Nine years ago West Coast lacrosse players rarely got invited to showcases back East. The talent and athleticism may have been there, but the invites weren’t. Jono Zissi and other Western region coaches wanted to honor the players who deserved recognition, and the Adrenaline All-American Games were born.
None of the players from Torrey Pines, the high school team I coach, ever got a look. We knew we needed to do something to pave a way for them.
– Jono Zissi, Adrenaline Recruiting Director
Eight years ago, the first Adrenaline All-American Game was played in front of a small crowd at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego. The turf was hot. There was swag, but of a different kind. Gear wasn’t nearly as shiny and “advanced” as it is today.
When we first launched Adrenaline in 2001, the goal was never to make money. It’s about empowering the player. We started the Adrenaline All-American Games because we felt like the players deserved it, and an event like this was missing. It’s true to our mission of empowering lacrosse players and making them into the best people they can be.
– Alex Cade, Adrenaline CEO
A lot has evolved between then and now, but the event’s best qualities remain consistent. The best players, the best coaches and the best style West of the Mississippi are always showcased in one intimate, all-inclusive setting.
This time around The Star, a 91-acre campus that hosts the Dallas Cowboys’ world headquarters, is set to shine brightly with lacrosse all weekend long in tandem with Western Prime. For the second straight year, hundreds of avid high school lacrosse players and their families have arrived in Frisco, Texas, to take part in a world-class experience.
The Adrenaline All-American rosters include thirty-nine girls and fifty-five boys lacrosse players from the Western region of the United States who are all headed to play college ball next year. Every athlete, from Washington to Texas, earned his/her respective spot through hard work and commitment to the craft. Many also have roots with the club programs attending Western Prime – maybe even a sibling or two playing in it.
Zissi remarks:
Many of these kids have played together on-and-off their whole life and this is really the last run they’ll get as teammates. It’s really special to reward them in a setting like The Star. The event as a whole kind of has a graduation feel.
Cade adds:
It’s honestly an honor for us to be able to dedicate our resources to paying tribute to these players, and I am thankful the event has garnered so much media attention over the years. The more eyes on these kids the better, they deserve it!
A handful of well-known current NCAA lacrosse stars are also returning to their roots this weekend to join Zissi, Cade, and the rest of the Adrenaline staff in giving back. West Coast Starz and All-American Game alumni Bubba Fairman (Maryland), Justin Anderson (UNC), Tucker Dordevic (Syracuse), and Cade Van Raaphorst (Duke) are onsite and each assigned to assistant coach an All-American team. These guys are dedicated to showing each All-American the Adrenaline treatment.
Friday – Adrenaline Treatment
The Boys and Girls All-Americans arrive for check-in on Friday morning. They’ll check out the locker rooms (which look insane), plus families and players get to go on an entire facilities tour of Cowboys World Headquarters.
The All-American athletes receive new Adrenaline Lacrosse gear no one has ever seen before and attend a special banquet to celebrate with each other on Friday evening.
Each year Adrenaline aligns a guest speaker to share wisdom with the All-Americans at the banquet. It’s rarely a lacrosse player and always someone who will inspire. This year’s speaker is Jacob Schick, a former American sniper.
Jacob Schick is founder and CEO of 22KILL, an organization on mission to raise awareness for suicide prevention. A third generation Marine who epitomizes service and sacrifice, Schick was injured in battle in 2004. He has become widely known for speaking first-hand about his experiences and using his wisdom to maximize the potential in people from all walks of life.
Following the banquet, the rest of the night is likely dedicated to texting significant others and team bonding at the hotel. Obviously that means Fortnite and then straight to bed to rest up for the big show.
Saturday – The Big Show
Saturday goes by fast, so if you’re a player reading this, remember: it’s important to live in the moment. This could turn out being one of the most memorable days of your life.
The All-American squads come together at the Ford Center Locker Rooms in the morning. They gel quickly and rise to the occasion, striving for a North or South victory.
This year the games take place back-to-back beginning at 12:00PM CT, and Western Prime takes a pause so everyone at The Star can watch the big show. My favorite part is that parents get the best seats in the house: sideline chairs.
- 12:00PM CT – Boys All-America Game
- 2:00PM CT – Girls All-America Game
LaxAllStars is pleased to have one of our very own commentate the Adrenaline All-American Games in addition to our team’s role streaming the Western Prime Championships. Lauren Lea, a new addition to LaxAllStars, joins West Coast Starz director Jono Zissi and Matt Kinnear from Inside Lacrosse on the call during both All-American Games
Lauren is currently a midfielder for the Philadelphia Fire in the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her player perspective on board!
Each game airs on TLN.
