Players hit the field, and new teams are ready to go
Take a look at the UHSAA expansion into southern Utah
Welcome back to the Utah Lacrosse Report. The groundhog says we have six more weeks of winter, but all we can think about is how hot this season will be for lacrosse. In this week’s report, we have news about the new varsity teams in southern Utah, a look at how men’s college teams are shaping up, an interview with PLL player Will Manny, and a special offer for game day photos for players and teams.
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Varsity lacrosse has expanded into Southern Utah!
By George Eagleston
It’s an exciting year for high school lacrosse in Utah with the sanctioning of eight schools in the southern part of the state by the Iron County and Washington County School districts.
These eight teams include six schools from Washington County in St. George: Crimson Cliffs, Desert Hills, Dixie, Hurricane, Pine View, and Snow Canyon, and two from Iron County in Cedar City: Canyon View and Cedar. These teams belong to 4A Region 9 and are excited to compete at the varsity level this year.
These programs have been sanctioned this year, but they aren’t new. Teams in both the boys and girls divisions have been facing off for several years in the club arena, including in championship games. Snow Canyon took home that title in the boys division last year, and head coach Greg Freihofner says they are ready for the new challenges this year, including playing new teams in the UHSAA.
“As soon as we got sanctioned, the phone was just ringing off the hook! Teams want to play down here in the warm weather, and we are happy to have them,” he said. “This year we play Corner Canyon and East High from up north.”
These programs have been built up by individuals who love and care for the sport enough to sink substantial time into it, watching their sport grow year after year. Cedar head coach Kent Reid credits Nik Johnson, (Canyon View head Coach) and Josh Hill with starting lacrosse in Cedar City. They helped found Iron County Lacrosse, a club team that eventually evolved into the two high school teams there. It started with a group of around fifteen kids and grew it into what it is today, with participation between the high schools and youth of well over a hundred players. St. George has seen similar spectacular growth.
Growth has also been spurred by Utah Tech and Southern Utah University starting lacrosse programs. Now high school players can see the next step in where lacrosse can take them. helped grow participation by legitimizing the sport and showing kids where lacrosse could take them. “It helps with local kids seeing that college is not far off,” said Johnson. “College lacrosse is not somewhere off way far away. It’s right here at home.”
Hill, founder of Iron County Lacrosse, says parental involvement in the sport has been key. He recognizes that like many sports, it takes a lot of time for kids to reach their full potential, and that means a lot of time standing on the sidelines. As the programs have grown, parents are seeing that it’s worth the investment, and are willing to support their kids in the up-and-coming sport.
“It's just been exciting to see everybody,” Josh said. “Parents that are now starting to step up and being involved because that's a big thing.”
Reid is very optimistic about seasons to come, hoping that Varsity getting sanctioned will bring in enough kids for JV and Freshman teams to follow along that same path. “These eight high school programs are so excited about the further legitimization, and participation, that sanctioning will bring to their teams,” he said.
The massive growth of the sport helped sanction it, but growth alone won’t sanction a sport. Reid credited the Washington and Iron County School District board members for helping with the process. They put significant resources into making it work, recognizing what the sport means to players and coaches.
For each of these teams' current schedules, you can visit https://www.maxpreps.com/ut/lacrosse/
Men’s College Lacrosse is Heating Up
NCAA
Utah Utes
The Utes are coming off back-to-back ASUN Championships and NCAA Tournament births. The expectations on the hill will be no different this year as they are the favorite to once again win the 6-team ASUN. The conference lost Detroit-Mercy, Cleveland State and Robert Morris leaving the Utes to face Air Force, Mercer, Queens, Bellarmine and Jacksonville.
It’s hard not to look at the Utes schedule and get giddy. The Utes opened the season with a dominant 19-13 win over No. 19 Ohio State. Ryan Stines and Cody Hart both had five points which is no surprise to those who’ve been watching the Utes. The surprise though was Freshman Luke McNamara who tallied 5 goals in his NCAA debut.
The Utes will host Delaware, the first CAA team to come to Utah, in the home opener this Saturday, February 8 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. There is no reason to not see you there!
The Utes will hit the road for games against two familiar foes: Denver on February 15 and Vermont on February 22. Circle your calendars for March 1 as the Utes host the Syracuse Orange who are the first ACC team to come to Utah. The Utes will end the non-conference slate with a game at Dartmouth on March 8, host Marquette on March 15 then head to Virginia on March 22.
