Who are the top 15 most famous lacrosse players in the world?

Who are the top 15 most famous lacrosse players in the world?

Kenneth Mwenda
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:19 PM

Lacrosse is an enormously great sport which has had a considerable impact across its history hence bringing the suspense to determine the most famous lacrosse players in the world. With roots dating back to the 12th century among the native Americans of North America, it is the oldest organized sport in the continent.

Who are the top 15 most famous lacrosse players in the world?
Chayse Ierlan #22 of the Cornell Big Red defends the goal against the Maryland Terrapins during the Lacrosse Championship held at Rentschler Field on May 30, 2022, in Connecticut. Photo: Larry French
Source: Getty Images

The lacrosse sport is renowned for its teamwork and aggression, which add to the game's thrill factor and the fans' level of excitement. The players are recognized for their toughness, which compels the team's attackers, midfielders, defenders, and goalie to exert all their effort to win.

Who are the top 15 most famous lacrosse players of all time?

Ever since the sport gained its popularity in the world, it has produced not only male but also famous female lacrosse players who have participated in the game. The greatest players in the history of lacrosse are listed below.

15. Jenna Collins

Famous lacrosse players
Navy's Jenna Collins during the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament Quarterfinal match on May 20, 2017, at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo: Andy Mead
Source: Getty Images

Collins, a talented scorer from Clarksville, Maryland, has had a distinguished career at the Navy. She is one of the world's most well-known female lacrosse players after reaching numerous career milestones. She has developed into one of the country's most dependable scorers while being coached by WPLL players Gabby Capuzzi and Aly Messinger.

Collins led the Navy to the NCAA Final Four in 2017 and was named Patriot League Midfielder of the Year in 2017 and 2016. She recently scored her 200th goal and is on track to end her career as the Navy's all-time leading scorer.

14. Greg Cattrano

Famous lacrosse players
Greg Cattrano of the Baltimore Bayhawks during a Major League Lacrosse game against the Long Island Lizards on Homewood Field at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo: Doug Pensinger
Source: Getty Images

Even though his career only lasted six seasons, it was full of firsts. The league's all-time leader in victories upon retirement was the three-time league champion and three-time goalie of the year (2001, 2002, 2004).

Greg was the first goalie to score in a game and the first (and only) goalie to win both the MLL MVP award and the Championship Game MVP (2004). He was also the goalie on the first All-MLL squad (2002).

13. Courtney Murphy

Murphy, a product of Shirley, New York, was on track to have a good 2017 season until she sustained an injury just four games into the campaign. Murphy also set an NCAA single-season goal-scoring record with 100 goals in 2016.

After a season away from the game, Murphy has not missed a beat and now leads Stony Brook in goals with 77. The redshirt senior has been one of the best players in the nation this season, highlighted by her five goals against Cornell, which gave her a total of 323 goals and became the NCAA's all-time greatest goal scorer.

12. Greg Gurenlian

Famous lacrosse players male
Greg Gurenlian of the New York Lizards during a Game against the Rochester Rattlers at Fifth Third Bank Stadium on August 8, 2015, in Kennesaw, Georgia. Photo: Kevin C. Cox
Source: Getty Images

With 993 ground balls, 2,004 faceoff victories, and 3,387 faceoff attempts, the player known as "Beast" rewrote the history of faceoff specialists. He set MLL records for single-season faceoff winning percentage (73.3) and faceoff wins in a season (280), and he helped the Lizards win the MLL championship. He set a record after becoming the first faceoff specialist to win MLL MVP.

11. Kylie Ohlmiller

Famous lacrosse players female
Kylie Ohlmiller of USA during Day Four of the World Lacrosse Women's World Championship at Unitas Stadium on July 02, 2022, in Towson, Maryland. Photo: Ryan Hunt
Source: Getty Images

Kyle is among the top famous female lacrosse players with amazing numbers in terms of achievements and also personal accolades. She can read and easily navigate through a defence, even when the majority of her opponent's defensive pressure is directed at her. Ohlmiller, a finalist for the 2017 Tewaaraton, has changed the course of lacrosse history and leads the NCAA in single-season assists (86), single-season points (164), career assists (235), and lifetime points (469).

10. Jason Coffman

Famous lacrosse players in Canada
Jim Martin #28 of Hobart in action with Jason Coffman #32 of Salisbury during the 1994 Lacrosse Championship at the University of Maryland. Photo: Doug Pensinger
Source: Getty Images

In the 1990s, Jason was one of Salisbury's biggest stars. He achieved great feats during his professional career, including 249 goals, 202 assists, two player of the year awards, and four All-American team selections.

Coffman is also among the best scorers in NCAA history, with 451 overall points and 126 points in a single season. The previous record has not been broken and is not anticipated to be soon.

