Five to represent Marquette in World Lacrosse Championship
6/20/2023 3:58:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Byrnes and Richard to represent Team USA, while Hershman, Blanc and Henry to also compete
MILWAUKEE – Current and former Marquette University men's lacrosse players Luke Blanc, JP Henry, Jared Hershman, Liam Byrnes and Jacob Richard will all suit up during the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship from June 21-July 1 in San Diego.
Byrnes (2012-16) and Richard (2013-16) were named to the U.S. roster on Dec. 20 and will make their first World Lacrosse Championship appearance. Hershman (2017-20) competed with Puerto Rico at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship, while Blanc (2022-pres.) and Henry, an incoming freshman, will make their tournament debuts.
Championship Pools with MU connections:
Pool A – Australia, Canada, England, Haudenosaunee, United States (Byrnes and Richard)
Pool B – Denmark, France (Blanc), Japan, Uganda, Wales
Pool C – Czech Republic, Israel, Philippines, Puerto Rico (Hershman), Sweden
Pool F – Ireland, Korea, Latvia, Netherlands, Peru (Henry)
The 30 teams that qualified for the event are split into six pools of five, with the top five nations in the rankings Pool A. The top two A pool teams will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining three teams from the A pool will join the top nine teams from pools B-F (five first-place finishers and four second-place finishers) in the first round of the playoffs on June 27 to determine the remaining teams in the quarterfinals, which kick off on June 28. Full information on seeding, format and progression for pool play can be found here. Â
All 107 games of the event will be available through ESPN+ in addition to six games on linear television, beginning with the Wednesday, June 21 matchup between the United States and Canada at 9 p.m. Central time on ESPN2. The tournament semifinals on June 29 and the gold medal game on July 1 also air on ESPN2.
San Diego State's 32,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, opening game between the USA and Canada, tournament semifinals and medal games. The University of San Diego's Torero Stadium (cap. 6,000) will host most games while the remaining contests will occur on SDSU's campus.
The United States is hosting the event for the fourth time and the first since 2014, when the Americans suffered a gold medal loss to Canada in Denver. Team USA is the reigning World Champion after claiming gold in Israel in 2018 and has finished first or second at every world championship since the event began in 1967.
Liam Byrnes – Team USA (Pool A)
Byrnes established himself as one of the best long-pole players in the world and was selected to the U.S. roster as a long-stick midfielder. The two-time second team All-PLL defenseman captured a gold medal with Team USA in the sixes event at the 2022 World Games in Alabama and was the 2019 Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year.
Byrnes was a USILA Second Team All-American during his senior season at Marquette in 2016 and holds the MU program records for caused turnovers and ground balls. He also became the first former MU men's lacrosse player to earn induction in the Marquette M Club Hall of Fame in 2022.
He currently plays professionally for Waterdogs LC in the PLL, which he helped to the 2022 PLL title, and Panther City Lacrosse Club in the National Lacrosse League.
Jacob Richard – Team USA (Pool A)
Richard is currently an assistant coach at MU and plays professionally for Atlas LC in the PLL. He is one of four short-stick defensive midfielders on the Team USA roster and will make his first international appearance for the Americans. Richard, along with Byrnes and former MU teammate B.J. Grill, had been a member of the Team USA training roster, but had not played in an international event. Richard had made previous appearances with Team USA in the MLL All-Star game and the Fall Classic.
He was a USILA Third Team All-American as a senior in 2016 when the Golden Eagles earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament in the program's fourth season of existence.
Jared Hershman – Team Puerto Rico (Pool C)
Hershman played four years for the Golden Eagles from 2017-20 and won a career-best 100 faceoffs as a junior in 2019 with a .526 win percentage (100-of-190) and 52 ground balls. The native of Cortlandt Manor, New York also played for Team Puerto Rico at the 2018 event.
Luke Blanc – Team France (Pool B)
Blanc completed his second season with the Golden Eagles during the spring of 2023 as the squad's third-leading scorer with 18 goals and was fifth in points with 21. He started the final 10 games of the year in the midfield and tallied multiple goals in four of his final six contests.
Blanc has scored 34 goals in 29 career games played after earning a redshirt during his true freshman campaign at UMass in 2021.
JP Henry – Team Peru (Pool F)
Henry signed with the Golden Eagles last fall out of Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh as a high-scoring attackman. He set school and WPIAL records with 88 goals as a junior in 2022 after first breaking the school scoring record with 77 as a sophomore. The right-handed shooter will report to campus this summer alongside high school teammate Ethan Salvia with four years of eligibility remaining. Henry's mother, Dr. Claudia Henry, was born in Peru.
Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).
