If you’re a good person, you know the last names “Stanwick”, “Gait”, “Powell”, “Thompson”, “Kavanaugh”, “Kirst”, “Millon”, and most recently in the women’s lacrosse game, “Humphrey”. If you don’t know those names, it is okay, you’re not actually a bad person; however, you need to look those up on YouTube.
The common denominator in these groups is that the concept of “iron sharpens iron” is on full display. These siblings spent hours upon hours battling it out in the backyard, learning from one another, and improving their game.
One thing we hope to accomplish with NextRep is to provide the “big brother” or “big sister” dynamics to people who aren’t born into a lacrosse-focused family with multiple all-americans as siblings. Let’s dig into some of the most prestigious last names in the sport…
The Stanwicks
Sheehan, Wick, Coco, Tad, Steele, Wells, Covie and Shack. Yes, that’s right, there are EIGHT of them. The group is famous for their “Stanwick Family Wall” (watch video on the famous wall HERE).
Multiple all-americans, national champions, #1 overall recruits, and even Tewaaraton winners – this family is absolutely legendary in the sport. With over 1,000 cumulative points scored at the D1 level, the Stanwicks have cemented themselves as an all-time legendary lacrosse family.
The Kirsts
CJ is probably the most famous of the crew now, but don’t sleep on the accomplishments of the rest of the crew – Connor, Colin, Cole, and Caden.
Connor had a strong career at Villanova with 124 (82 G, 42 A) points over four years from the midfield. Connor then 5th-yeared at Rutgers where he put up 53 points (37 G, 16 A) and earned first team all Big 10 and third team All-American honors.
Colin had a phenomenal career at Rutgers (which he transferred to after some time at Lehigh) with two years as the starting goalie, earning honors as the team captain, first team all Big 10, and second team All-American.
Cole Kirst spent four years at Lehigh, totally 81 points (55 G, 26 A) at attack for Lehigh before spending his 5th year at Syracuse. In his 5th year, Cole played the first four games at midfield before earning a spot as a starting attackman. He racked up 37 points that season (26 G, 11 A) and earned all ACC honors.
Caden Kirst is entering his sophomore year at Rutgers as a goalie after racking up an impressive high school career at Bernards HS in New Jersey – Caden had a 70%+ save percentage his senior year.
Last, but certainly not least, CJ Kirst just finished up his career at Cornell and is now tearing up the PLL and NLL. CJ finished his career, which only included four seasons (vs. the five seasons that most record holders had from COVID-eligibility), where CJ scored 345 points over four years. He won the Tewaaraton and a national championship as a senior – during this campaign, CJ also tied the single season goals record with 82 and finished with 115 points in 19 games. Most prominently, CJ scored six goals in the national championship with a broken hand to take down the Terps and bring a ring to the storied program of Cornell.
Personal Note – The Kirst boys represent everything that makes lacrosse so amazing. They get tough ground balls, celebrate hard, are tough as nails, and play with a genuine enthusiasm for the game.
The Kirst brothers are giving back to the game in the New Jersey area, and boy do we hope they help lead the charge of NextRep into New Jersey in the summer of 2027. 10/10 do recommend working with them: https://kirstbrotherslacrosse.com/
The Millons
Mark Millon, the father of the prestigious Millon Family, was a two time first team All-American at Umass, graduating in 1993 with 213 points. In 1994, he was named the MVP of the world games, leading Team USA to a first place finish.
Erin Brown Millon, the mother of the prestigious Millon Family, was a two-year starter at the University of Maryland and earned 2nd team All-American honors during her time there. She and Mark are both in the national lacrosse hall of fame.
Their oldest son, McCabe, is currently a junior at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the Hoos, McCabe had a dominant high school career at the powerhouse McDonough school where he was a three-time MIAA champion, was the tournament MVP as a senior, and was the #1 recruit in his class. During his freshman campaign at Virginia, McCabe recorded a program record 41 goals (most of any freshman) and was the ACC freshman of the year. After the graduation of the great Connor Shellenberger, McCabe has established his role as Virginia’s top attackman – I’m sure some All-American honors are in the near future for this man.
Their youngest son, Brendan, is entering his freshman year at Virginia to join McCabe. Brendan also won three MIAA championships, was named MVP of the championship twice, was a three-time 1st team all-MIAA attackman, and was also the consensus #1 recruit in his class. Brendan and McCabe are going to look to repeat their success from McDonough on a larger scale while at Virginia.
The Kavanaughs
The Kavanaughs are a classic Long Island-based family of tough dudes who are obscenely good lacrosse players. The four brothers – Matt, Brendan, Pat, and Chris – have all had extraordinarily successful lacrosse careers.
Matt Kavanaugh, often regarded as one of the clutchest attackmen in the modern era, led the fighting Irish to a couple of final four appearances and earned All-American honors all four years. Matt Kavanaugh was a crafty lefty who rode like a madman and picked up tough ground balls, a trait that his brothers would adopt as well. Prior to Notre Dame, Matt dominated at the prestigious Chaminade High School and was the MVP of the USA U19 team.
