Syracuse men’s lacrosse: Orange introduce 14 freshmen, one JuCo transfer

Last week, the Syracuse Orange officially unveiled their men’s lacrosse Class of 2018. In total, head coach John Desko is welcoming 14 freshmen and one junior college transfer from Onondaga Community College to a 2019 roster that returns a bevy of players. The class represents five different states and two countries.

Here are the 15 players coming into the Syracuse family, along with some information thanks to SU’s sports information department:

Basile Aburn, Attack, Boys’ Latin (MD)

Before SU: Was the Boys Latin Canuck Award Winner…Played club lacrosse for Crabs Lacrosse...Father Barney played lacrosse for the University of North Carolina

Mikey Berkman, Attack, Dr. Phillips School (FL)

Before SU: Florida’s all-time leader in points and assists…Recorded 484 career points in 72 games (6.72 ppg) at West Orange High School for head coach Bill Baker…Four-time All-District, three-time All-Area and four-time All-Conference in high school…Team captain as a senior…Led the Warriors to a 14-1 record as a senior.

Griffin Cook, Attack, Jamesville-DeWitt (NY)

Before SU: 2018 Under Armour All-American…Two-time USILA All-American…2018 Bob Scott Award Winner, presented by US Lacrosse…Syracuse.com Central New York Player of the Year…Four-time First-Team All-League selection…Two-time team captain at Jamesville-DeWitt under Orange alum Jamie Archer…Led Jamesville-DeWitt to the 2016 New York State Championship...Member of National Honor Society...Great Grandfather Victor Jenkins played lacrosse at Syracuse from 1922-25 and was later elected into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame...Grandfather Hank Cook (1958-61) and Great Grandfather Harry Cook (1936-38) each played football at Syracuse.

Logan Dieball, Midfield, Archbishop Moeller (OH)

Before SU: First Team All-Ohio and All-Region…Led Archbishop Moeller to a Division 1 State Championship…Was a team captain as a senior…Four-year letterwinner for the Crusaders under head coach Sean McGinnis.

Pete Fiorini, Midfield, Baldwinsville (NY)

Before SU: Under Armour All-American (2018)…Two-time USILA All-American...Two-time First Team All-New York State…Four-year First Team All-League…Led Baldwinsville to a Section III Championship in 2017…Two-time team captain…Scored 228 career points in four years under head coach Matt Wilcox.

Owen Hill, Midfield, The Hill Academy (ON)

Before SU: Played five years of varsity lacrosse across at a pair of institutions (McKinnon Park Secondary School, 2014-15; The Hill Academy, 2016-18)…Helped The Hill Academy to back-to-back Geico High School Lacrosse National Championships in 2017 and 2018, under head coach Brodie Merrill…Scored 15 goals while helping the Pride to a 20-3 mark last season…Team captain as a senior...Cousin Sid Smith was a two-time National Champion at Syracuse (2008-09).

Owen Hull, Defense, Rye (NY)

Before SU: Two-sport star in football and lacrosse at Rye High School…Collected 53 ground balls, three goals and 11 assists as a senior…Was a team captain for head coach Steve Lennon…Was an All-Section I and an All-League player…Played club lacrosse for Primetime and Showtime…Member of the National Honor Society.

Shahé Katchadurian, Goalie, John Jay Cross River (NY)

Before SU: Four year letterwinner in football and lacrosse at John Jay…2017 Under Armour All-American New England Team member…Four-time All-Section and three-time All-League honoree in lacrosse, while also being selected as an All-New York State selection in football…Two-time attendee of Maverik Showtime and was an All-Star honoree in 2015…Two-time NXT Philly Showcase Fab-40 member…2015 Adrenaline Black All-Star…Led his high school team to the Section 1 Class B title and 2018 New York Regional Championship…Posted a save percentage of 65.6 as a senior and made 425 saves over his four-year career at John Jay under head coach Tim Schurr.

Jack Kennedy, Defense, Ridgewood (NJ)

Before SU: Four year letterwinner in Lacrosse at Ridgewood High School…Voted first team All-League his senior year and was an All-State Honorable Mention his senior year…Was team captain his senior season for head coach Mike Pounds…Collected 44 ground balls, caused 27 turnovers, scored one goal and four assists as a senior…Played club lacrosse for Maroons lacrosse club and NJ Riot…All-Star at the Philly Showcase…Also attended the UNC team camp, MVP Tournament and Champ Camp…His brother Brett currently plays lacrosse for Syracuse as a redshirt-sophomore defender.

