Hempstead, NY – Nine former Hofstra men's lacrosse players have been selected to compete in the Major League Lacrosse 2020 season and the Premier Lacrosse League Championship Series.
Six alumni were named to PLL rosters, while three former Pride players were named to MLL rosters:
Mark Ellis '19 – New York Lizards (MLL)
Jack Concannon '18 – Atlas LC (PLL)
Brendan Kavanagh '18 – Chrome LC (PLL)
Josh Byrne '17 – Chaos LC (PLL)
Finn Sullivan '16 – Redwoods LC (PLL)
Steve Romano '15 – New York Lizards (MLL)
Steve DeNapoli '11 – Waterdogs LC (PLL)
Mike Skudin '11 – Boston Cannons (MLL)
Kevin Unterstein '08 – Atlas LC (PLL)
Hofstra ranks near the top for most alumni on professional rosters. The Pride is tied with Virginia and Albany for 10th place with nine.
A transfer from Stony Brook, Ellis played in 28 games for Hofstra from 2018-19 and scored three goals and one assist along with recording 43 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers as a short-stick defensive midfielder. Ellis was selected in the 2019 MLL Rookie Entry Draft by the New York Lizards and played in four games, scoring one goal and recording six ground balls.
Concannon played in 45 games as a goalie from 2015-18 for Hofstra and was a two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-American in 2017 (second team) and 2018 (third team). Concannon was also a three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team selection (2016-18) and was regularly among the best in the country in save percentage and goals against average. He was a finalist for the 2019 PLL Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year and was the MVP of the PLL All-Star Game.
A four-year member of the team from 2015-18, Kavanagh played in 51 games at attack for the Pride and totaled 75 points on 48 goals and 27 assists. He was named All-CAA First Team and All-ECAC Second Team and was the 2017 Nicholas Colleluori Memorial Tribute recipient his junior year. Kavanagh played for the Denver Outlaws of the MLL in 2019, scoring 37 points and earning selection to the 2019 MLL All-Star Game.
Byrne suited up for Hofstra from 2016-17 after arriving from Nassau Community College. In his two years with the Pride, the Canadian attackman scored 111 points on 71 goals and 40 assists across 29 games, earning him CAA Player of the Year and Inside Lacrosse All-America Honorable Mention honors in 2017 and consecutive All-CAA First Team accolades. Byrne was selected 19th overall by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the 2017 MLL Collegiate Draft and set a rookie record with 39 goals as he was named MLL Rookie of the Year. In 2019, Byrne played for the Chaos and scored 19 goals in his first PLL season. Byrne was also selected first overall by the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League in the 2017 NLL Draft and has scored 160 points across 38 games.
A defenseman for the Pride, Sullivan played in 46 games from 2013-16 and recorded 112 ground balls and 45 caused turnovers for his career. Sullivan was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 in addition to receiving All-CAA First Team honors. Professionally, Sullivan has played for the Denver Outlaws from 2017-19, winning a league championship in 2018 and making the MLL All-Star Game roster in 2019.
Romano played for the Pride from 2012-15 and scored nine points on four goals and five assists while scooping up 110 ground balls as a short-stick defensive midfielder and was named to the 2015 USILA North-South All-Star Game roster. Professionally, Romano debuted with the Ohio Machine in 2016 before playing for the New York Lizards in 2019 and recorded three goals.
DeNapoli appeared as a midfielder in 57 games for Hofstra from 2008-11. DeNapoli posted 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists for his career while also tallying 195 ground balls. DeNapoli was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team in 2008 and picked up All-CAA Second Team plaudits in 2009. The 30th pick in the 2011 MLL Draft, DeNapoli played for three teams across six seasons and was an MLL Champion with the New York Lizards in 2015, and in 2019 played for Atlas LC of the PLL. DeNapoli has also played for Team USA and was a gold medal recipient at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championships.
A defenseman, Skudin appeared in 56 games for Hofstra from 2008-11 and was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and a USILA All-American Honorable Mention in 2011 as a senior. Since beginning his professional career in 2012, Skudin has twice been an MLL Champion with New York in 2015 and Denver in 2016. Following a brief hiatus in 2017, Skudin played for Boston in 2019 and appeared in 10 games.
Unterstein suited up as a short-stick defensive midfielder for the Pride from 2005-08, appearing in 65 games across his four-year career and scoring four goals with four assists in addition to recording 245 ground balls. He earned USILA All-America Honorable Mention honors as a junior and was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year his senior season. Unterstein played professionally in the MLL for New York in 2009, Denver in 2010-11, and back to New York from 2012-18, before suiting up for Atlas LC in 2019. Unterstein played at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championships and helped Team USA to a gold medal.
The six MLL teams will compete in a week-long season beginning on July 18 and concluding with the MLL Championship on July 26. All games will be hosted at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, with the ESPN family of networks carrying every game. Meanwhile, the seven PLL teams will compete from July 25 through the PLL Championship on August 9 from Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, and all games will be televised across the NBC family of networks.