Boys Adrenaline All-American Rosters
Players to watch: Isaiah Dawson (Harvard), Quentin Buchman (Notre Dame), Evan Egan (North Carlina), Drew Erickson (Denver), Justin Cheng (Notre Dame)
North
Jersey # | First | Last | Position | High School | College Committed |
1 | Jack | Crockett | Attack | Sacred Heart Prep | Princeton University |
2 | Jack | Collins | Attack | Avon Old Farms | Boston University |
3 | Drew | Erickson | Attack | San Ramon Valley | University of Denver |
4 | Joshua | James | Attack | WJ Palmer | Towson University |
5 | Samuel | Handley | Attack | Jesuit Portland | University of Pennsylvania |
6 | Patrick | English | Attack | Forest Hills Central | Marquette University |
7 | Beau | Pederson | Attack | Park City High School | Princeton University |
8 | Nicholas | Williams | Midfield | Conifer High School | Hofstra University |
9 | JR | Armistead | Midfield | Bellarmine College Prep | University of Richmond |
10 | Mason | Bonnie | Midfield | Lawrenceville School/Deerfield Academy | Georgetown University |
11 | Brett | Boos | Midfield | Chaparral | University of Denver |
12 | Cole | Daninger | Midfield | O’Dea High School | Rutgers University |
13 | Jadon | Kerry | Midfield | Chanhassen High School | Duke University |
14 | George | Pike | Midfield | Avon Old Farms School | Brown University |
15 | Samuel | Dracobly | Midfield | O’Dea | Naval Academy |
16 | Jackson | Harvey | Midfield | Arapahoe High School | University of Denver |
17 | Jack | Sercu | Midfield | Eastside Catholic High School | Williams College |
18 | Matt | Marino | Midfield | Bellevue High School | University of Denver |
19 | Emmett | Jones | Defense | Lakeridge Highschool | High Point University |
20 | Will | Carson | Defense | Skyline | Boston University |
21 | Cathal | Roberts | Defense | San Ramon Valley High School | Princeton University |
22 | Brody | LaPorte | Defense | Menlo School | Villanova |
23 | Ross | Buchmann | Defense | MICDS | University of Vermont |
24 | Mark | Rakowski | Defense | Lawrenceville School | University of Pennsylvania |
25 | Drake | Schaffner | Defense | Gonzaga College High School | Dartmouth |
26 | Mac | Gates | Goalie | Saint Ignatius College Preparatory | Hofstra University |
27 | Jack | Schlendorf | Goalie | Oregon Episcopal School (OES) | Harvard |
28 | Cole | French | Goalie | San Ramon Valley High School | University of Denver |
North Coaches:
- Gary Campo – Palo Verde HS Head Coach, Vegas Starz Director
- Bubba Fairman – University of Maryland, Starting Midfielder, Big 10 Rookie of the Week, WCS & Adrln AA alum
- Tucker Dordevic – Syracuse University, ACC Rookie of the Week 2X, WCS & Adrln AA alum
South
Jersey # | First | Last | Position | High School | College Committed |
1 | Nicholas | Demaio | Attack | Coronado | Boston University |
2 | Paul | Rodriguez | Attack | Harvard Westlake | University of Virginia |
3 | Brandon | Meaux | Attack | Episcopal School of Dallas | Georgetown University |
4 | Chase | Taylor | Attack | Great Oak High School | United States Military Academy, West Point |
5 | Ramsey | McCreary | Attack | The Woodlands High School | Notre Dame |
6 | Ellis | Geis | Attack | Foothill Santa Ana | Denver University |
7 | Tate | Young | Midfield | Westlake High School | Notre Dame |
8 | Josh | Tauss | Attack | Cathedral Catholic | US Air Force Academy |
9 | Ryan | Ramirez | Midfield | Torrey Pines High School | Bryant University |
10 | David | Sprock | Midfield | Jesuit College Prep | Rutgers University |
11 | Spencer | Grant | Faceoff | Torrey Pines High School | Univeristy of Michigan |
12 | Shayne | Grant | Midfield | Torrey Pines High School | Univeristy of Richmond |
13 | Aidan | Hesse | Faceoff | Loyola High School | Tufts University |
14 | Jake | Brophy | Midfield | Coronado High School | UCLA |
15 | Isaiah | Dawson | Midfield | The Bishops School | Harvard |
16 | Quentin | Buchman | Midfield | Santa Margarita Catholic | Notre Dame |
17 | Trent | Pernell | Midfield | Palo Verde High School | Colorado Mesa University |
18 | Aidan | Johnston | Defense | Dallas Jesuit | The University of Michigan |
19 | Hayden | Rodenbeck | Defense | Servite High School | University of Utah |
20 | Cade | Saustad | Defense | Highland Park High School | University of Virginia |
21 | Justin | Cheng | Defense | Beckman | Notre Dame |