Brendan Kavanaugh generally doesn’t get as much media attention as the others because he played at Hofstra instead of Notre Dame, but he had a solid career there with 75 points from the midfield and started all four years. Brendan is now the offensive coordinator at Iona.
Pat and Chris spent three seasons together at Notre Dame and let me tell ya, they were fun to watch. They won the national championship in both 2023 and 2024, the first natty ships in school history. Pat won the Tewaaraton in 2024, but both brothers have a laundry list of accolades and are now tearing it up in the PLL. Pat finished college with 301 points (117 G, 184 A) and Chris had 242 points (151 G, 91 A). As you can tell by the stat lines, a lot of their time was Pat playing QB from X and feeding Chris for step downs.
I cannot stress this point enough – watching Pat and Chris play lacrosse should be required for youth lacrosse players. What they do on the field is precisely what lacrosse is all about. They ride like wild animals, go after ground balls like maniacs, play with Thompson-like levels of creativity, and have a ton of fun doing it. My favorite example of this is the 2023 national championship run where Pat tore his hamstring in the semifinals vs. Virginia, and despite being in extreme pain and having an inability to move explosively, he stayed on the field and came out with a ring. Long story short, go on YouTube RIGHT NOW and watch Pat and Chris’ highlights.
The Powells
Mikey and Casey Powell are heads that you’d see on the Mount Rushmore of lacrosse. Mikey is certainly in the conversation for the greatest player of all time – he was a four time first team All-American, won the Jack Turnbull award (attackman of the year) four times, and was the Tewaaraton winner during his senior campaign in which he scored 19 points in the NCAA tournament and won his second national championship. Oh, by the way, that was his second Tewaaraton award. Want to know something even crazier? He won his first one as a sophomore.
Casey Powell was no slump either – he was a four time All-American (3x first team), won the Lt. Raymond Enners award (the equivalent of the modern day Tewaaraton), and scored 287 points (158 G, 129 A). He also built his career around lacrosse, pioneering the first lacrosse video game, running camps and clinics, and even started a foundation for the sport. Unfortunately for Casey, Bill Tierney’s legendary Princeton Tigers were on a legacy run during his time at Cuse, so he never won a national championship.
The Thompsons
Lyle, Myles, and Ty Thompson completely changed the way the sport is played today. Watching these two brothers (Lyle and Myles) and cousin (Ty) in the 2014 season at Albany is like watching your favorite movie for the first time. I can specifically remember a time in eighth grade where I watched them play vs. Hopkins and they absolutely put on a clinic of creative goals – I, along with every player who watched that game, spent HOURS in the backyard after practicing behind the backs and other fun ways to score goals.
The most accomplished of the crew is Lyle, who won the Tewaaraton award TWICE (only person to do that other than Mikey Powell) and finished his career with 400 points (yes, you read that right… FOUR HUNDRED POINTS). In his junior campaign (when Myles and Ty were seniors), he recorded 128 points in 18 games, the most ever in a single season. He is second all-time in total points, only behind Chris Gray by one point, and Chris Gray played more games due to COVID eligibility. Lyle is largely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, right up there with Mikey Powell and Gary Gait.
Myles and Ty both racked up a laundry list of accomplishments themselves, including careers in the NLL. Unfortunately, the brothers didn’t win a national championship in 2014 due to Matt Kavanaugh and Notre Dame beating them in the quarterfinals 14-13 in what is arguably the greatest game ever played.
What was especially unique about the Thompsons is that they’re deeply connected to the game via their Native American heritage, something the group takes extraordinary pride in. Listening to Lyle talk about his connection to the game is inspiring and underpins his amazing career.
The Gaits
Gary and Paul Gait led what is arguably the greatest team of all time, the 1988 – 1990 Syracuse Orange. They won three straight national championships and lost only one game over those three years. Oh, and in 1990, they won the national championship 21-9, making it one of the most lopsided national championships of all time. Gary Gait is in the same conversation as Lyle Thompson and Mikey Powell for the GOAT, and if you ask anyone who was alive when he played, they’ll strongly suggest that he owns that GOAT position. He also is the creator of the “Air Gait” goal which is one of the most famous highlights in all of lacrosse. Him and Paul were straight up overpowered vs. the rest of the lacrosse world at that time, and it resulted in a bunch of awards, championships, and a whole heck of a lot of points.
The Best?
Look, this answer will always be skewed by era. If you’re an older fella, you’ll say the Gaits. If you were around for the Powells but not the Gaits, you’ll probably say the Powells. And if you’re a more recent fan, you may say the Kavanaughs. For me, though, it is the Thompsons. The Thompsons completely changed my appreciation and interest in the sport, and ultimately changed my life. Also, I am of the opinion that the Thompsons’ 2014 season was the most impactful season as it pertains to how the game is played. Anybody who was playing lacrosse at that time knows that the Thompson’s straight up changed the way people spend time in their backyard getting reps.