Andrew Kim, Midfield, Don Bosco Prep (NJ)

Before SU: Four year letterwinner at Don Bosco Prep under head coach Brendan Gorman…Scored 61 career goals and 22 assists, registering 33 points as a senior…First Team All-Gibbs…First Team All-County…Team captain as a senior…Also played basketball for two seasons at Don Bosco...His twin brother Justin will also be a freshman on the team this year.

Justin Kim, Midfield, Don Bosco Prep (NJ)

Before SU: Four year letterwinner at Don Bosco Prep for head coach Brendan Gorman…First team All-Gibbs and first team All-County…Scored 27 goals and 20 assists in his senior season, while recording 62 goals and 34 assists in his career at Don Bosco…Was a captain of his high school team during his senior season...His brother Andrew will also be a freshman on the team this year

Tyler Lawton, Attack/Midfield, New Providence High School (NJ)

Before SU: First Team All-State selection as a senior, two-time All-New Jersey honoree and three-time All-Conference selection…Unanimous Conference Player of the Year his senior year at New Providence High School for coach Russ Anderson…Collected 62 goals, 21 assists and 78 ground balls his senior year, while tallying 145 goals, 75 assists and 187 ground balls throughout his career at New Providence…Played in the Maverick Showtime All Star Game and the Gill Gibbs Senior All-Star Game…Team captain his senior year...His cousin, Ryan Norton, was a Kicker for the Syracuse football team.

Matt Magnan, Midfield, Fox Lane High School (NY)

Before SU: Under Armour All-American as a senior…2016 US Lacrosse Sophomore All-American…Maverik Showtime All-Star team…Collected 43 goals, 22 assists and 101 ground balls in his senior season and recorded 183 goals 68 assists and 425 ground balls throughout his high school career…Was a captain of his high school team his junior and senior years…Five year letterwinner at Fox Lane High School.

Jerry Staats, Defense, Onondaga Community College (NY)/The Hill Academy (ON)

Before SU: Earned a bronze medal at the FIL World Championships, while starting for the Iroquois Nationals this summer…NJCAA First Team All-American in 2018…Won a NJCAA National Championship at Onondaga Community College…Previously starred at The Hill Academy and Assumption College School…OCC Rookie of the Year in 2018...Cousin of former Orange attackman Randy Staats.

Seth Thornton, Faceoff, Scarsdale High School (NY)

Before SU: Career record holder for highest faceoff percentage at Scarsdale High School, winning 78-percent of restarts….Recorded 37 goals, 12 assists and ground balls his senior year and 63 goals, 26 assists and 512 ground balls for his career…Was an All-League and All-Section honoree in high school…Played club lacrosse for Nation United and Long Island Express...His cousin, Joe Moore, played lacrosse at SU from 2010-2014.

Cook, Fiorini, and Magnan were All-Americans last year and are also listed in Inside Lacrosse’s Class of 2018 Power 100. Cook comes in at 25, Fiorini is slotted at 37, and Magnan sneaks in at 50.

There’s only one transfer, but it’s a big one in Jerry Staats. He’ll only be a sophomore and had a tremendous freshman campaign with the Lazers, which was capped off by playing in Israel for the Iroquois Nationals. Despite Syracuse landing Jerry, the Orange and every other college team could not get talented attackman Austin Staats, the younger brother of Randy. He has instead declared for the National Lacrosse League draft, which is later this month.

If you somehow forgot how last year went, which is perfectly fine, check out College Crosse’s recap of the team’s season. As for this season, fall ball should be starting later this week as the team held their run test on Monday morning.

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In other team news, the Orange welcomed three-year old Finn Schafran and his family on campus last week for a special visit.

The family has been a special part of the team since late last year, with members of the Orange wearing special “Win for Finn” shirts beginning after the overtime win over North Carolina in the Carrier Dome.

Finn has battled a rare cancer known as rhabdomyosarcoma (a soft-tissue cancer). There’s only about 350 cases a year and it mostly involves children. He’s been battling it for multiple years and has undergone multiple surgeries and chemo treatments. Finn’s family has two other children, one with special needs, and a GoFundMe page is available if you would like to help.

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Finally, former Orange attackman Dylan Donahue is a new assistant coach at OCC, according to the team’s roster page. Donahue has played a couple of season in the MLL with the Charlotte Sounds and the Atlanta Blaze and resides in Camillus. The West Genesee graduate is also the owner and an instructor of Platform Lacrosse Training Club and is a Co-Owner of The Ultimate Goal Family Sports Center in Marcellus.

His father, Kevin Donahue, is a long-time assistant coach with the Orange.