Men's Lacrosse Announces Inaugural Recruiting Class

7/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

July 13, 2011

MILWAUKEE - Marquette University head coach Joe Amplo announced today the first recruiting class in the history of the Golden Eagles' varsity men's lacrosse program. Amplo's inaugural class is comprised of 25 student-athletes -- including 12 college transfers - who have signed a National Letter of Intent or an Acceptance of Admission form to attend MU this fall.

"There is an exciting challenge in front of us because we are the first men's lacrosse team at Marquette University ... They are going to set the standard for Marquette men's lacrosse and be accountable to maintaining that standard."

Joe Amplo, head coach

"The thing that stands out to me the most is their genuine excitement about Marquette and what exists here, and their ability to be a part of the first group of guys to start this program," Amplo said. "That is definitely something we can build on when we talk to our next set of recruits."

Amplo and his coaching staff welcome a broad range of talent from across North America in 2011, including players who have demonstrated different styles of play at a variety of positions. Ten different states and two Canadian provinces are represented in Marquette's first recruiting class with a geographic footprint ranging from Long Island, N.Y. to as far west as California and north to Calgary, Alberta.

"There is an exciting challenge in front of us because we are the first men's lacrosse team at Marquette University and we get to represent that," said Amplo. "The thing I talked to this group about specifically is that we have to build a culture -- intellectually, academically, and athletically. They are going to set the standard for Marquette men's lacrosse and be accountable to maintaining that standard."

The class includes 13 incoming freshman, six sophomores and six juniors, all of whom will redshirt in 2011-12. MU will play its first men's lacrosse season in the spring of 2013 as an NCAA Division I independent. Marquette will then become a full member of the BIG EAST Conference in men's and women's lacrosse beginning with the 2014 season.

MU announced the addition of varsity men's and women's lacrosse in December 2010, and Amplo was named MU's head men's lacrosse coach on Feb. 4, 2011. He has since been joined by top assistant coach Stephen Brundage and assistant coach John Orsen.

Amplo, formerly the associate head coach at Hoftra University, and his coaching staff will continue to recruit through the 2011-12 academic year. The average men's lacrosse roster size at the NCAA Division I level is nearly 45 student-athletes.

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown	High School	Previous College
Steve Abba	D	5-11	190	So.	Niskayuna, N.Y.	Niskayuna	Hofstra
Bryan Badolato	A	5-11	185	Jr.	West Islip, N.Y.	West Islip	Sacred Heart
Matt Barry	D	6-0	195	So.	Rolling Meadows, Ill.	Saint Viator	Denver
Tyler Burhans	G	6-3	175	Fr.	Bayville, N.Y.	Locust Valley	-
Michael Burke	A/M	6-1	165	Jr.	Caledon, Ontario	Hill Academy	Hofstra
Liam Byrnes	D	5-9	180	Fr.	West Islip, N.Y.	West Islip	-
Cullen Cassidy	M	6-0	205	Jr.	Potomac, Md.	Landon School	Hofstra
Grant Dressen	G	5-11	175	Fr.	Wayzata, Minn.	The Blake School	-
Ben Dvorak	M	6-1	195	So.	St. Charles, Ill.	St. Charles North	Bellarmine (Ky.)
Nick Fotsch	D	6-0	185	Fr.	Sausalito, Calif.	St. Ignatius Prep	-
Charley Gargano	D	6-1	175	Fr.	Brightwaters, N.Y.	Bay Shore	-
Tyler Gilligan	M	5-10	175	Fr.	Whitby, Ontario	Hill Academy	-
B.J. Grill	D	5-7	145	Fr.	Bridgewater, N.J.	Bridgewater-Raritan	-
Connor Hewett	M	5-11	195	So.	Westfield, N.J.	Westfield	Franklin & Marshall
K.C. Kennedy	M	6-2	165	Fr.	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	Brother Rice	-
Matt Melnyk	M	5-11	185	Jr.	Calgary, Alberta	Bishop O'Byrne	Presbyterian
Tyler Melnyk	A	5-11	195	Jr.	Calgary, Alberta	Central Memorial	Presbyterian
Dan Mojica	D	6-2	180	Fr.	Springfield, Pa.	Springfield	-
Jerry Nobile	D	5-10	190	Jr.	Bay Shore, N.Y.	West Islip	Hofstra
James Ravaret	M	5-11	185	So.	Glen Ellyn, Ill.	Glenbard West	Hofstra
Travis Shelhorn	D	5-10	170	Fr.	Farmingdale, N.Y.	Farmingdale	-
Andrew Smistad	M	6-2	205	So.	Calgary, Alberta	Central Memorial	Presbyterian
Alex Utt	D	5-8	190	Fr.	Terrace Park, Ohio	Mariemont	-
Kyle Whitlow	A	5-10	170	Fr.	Coldwater, Ontario	Hill Academy	-
Greg Willey	M	5-10	190	Fr.	St. Louis, Mo.	Chaminade Prep	-