ASUN play begins for the Utes on March 29 at Bellarmine followed by back-to-back home games against Mercer (April 5) and Jacksonville (April 12). The Utes end the regular season on the road at Queens (April 19) and Air Force (April 26). The ASUN Tournament will be the first weekend in May at Jacksonville.
Captain Ryan Stines will once again lead the offensive charge while fellow captain Nikko Diponio anchors the defense. The Utes will look to fill some big shoes that graduated last year with Tyler Bradbury, MJ McMahon, Carson Moyer, Joey Boylston and others having played significant minutes for the Utes.
Westminster Griffins
The Griffins will kick off its 2025 campaign with two in-state MCLA scrimmages. While they don’t count on paper, the Griffins and BYU have been known to have tight games with a playoff like atmosphere. BYU hosted the Griffins this past weekend while UVU will host the Griffins on February 14. NCAA play begins for the Griffins on February 21 in Florida against Rollins College. On February 23, Embry-Riddle will host Westminster.
Westminster then plays three games in a week when it hosts Lynn on March 3 then heads to Illinois to take on Lewis University on March 8 and Davenport on March 9.
RMAC play begins on March 17 with the Griffins heading to Dominican then driving down the PCH to Concordia-Irvine for a midweek affair on March 19. Westminster then has four straight home games: Dominican on March 30, Adams State on April 5, Colorado Mesa on April 6 and Concordia-Irvine on April 12. The team then takes to the road to play Adams State on April 17 and then a showdown with Colorado Mesa on April 19 which usually crowns the regular-season champ.
Sophomore Ridge Crouch led the Griffins in points in his debut season last year, tallying 39 goals and 18 assists. We should expect to see Christian Jones in goal for the Griffins.
MCLA
Division I
BYU Cougars
The Cougars are coming off an undefeated season in 2024 which ended with a 13-5 win over rival UVU in the MCLA Championship game.
BYU begins its season with three games in four days starting on Wednesday at Washington. The team will then head to Eugene, Oregon for a game against the Ducks on Friday and then a neutral-site game with Simon Fraser on Saturday.
The following week the Cougars will once again take to the road to play Arizona State on February 13 and Grand Canyon on February 15.
After a few weeks to recover, BYU will head to sunny SoCal for a game against Chapman on March 1. The first home game for BYU will be March 8 against Boise State then the Cougars will take on Nevada in Reno on March 12 and Santa Clara on March 14. NCAA D-II Adams State will scrimmage the Cougars on March 21 before BYU opens RMLC the following week.
On March 27th, BYU will head to St. George to take on Utah Tech. The Colorado teams will come to Utah this year which means BYU will host Colorado on April 10 and Colorado State on April 12. The Cougars will finish the regular season with an away game at Utah on April 15 and then host UVU on April 19.
Utah Tech Trailblazers
The Trailblazers already have a game under its belt with a 19-5 win over SUU on January 20th. An Arizona road trip this week will really kick off the season as the Trailblazers will play at Arizona State on Friday, Grand Canyon on Sunday and Arizona on Tuesday.
Nevada comes to town on February 16 then UCLA will follow on February 22. Utah Tech will then head to Northern California to face Sonoma State on March 1 and Stanford on March 2 then a game against Santa Clara on March 5.
RMLC play begins on March 15 against UVU then will head to Utah on March 23. On March 27, BYU will come to town the the Trailblazers will finish the season at Colorado on April 4 and Colorado State on April 6.
Utah Utes
Utah will open its season at the Pac-12 shootout in Southern California. The Utes will take on USC on February 15 and Arizona on February 16. A month later the Utes will host Adams State (March 19) in a scrimmage then host Washington and Utah Tech that weekend.
A quick trip to Boise State on March 29 will get the Utes ready for RMLC play as they take on Utah Valley on April 2 then head to Colorado State on April 4 then Colorado on April 6. The Utes will finish out the season against BYU on April 15.
Utah Valley Wolverines
UVU opened its season last Saturday against SUU, winning 28-2. The Wolverines will scrimmage Westminster on February 14 then will host Washington State on February 15.
