Syracuse Lacrosse: Roster Seems To Be Missing Some Names

There's been an interesting development in the last few days since the release of the 2016 Syracuse lacrosse schedule and roster. Several members from the 2015 Syracuse Orange are not listed on the 2016 roster.

As it stands right now, J.T. Forkin's absence from the Syracuse roster is somewhat of a mystery. Forkin, who is not currently listed as a current SU student, came to Syracuse in 2014 and redshirted in his first year. More interestingly is that Merrimack College transfer Dom Madonna is currently listed as #26, Forkin's former number. The redshirt sophomore is also not listed in the Syracuse student directory. All of this points to the obvious thought that Forkin has left the team and the school. I reached out to the athletics department but received no response regarding his status.

In his second year at SU, the Long Beach, NY native made seven appearances at attack. His totals include 5 goals, 1 assist, and 3 caused turnovers. As a high-schooler, Forkin came to ‘Cuse rated as the ninth best incoming midfielder by Inside Lacrosse and the 20^th overall prospect in the class. His family has a strong history of playing college lacrosse, but not at Syracuse. His uncle played for the Maryland Terrapins in the ‘90s and more recently two of his cousins played division I at Marist and Harvard. The loss of Forkin would be certainly be a significant one for the future.

Hopefully, this is not a situation of a dismissal and there is no indication that it was. It goes without saying we wish Forkin, and all the others who don't return to Syracuse, the very best in their futures. That being said, it will be interesting to see what transpired.

There are several other players missing from this year's roster.

Max Parker, former Mr. Lacrosse in Florida, came to Syracuse as a freshman last year. Parker, a midfielder, redshirted as a freshman. In 2015 Parker was listed as #29. That number is now listed as belonging to graduate transfer Nick Piroli. However, Parker is still listed in the Syracuse student directory.

Conner Phillips is another name not found on this year's roster. The sophomore is still listed in the student directory. The defenseman out of Fair haven, NJ redshirted last season.

Finally, there is Ryan Palasek. Palasek played in 15 games over a three year period and registered one start in 2014. During that same time span he picked up a total of four caused turnovers. In 2013, the program suspended Palasek from multiple games due to a violation of team rules.

His brother Tommy Palasek is a former lacrosse player for Syracuse and led the Orange in scoring in 2012. The younger Palasek is still in the student directory, but he is listed as a junior which gives me pause considering he should be a senior and did not redshirt, but that could just be a matter of credits. Redshirt freshman, Laz Chavez, appears to have switched from his former #52 to Palasek's #81.

As far as my research has concluded, there is no other information regarding any of these players. So for now it is just wait and see.