Everyone was pretty shocked to hear the news of Chris Gray retiring from professional lacrosse only three years after joining the league. This is surprising for a plethora of reasons, especially considering how great of a lacrosse player Chris Gray is. Gray instantly joined the conversation of some of the best collegiate players who did not see out their professional careers. I think it is important in this moment for people to understand just how good Chris Gray was at lacrosse.
The Wading River, New York, native made his original college commitment to Boston University. It was clear fairly quickly that Gray was the man on campus, throwing up a casual 71 points in his freshman outing. With a pretty even split of goals to assists, it was obvious that Gray could do it all. A great freshman year was surpassed by an even better sophomore year, putting up 111 points on 49 goals and 62 assists, which led all of NCAA lacrosse. At this point, everyone in the country recognized Chris Gray as one of the best players in collegiate lacrosse, establishing himself as an All-American and Tewaaraton nominee.
Seeing his potential, Gray opted to transfer to a more established program than Boston University, which was understandable. He made the move to the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was set up for a big year in 2020 until the pandemic hit. With seven games under his belt, Gray had amassed 48 points on 27 goals and 21 assists. If it weren’t for COVID-19, Gray legitimately could have been a Tewaaraton winner in 2020. Over the next two seasons, he continued his dominance, amassing 171 combined points in his junior and senior seasons while racking up too many accolades to list. He finished his college career as the NCAA all-time leader in career points and was one of the hottest names entering the PLL.
Gray became the number two overall pick in the 2022 PLL Draft to the Atlas. It was clear that Gray would have an immediate impact on the squad, coming off a sensational college career. His rookie outing brought 34 points on an even split of 16 goals and 16 assists, featuring one two-point shot. He built on this in 2023, slightly improving his stats with 37 points on 20 goals, 13 assists, and two two-point goals. It felt like the Atlas were pretty happy with their talented core centered around Jeff Teat and a supporting cast featuring Gray. However, the lacrosse world was flipped on its head in the offseason when Gray was traded to the Redwoods for a draft pick and Garrett Degnon. This trade was somewhat puzzling for the Atlas, giving away a young two-time PLL All-Star for a draft pick and a project player.
Gray’s utilization on the Redwoods was interesting, to say the least. It seemed like his work life was catching up with him, and he was unable to spend as much time on lacrosse as he may have wanted. He played in eight games, only putting up 12 points on eight goals and four assists, with his worst shooting percentage of his career at 21%.
Flash forward to today, it seems like the New York Atlas fleeced the Redwoods as they ended up selecting Liam Entenmann with their draft pick. This begs the question—why exactly did Chris Gray retire so young? The answer is pretty clear: his work life was getting in the way of his lacrosse career. It is very difficult to make a full-time living playing lacrosse, and work should always take priority for these athletes. At the end of the day, they have to make money to live. It is sad to see the former NCAA all-time career leader in points retiring after only three years in the professional game. This is a testament to why the game needs to continue to grow so that professional lacrosse players can be financially supported at a level where they can justify dedicating their time fully to the sport instead of working a 9-to-5 job.
