The 2025 Rookie Class punched back in a big way this weekend, with several monster performances across the board. Welcome back to the NLL Rookie Report!
We start with a pair of duos in Vegas and Philadelphia. Adam Poitras made his return to the Desert Dogs lineup and led all rookies in scoring with 2 goals and 5 assists to go along with 2 caused turnovers and 5 loose balls. He was joined by fellow rookie Jackson Webster who had a goal and 5 assists, and 5 loose balls of his own.
The pair was key to the Desert Dogs collecting their fourth win of the season.
For Philadelphia, Rookie of the Year candidate Brennan O’Neill had 2 goals and 3 assists, his best statistical game since December 28th. Meanwhile fellow first-year Dalton Young was one of three players to make his season debut on the weekend, and had 4 assists in his first game. The Chantilly, Virginia native played his college lacrosse at Richmond and was a third round selection by Philadelphia in 2023.
The rookie scoring race looks like this!
The other two season debuts also came in Vegas. Former Duke LSM and current Atlas defender Tyler Carpenter made his NLL and box lacrosse debut, and picked up his first career assist in the process. Defender Max Wayne played two games for the New York Riptide in 2023, but hasn’t seen game action since. He picked up 3 loose balls in his re-introduction to the league.
Speaking of firsts, Halifax defender Curtis Romanchych scored his first goal in his 15th NLL game. It would hold up as the game winner as the Thunderbirds secured a crucial victory over the San Diego Seals.
The same was true for Calgary’s Riley Isaacs, who scored his first career goal for the Roughnecks in their win over the Rush in Saskatchewan. At 7-8 going into the weekend, no team needed the victory more than the Roughnecks. Isaacs was a big reason for the win.
Brayden Mayea (Calgary) and Mike Robinson (Halifax) continued their strong seasons as well, both scoring a goal and 2 assists in their respective team wins. Meanwhile Buffalo’s Clay Scanlan scored twice and earned his team’s player of the game award!
Big play Clay! 👊
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) April 6, 2025
Clay Scanlan is tonight's Heavyweight Player of the Game! #LetsGoBandits | @WNYHeroes pic.twitter.com/y19hf5ObeU
The only other rookie to have 2 points was Georgia’s Kaleb Benedict who added two assists.
Defensively, Jack Follows had 3 caused turnovers for the Roughnecks, while Graydon Hogg and Conner Cook had 2 each.
Vegas defender Nick Preston and Albany defender Will Johansen had 7 loose balls each to lead the rookie class.
The full list of rookies, now up to 66 players, is below!
Thanks for reading the NLL Rookie Report!