A trip to Florida to face Florida State (February 20) and Florida (February 22) will help give the Wolverines an idea of where they stand nationally. Boise State will come to town on March 7 then UVU takes to the road again for a game at UC Santa Barbara on March 12, San Diego State on March 14 and then Utah Tech on the way home on Saturday March 15.
A quick turnaround will see Adams State come to UVU for a scrimmage on March 18 then the Wolverines will host Washington on March 24. The heart of the RMLC season will see UVU at Utah on April 2, host Colorado State and Colorado (April 10/12) then a finale against BYU on April 19.
Division II
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
It’s been a rough beginning for the T-birds as they have lost to Utah Tech, 19-5, and UVU, 28-2, to begin the season. The team will look to grab some wins against Northern Arizona on February 7 and Arizona Christian on February 8. Nevada will come to Cedar City on February 15 then the T-birds will host Western State on February 28.
SUU will then host New Mexico on March 2 and Utah State on March 28. The season will conclude with a double header against Colorado School of Mines and Wyoming on April 5.
Utah State Aggies
The Aggies will head to Colorado for a three game stand on February 14 against Air Force, Cal State San Marcos (February 15) and North Dakota State (February 16). LMU comes to town on February 21 then the Aggies will host Denver on February 23. A pair for neutral site games at Northwest Nazarene in Idaho will see the Aggies take on UC San Diego and Florida Atlantic.
Utah State will then head to Montana for a pair of games on March 7 against Montana State and March 8 against Montana. The Aggies will follow up that road trip with a trip to Idaho to play College of Idaho (March 21) and Central Washington (March 22). On March 28, the Aggies will head to Cedar City for a showdown against SUU. They’ll continue the trip to take on NAU on March 30. The season will close out against Wyoming on April 4 and Northwest Nazarene on April 12.
Utah Pro: Will Manny
Last week we brought you the news that Waterford and Utah Lynx coach Meg Whittle will be playing professionally in the Women’s Lacrosse League. But she’s not the only Utah-based player in the professional leagues. Will Manny is one of the co-owners of Utah Summit and plays in the Professional Lacrosse League for the Boston Cannons. We caught up with him to hear more about his experiences.
What’s it like playing professional lacrosse?
Playing professional lacrosse since 2013 has been an incredible experience and an amazing opportunity to not only fulfill my dream of playing at the highest level but also to contribute to the growth of the game. It’s been rewarding to witness lacrosse continue to rise and gain recognition as a mainstream professional sport. The accessibility of the game, the caliber of players, and the overall viewing experience have all evolved dramatically, attracting more fans and elevating the sport's profile. While it’s a grind, competing and traveling throughout the summer, I take immense pride in the time, dedication, and effort that I’ve put in—along with the support from my family and those who have backed me along the way. There’s truly nothing like playing at this level. My overall favorite part throughout the Summer seasons is playing a professional game on the weekend and coming home to Utah and getting to coach our Utah Summit LC teams, continuing to inspire the youth, and help drive our High School players to be college-ready both on and off the field.
How do you want to see the sport grow in the next five years?
I’d love to see lacrosse reach a point where players can rely on the pro leagues as their primary source of income and live comfortably as professional athletes. While we've made significant strides in that direction, there’s still plenty of room for growth, and I’m hopeful we’ll continue to see progress. A few fun side thoughts: I’d love to see a 2-point arc introduced in college lacrosse, an NLL team here in Utah, and for kids to start wearing their chinstraps on their chins—not their mouths!
What’s your message to young players who want to play professionally one day?
My message to young players who want to play professionally one day is simple: buckle up and believe! The game is getting more competitive every year, but there are many ways to approach life. I encourage you to take it on with a growth mindset and a blue-collar work ethic. One thing we always emphasized at the University of Utah (and now with our Utah Summit program) with Coach Brian Holman, Adam Ghitelman, Marcus Holman, and myself, was the difference between "I wanna" vs. "I'm gonna." Are you the type of person who says, "I wanna be a pro lacrosse player" and thinks it will just happen? Or are you the type who says, "I'm gonna be a professional lacrosse player," and is willing to put in the work to make that dream a reality? It’s a process—a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year commitment. You’ll need to constantly evaluate yourself as a player, both in terms of skill and physicality. Be honest with where you're at and keep grinding. My favorite quote is, "Let whoever, say whatever—just keep getting better." Keep your head down, put in the time, and the game will find a way to give back to you.
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