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Throwback Thursday: A Brief History of Brett Queener

One of my all-time favorite lacrosse players, one who I’ve never met actually, is hype man Brett Queener. Brett is like the original Swaggy P for lacrosse, his idea of taking his job seriously is taking nothing seriosuly at all. Also known for his stick tricks and ability to blow up the middle of the field, Brett is a man of man talents and a lot of energy!

We are used to watching him jump up and down, dancing in goal and we’ve also seen him lead a parade of kids through the crowd in the middle of the MLL All-Star skills competition. This man is full of energy and has been a blast to watch since we found out about him back in his college days.

Brett Queener Herkimer County CC GoalieMany people don’t remember Brett starting off his college career at Penn State, because it didn’t last long. He returned home to lead Herkimer County CC to the 2005 NJCAA National Championship where he earned the tournament’s Devensive MVP. While at Herkimer he also earned the 2005 Glenn Geratto Award for National Junior College Player of the Year and finished as a first-team NJCAA All-American.

The next season Queener took his talents to Albany, where we just found out he is now coaching!

Brett played three seasons with the Great Danes where he was one of the most intriguing players in college sports. In just his first game in goal for Albany, Brett ran the ball coast to coast, on Johns Hopkins mind you, to score his first NCAA goal. His ability to put up points on the scoreboard never stopped there, Brett scored as a goalie 5 times in his career and still holds the NCAA record for his feat.

Queener was named to the All-America East Conference team three times and led the Great Danes to the 2007 NCAA quarterfinals before falling in an overtime to Cornell University. By the time his junior year arrived, Brett earned his way onto the man-up offense, running to the sideline exchange his stick for a shortie so he could run the show on the other end.

He moved on to go un-drafted in the NLL but still found time on floor running transition for the Boston Blazers and went in the 5th round to the Rochester Rattlers where he helped lead them to their first Steinfeld Cup, only to be sent to the Nationals to win another Cup the next season.

This guy’s all-around intensity and charisma has earned his the spot of IL’s Lacrosse Personality of the Year multiple times!

Inside Lacrosse Brett Queener Lacrosse Personality of the Year

Now with the Launch, Brett is quieting down a bit in the league, but still giving the fans a show week in and week out.

Check out this insane reel of highlights from Brett’s career, spanning from his first goal vs Hopkins to some nasty MLL show stoppers. There’s a reason Queener will go down as a GOAT, just watch…

Where did you get that kind of inspiration from you ask? Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Jim Beardmore? Before he was so publicly opinionated, Jim was hitting BTB passes and running the show as a goalie long before Queener even thought about it. Here’s another Throwback gem to feast your eyes upon.

Sure Beardmore had some serious moves, but no one touches the charisma, character, athletic ability and all around spark that Brett Queener brings to a lacrosse team. In a game of pick up or for the MLL Championship, I’m picking Queener first any day. The guy wants to win but will never take it too seriously, that sort of freedom and peace of mind he has a goaltender is something that can’t be taught and may never be matched.

Now Brett is a seasoned veteran, going on 35 years young, so it’s got me wondering, will we ever see that many goalie goals, or goals from a goalie on a man-up offense, ever again? Connor seems to think so, but only time can tell!

Follow Brett on Twitter to keep up with the mind of one of lacrosse’s greatest!