22 | Blake | Gagen | Defense | Torrey Pines High School | University of Delaware |
23 | Evan | Egan | Defense | Torrey Pines High School | UNC |
24 | Greyson | Mokarow | Defense | Dallas Jesuit | University of Denver |
25 | Jonathan | Ford | LSM | Torrey Pines High School | University of Notre Dame |
26 | Makail | Fraboni | Goalie | Torrey Pines High School | US Naval Academy |
27 | Carver | Skarnulis | Goalie | Anderson High School | Marquette |
South Coaches:
- Jason Gildea – Roanoke College, Chaos Director
- Jason Griggs – Coronado HS (NV) Head Coach, Movin’ Up Director
- Cade Van Raaphorst – Duke University, 2X All American, 3 year starter, 2018 Final 4/ WCS & AA game alum
Girls Adrenaline All-American Rosters
North
# | First Name | Last Name | Position | High School | College Committed |
2 | Tessa | Guerra | Attack | Mercer Island High School | Claremont McKenna College |
12 | Madison | Souza | Attack | San Ramon Valley | Vanderbiilt University |
14 | Charlie | Rudy | Attack | Novato High School | University of Colorado, Boulder |
17 | Hannah | Mill | Attack | Chaparral High School | Stetson University |
1 | Anna | Clarke | Midfield | Saint Ignatius College Prep | Tufts University |
4 | Brianne | Gross | Midfield | Oak Ridge High School | Vanderbilt University |
6 | Jamie | Level | Midfield | Novato High School | University of Oregon |
7 | Katie | Brodsky | Midfield | Mercer Island High School | Arizona State University |
8 | Kennedy | Mealhow | Midfield | Ponderosa High School | University of Tampa |
9 | Jazmyne | Ward | Midfield | Vimy Ridge Academy | Dartmouth College |
10 | Lydia | Foust | Midfield | Saint Francis High School | Marquette University |
11 | Gabby | Nixon | Midfield | Park City High School | Marist College |
15 | Gabriella | Abbadessa | Midfield | Desert Vista High School | Stony Brook University |
16 | Erin | Schafer | Midfield | Foothill High School | Brown University |
3 | Arianna | Crusha | Defense | Glacier Peak High School | Cascadia Community College |
5 | Hailee | Andry | Defense | Mater Dei High School | Kent State University |
27 | Katie | McGrath | Goalie | Novato High School | Butler University |
28 | Abbigale | Young | Goalie | Carondelet High School | United States Naval Academy |
North Coaches:
- Lyndsey Gillis- Bowdoin College, Mercer Island Director/Coach, Seattle Starz Director
- Kassandra Lemons- St. Mary’s College (CA), Park City HS Coach, West Coast Starz Coach
South
# | First Name | Last Name | Position | High School | College Committed |
8 | Coco | Creedon | Attack | McKinney Boyd High School | Babson College |
9 | Cate | Mackel | Attack | Chaminade College Prep | Elon University |
17 | Megan | Carney | Attack | John Paul II High School | Syracuse University |
1 | Bailee | Monjazeb | Midfield | Torrey Pines High School | University of California, Berkeley |
2 | Hayley | Reardon | Midfield | The Woodlands High School | University of Oregon |
5 | Lizzie | Benedict | Midfield | The Hockaday School | University of North Carolina |
6 | Morgan | McCaffrey | Midfield | Keller High School | Arizona State University |
7 | Kelli | McKinnon | Midfield | Torrey Pines High School | San Diego State University |
10 | Sydney | Lawrence | Midfield | Plano Senior High School | University of Oregon |
11 | Zoe | Durham | Midfield | Highland Park High School | Yale University |
14 | Quinnlyn | Mason | Midfield | Aliso Niguel High School | University of California, Berkeley |
16 | Natalie | Wilson | Midfield | Coronado High School | University of California, Davis |
18 | Cailin | Young | Midfield | St. Margaret’s Episcopal | San Diego State University |
20 | Caitlin | Jones | Midfield | La Costa Canyon High School | San Diego State University |
21 | Gabrielle | Coben | Midfield | Greenhill School | University of Pennsylvania |
12 | Courtney | Anderson | Defense | Coppell High School | Stanford University |
15 | Sydney | Payne | Defense | Mater Dei High School | Arizona State University |
27 | Sophia | LeRose | Goalie | Torrey Pines High School | Duke University |
28 | Rachel | Hall | Goalie | Cypress Woods High School | University of Oregon |
South Coaches:
- Molly Ford – Georgetown University, US Team Member ’11-’14, The Hockaday School HC/Director, GRIT Program Director
- Alyssa Murray – Syracuse University, UWLX Philly Force, Team USA ’14- Present, Vandegrift HS Director/Coach, Iron Horse Girls Director