to do that.

Philadelphia Waterdogs - Kyle Borda

Kyle Borda, in my eyes, has the best opportunity out of all the new faces to land on a regular season roster following this Championship Series.

Possessing ideal size at 6’4, Borda is a prototypical downhill dodging midfielder that can shoot it on the run with the best of them.

A graduate student for Ohio State, Borda was the 2nd-leading goal scorer for the Buckeyes in 2023. 

He’ll have the opportunity to showcase his ambidextrous shooting, and can even raise his stock more if he shows he can be a capable defender.

Utah Archers - Ronan Jacoby

A smooth lefty, Ronan Jacoby seems like almost a lock to make a dazzling play this week.

Jacoby won a Division III National Championship at Wesleyan before joining Division I Rutgers in 2022.

He was a key contributor for the Scarlet Knights, helping lead them to a Final Four berth as a primary midfielder.

Perhaps the most creative of the players mentioned, Jacoby plays a similar style to Ryder Garnsey (although I’m not sure if anyone can get THAT close to Garnsey). 

The point is this - he’s a goal-scoring lefty with the ability to score in crazy ways. He could be a fan favorite this week.

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