Byrnes (2012-16) and Richard (2013-16) were named to the U.S. roster on Dec. 20 and will make their first World Lacrosse Championship appearance. Hershman (2017-20) competed with Puerto Rico at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship, while Blanc (2022-pres.) and Henry, an incoming freshman, will make their tournament debuts.
Championship Pools with MU connections:
Pool A – Australia, Canada, England, Haudenosaunee, United States (Byrnes and Richard)
Pool B – Denmark, France (Blanc), Japan, Uganda, Wales
Pool C – Czech Republic, Israel, Philippines, Puerto Rico (Hershman), Sweden
Pool F – Ireland, Korea, Latvia, Netherlands, Peru (Henry)
The 30 teams that qualified for the event are split into six pools of five, with the top five nations in the rankings Pool A. The top two A pool teams will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining three teams from the A pool will join the top nine teams from pools B-F (five first-place finishers and four second-place finishers) in the first round of the playoffs on June 27 to determine the remaining teams in the quarterfinals, which kick off on June 28. Full information on seeding, format and progression for pool play can be found here. Â
All 107 games of the event will be available through ESPN+ in addition to six games on linear television, beginning with the Wednesday, June 21 matchup between the United States and Canada at 9 p.m. Central time on ESPN2. The tournament semifinals on June 29 and the gold medal game on July 1 also air on ESPN2.
San Diego State's 32,000-seat Snapdragon Stadium will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, opening game between the USA and Canada, tournament semifinals and medal games. The University of San Diego's Torero Stadium (cap. 6,000) will host most games while the remaining contests will occur on SDSU's campus.
The United States is hosting the event for the fourth time and the first since 2014, when the Americans suffered a gold medal loss to Canada in Denver. Team USA is the reigning World Champion after claiming gold in Israel in 2018 and has finished first or second at every world championship since the event began in 1967.
Liam Byrnes – Team USA (Pool A)
Byrnes established himself as one of the best long-pole players in the world and was selected to the U.S. roster as a long-stick midfielder. The two-time second team All-PLL defenseman captured a gold medal with Team USA in the sixes event at the 2022 World Games in Alabama and was the 2019 Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year.
Byrnes was a USILA Second Team All-American during his senior season at Marquette in 2016 and holds the MU program records for caused turnovers and ground balls. He also became the first former MU men's lacrosse player to earn induction in the Marquette M Club Hall of Fame in 2022.
He currently plays professionally for Waterdogs LC in the PLL, which he helped to the 2022 PLL title, and Panther City Lacrosse Club in the National Lacrosse League.
Jacob Richard – Team USA (Pool A)
Richard is currently an assistant coach at MU and plays professionally for Atlas LC in the PLL. He is one of four short-stick defensive midfielders on the Team USA roster and will make his first international appearance for the Americans. Richard, along with Byrnes and former MU teammate B.J. Grill, had been a member of the Team USA training roster, but had not played in an international event. Richard had made previous appearances with Team USA in the MLL All-Star game and the Fall Classic.
He was a USILA Third Team All-American as a senior in 2016 when the Golden Eagles earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament in the program's fourth season of existence.
Jared Hershman – Team Puerto Rico (Pool C)
Hershman played four years for the Golden Eagles from 2017-20 and won a career-best 100 faceoffs as a junior in 2019 with a .526 win percentage (100-of-190) and 52 ground balls. The native of Cortlandt Manor, New York also played for Team Puerto Rico at the 2018 event.
Luke Blanc – Team France (Pool B)
Blanc completed his second season with the Golden Eagles during the spring of 2023 as the squad's third-leading scorer with 18 goals and was fifth in points with 21. He started the final 10 games of the year in the midfield and tallied multiple goals in four of his final six contests.
Blanc has scored 34 goals in 29 career games played after earning a redshirt during his true freshman campaign at UMass in 2021.
JP Henry – Team Peru (Pool F)
Henry signed with the Golden Eagles last fall out of Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh as a high-scoring attackman. He set school and WPIAL records with 88 goals as a junior in 2022 after first breaking the school scoring record with 77 as a sophomore. The right-handed shooter will report to campus this summer alongside high school teammate Ethan Salvia with four years of eligibility remaining. Henry's mother, Dr. Claudia Henry, was born in Peru.
Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).
Players Mentioned
A
/ Men's LacrosseMarquette falls to Georgetown in BIG EAST Semifinals | Highlights (May 1, 2025) | Men's Lacrosse
Friday, May 02
EXTENDED CUT: Marquette Men's Lacrosse Beats Denver on Senior Day
Sunday, April 27
2025 Marquette Men's Lacrosse Senior Class
Saturday, April 26
Marquette Tops Denver, 18-11, on Senior Night | Highlights (April 25, 2025) | Men's Lacrosse
Saturday, April 26