There are 397 NCAA-sponsored men’s college lacrosse teams in the United States, each with about 40 players on their roster. That’s a player pool of 15,880 lacrosse-loving student-athletes.
On May 6, 2025, draft day in the Premier Lacrosse League — the highest level of professional lacrosse on earth — only 32 of those 15,000-plus players were selected.
Among that elite group were Brendan Lavelle and Emmet Carroll, two lifelong friends who grew up five minutes from each other in Rye. They graduated from Rye High School together in 2020, then spent the last four years as teammates at the University of Pennsylvania.
Lavelle, an All-American defenseman at Penn, was the No. 5 overall pick in the first round, when the Utah Archers traded up to select him. Carroll, also an All-American for the Quakers, was chosen with the fourth pick in the third round by the Maryland Whipsnakes.
Draft day is a time for new beginnings, as athletes learn what city they’ll represent in their professional careers. But for Carroll and Lavelle, it also marked a bittersweet end of an era: for the first time in their nearly lifelong lacrosse careers, it meant they would no longer play on the same team.
“It’s crazy when you stop and think about that,” Lavelle said. “It’s a bond we’ll share for the rest of our lives. Even though we’re on different teams now, we still talk or text pretty much every day.”
The former teammates’ rookie season began on May 31, just a few weeks after the draft. In a fitting twist, the duo’s new teams faced each other in the season opener. Lavelle’s Archers edged out Carroll’s Whipsnakes 8-7 in Albany.
“The fact that we were so lucky to have had the chance to play so many games together has never been something Brendan and I haven’t appreciated,” Carroll said. “We always knew that as long as it did last, it probably wouldn’t last forever. And he already knows he’s going to be in my wedding.”
Go all the way back to the fledgling Rye Youth Lacrosse “House League” for first and second graders, and you’ll find Lavelle and Carroll sitting next to each other in their first-ever lacrosse team picture on the steps of Nugent Stadium. Travel lacrosse, modified lacrosse, club lacrosse, the Garnets’ defensive unit at Rye High School, teammates at the University of Pennsylvania for their entire college careers. Every step of the way, every year, it was Carroll in goal, and Lavelle on defense.
“Emmet signed first with Penn when we were both recruited out of Rye High School,” Lavelle said. “At first, I didn’t get much attention, but later on when it became clear that Penn was where I was headed, I asked Emmet if he was OK with it.”
“First off, the guy definitely did not need my permission to go to Penn, and to this day, I’ll never understand why Brendan’s college recruitment took as long as it did,” Carroll said. “Second, the day Brendan Lavelle committed to Penn lacrosse was a historic day for Penn lacrosse.”
That statement is supported by the annual honors both players brought home. Lavelle was an All-Ivy League selection all four years at Penn and a three-time All-American. Carroll started every game in goal for his final two collegiate seasons and was a three-time All-Ivy League pick and two-time All-American.
Outgoing Rye High School boys lacrosse coach Steve Lennon could tell the duo was destined for great things.
“Hands down, two of the best lacrosse players I’ve ever coached,” Lennon said. “Brendan is an absolute beast, a shut-down defender who was a heck of a football player, too. And at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds of solid steel, Emmet is obviously one of the top goalies in the country. He’s crazy quick for his size and fills the cage. But more than their gifts and discipline as players, is who these two are as human beings. They’re both natural-born leaders who are better people than they are lacrosse players.”
For Lavelle, it wasn’t always obvious lacrosse would be his calling.
“When I was little, like all kids, I thought maybe I’d like to play professional baseball or golf,” he said. “It wasn’t until eighth grade that I really took a closer look at lacrosse. Initially, I was a two-way midfielder, but I wasn’t very good. I didn’t have great stick work. But one of our RYL coaches in eighth grade suggested I switch to defense since I had a knack for ground balls and I could run. In hindsight, that was a good decision.”
Carroll played any sport he could get his hands on as a kid, and also played hockey at Rye High School before eventually turning his focus to playing goalie in lacrosse.
“People think you have to have a few loose screws to play goalie,” he said. “I’ve never felt that way about the job. Our defensive unit with the Whipsnakes is filled with some legends of American lacrosse and I’m honored to have the chance to play with so many great players and incredible individuals. We truly are a unit. I definitely take each goal scored on me personally — and dealing with that is by far the toughest part of the job — but with the shot clock in the PLL, we have to recover quickly.”
In the pros, both players continue to don the jersey numbers they chose in college — No. 19 for Carroll and No. 46 for Lavelle — but for vastly different reasons.
“No. 19 was worn by a Penn lacrosse captain, James Farrell, who was tragically killed in a car accident with his brother and a friend on Long Island in 2021,” Carroll said. “Since James’ passing, No. 19 gets passed down from year to year at Penn to a player on the team who best embodies James’ and the Farrell family’s legacy. I wore No. 19 at Penn for my last two years and it was, and continues to be, the honor of my lifetime to wear that number.”
“My favorite all-time player growing up was Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants,” Lavelle said. “I wanted to be him and wear his number 56. When I got to Penn, that number wasn’t available, so I had to do some creative math to get as close to LT as I could. I wore 23 in high school. Two times 23 is 46, which was only 10 away from LT. It was the closest I was going to get. So, I took it.”
While Lavelle and Carroll are living out their dreams playing lacrosse at the highest level, the sport doesn’t yet offer the lofty salaries seen in some other professional sports. In June, Carroll started a full-time job in finance in New York.
“It’s a lot managing the new job and lacrosse, but most guys from the league do the same thing,” he said. “Yes, we all wish that lacrosse was our full-time job, but the league isn’t quite there yet. Maybe someday, who knows? If getting up and riding the train into the city means I get to keep playing lacrosse, then that’s what I’ll do for as long as they’ll have me.”
Meanwhile, in between games and training, Lavelle spent the summer working at various Westchester lacrosse camps and giving private lessons. Eventually, he plans to enter the working world, but for now, there’s only one field he’s focused on.
“I’m so lucky to have the chance to play more competitive and meaningful lacrosse games,” he said. “Playing in the PLL was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. When the season ends sometime this fall, I’ll start to think about the real world.”
