Lacrosse has been looking for a new ambassador since Paul Rabil retired. Rabil was an absolute powerhouse in college and professional lacrosse, and his impact was felt on the game for over a decade. His stature to the game is given added weight by his performance on the field paired with a great social media following that has firmly secured him as the figurehead of the sport. Now that he’s retired, the lacrosse world has been in search of who might fill those shoes. Of the men in the running, Jeff Teat is the one who stands as the top candidate to be the new face of lacrosse. He could be a guy who bridges Rabil’s era with the future of lacrosse.
Jeff Teat’s college career was nothing short of spectacular. Teat spent four years on the Cornell lacrosse team, from 2017 to 2020. Eventually, he emerged as one of the best players throughout his four-year tenure. He closed his college career at Cornell with 268 points, netting 116 goals and providing 152 assists. He played in the Ivy League, which supplied some rather incredible competition, so he did well. Worth noting is his multiple All-American honors and a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy nomination. Teat’s dominance on the field made him the first overall pick in both NLL and PLL drafts, which showed his unmatched talent and potential.
Transitioning to the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), Teat has continued to impress with his outstanding stats and versatility. His ability to score, assist, and contribute across various aspects of the game makes him a formidable player. Teat has quite fantastic PLL stats. In 2021, after being unable to play the full regular season, he came in second place in the points race. He scored 32 points: 16 goals and 16 assists. In the next season, Teat appeared in ten games, and he managed to tie for third in the league with 38 points. In 2023, he nailed sixth place with 36 points over ten games. However, through 2024, Teat leads the league with 30 points in just four games on 12 goals and 18 assists. His accolades in the PLL include being a three-time All-Star and the 2021 Rookie of the Year. On pace for this type of performance, Jeff Teat will be in solid contention for the 2024 PLL MVP, thus underwriting his potential as the sport’s new face.
That excellence isn’t limited to field lacrosse but extends into box lacrosse. Teat has had an incredible career so far in the NLL. He has played in 52 games over three seasons, scored 151 goals, and given 223 assists—an average of 7.19 points per game. His rookie season 2022 set records with 71 assists and 108 points, good enough to garner the year’s Rookie of the Year award. His list of NLL awards includes First Team All-NLL in 2023 and Second Team in 2022.
In this way, Jeff Teat’s ability to be among the leading players in both the PLL and NLL is second to none. There is an actual chance that in a short few months, he could be labeled as the greatest lacrosse player in the world. The biggest problem for him is exposure. While Rabil used his strong social media presence to interact with his fans regularly, Teat has yet to grow a similar following. This following and presence is important to ensure that casual and dedicated fans alike are becoming familiar to the best players in the game. The PLL’s approach to promoting many stars and no true face of the league further works away from his possible rise as the face of the sport. The game of lacrosse, however, needs that recognizable face to help fuel its growth. With his unequaled talent and field and box lacrosse achievements, Teat is the perfect candidate to fulfill this role.
Jeff Teat is the epitome of what the position of the new face of lacrosse would entail. He has been a consistent top performer who proves his worth through skill in various lacrosse environments, making him the next in line to truly take Paul Rabil’s position. With further success and widely visible actions, Teat is on course to raise the game to another level and indeed be an ambassadorial figure lacrosse needs. The lacrosse community should embrace Teat as the sport’s new icon and charge full-tilt into a new era of excellence and popularity.