9. Mr Grant

Famous lacrosse players numbers
John Grant #24 of the Rochester Rattlers moves with the ball as Greg Cattrano #2 of the Baltimore Bayhawks guards him during the game at Frontier Field in Rochester, New York. Photo: Rick Stewart
Source: Getty Images

In the 1990s and 2000s, John Grant played lacrosse professionally. He won four All-American titles and one Most Valuable Player award while playing with the Philadelphia Wings and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Additionally, he received the 1995 Top Rookie of the Year award.

8. Michael Powell

Famous Hispanic lacrosse players
Michael Powell during a lacrosse game in 2004. Photo: Leon Halip
Source: Getty Images

Michael Powell stands out as the only player to have won the Jack Turnbull Award as the best attacker in Division I lacrosse four times in a row, in addition to being a four-time First Team All-American. He managed to win the Tewaaraton Trophy twice while making it to the finals on four separate occasions.

Powell was an All-American in high school and held multiple marks for his high school. Some of his records include the most points in a season (194 points), the most points in a game (15 points), and the most assists in a season (1999 and 2000).

7. Jen Adams

Famous black lacrosse players
Jen Adams of the University of Maryland unleashes a pass during the 2001 NCAA Women's Division I Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore, MD. Photo: Larry French
Source: Getty Images

Jen Adams, one of the greatest lacrosse players ever, led her team, the Maryland Terrapins, to four of the seven straight national championships. She was named National Player of the Year three times.

Jen was also the inaugural recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy after leading the nation in goals and assists. She had 445 points and 178 assists towards the conclusion of her career, setting two NCAA records.

6. Oren Lyons

Famous lacrosse players numbers
Oren Lyons, chairman of the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team, during a staff meeting in Ozone Park section of Queens, NY, on Friday, July 16, 2010. Photo: Ramin Talaie
Source: Getty Images

In addition to being one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time, Oren Lyons is a well-known supporter of Native American rights. He began playing lacrosse precisely during his time at Syracuse University and went on to become a great North American sensation. Oren was a great lacrosse goalie who played for numerous teams, including clubs in New York and New Jersey.

Even when he was on the field, Lyons played goalkeeping in the traditional box manner and enjoyed saving the ball high with his elbows, shoulders, chest, and even head. Even on Onondaga Nation, he has participated in recent games where "old" men compete against "young" men using wooden sticks without protective pads.

5. Fernando Martínez

The famous Hispanic lacrosse player has received numerous honours and trophies, including being a two-year letter winner for Phil Wright at Capital High School and the state's top-ranked faceoff specialist his senior year. In 2014, he was named First Team All-State and selected to the West Virginia All-Star Team after winning 138 faceoffs with an 83.13% win percentage.

Fernando also played offensive midfielder and faceoff specialist for the Spanish National Lacrosse Team. He ranked 15th overall in faceoff winning percentage (60.5%) at the 2014 FIL World Lacrosse Championship.

4. Izzy Scane

Famous lacrosse players female
Izzy Scane, #27 of the Northwestern Wildcats, with the ball in the second half against Sierra Cockerille of the Syracuse Orange at Johnny Unitas Stadium on May 28, 2021. Photo: Greg Fiume
Source: Getty Images

Scane tops the list of famous female lacrosse players of all time. She has achieved an astounding number of things in lacrosse, not to mention what she has done for the team. She was a crucial part of the U.S. U-19 team's gold-medal performance at the Canada Olympics.

Being part of the famous lacrosse team, she is a three-time All-State honoree, the State record holder for career points, Team MVP in 2017, two-time All-American, and All-Midwest honoree. In addition, she received accolades for being an All-Conference selection, two State runner-up finishes (in 2015 and 2016), Catholic League and State championships (in 2017 and 2018), Big Ten Freshman of the Year (in 2019), and Tewaaraton Watch List for 2021.

3. Paul Rabil

Famous lacrosse players male
Paul Rabil #99 of Atlas during week six of the Premier Lacrosse League at Audi Field on July 06, 2019, in Washington, DC. Photo: Patrick Smith
Source: Getty Images

Paul plays lacrosse professionally with the Cannons Lacrosse Club, which he also co-founded. He was chosen first overall by the Boston Cannons in the 2008 MLL Collegiate Draft, and he also took part in that Year's MLL All-Star Game. Paul earned the MLL MVP and Offensive Player Awards during the 2009 campaign.

Rabil, a first-team all-pro, made the all-star squad in 2010 for the third time in a row. He also earned his second MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards in 2011. Additionally, in 2011, he became the first player to win both the MLL Bud Light Skills Competition and the MLL Fastest Shot competition.

2. Brodie Merrill

Famous Hispanic lacrosse players
Brodie Merrill, #17 of the Boston Cannons, looks to pass against the Chesapeake Bayhawks during a game at Harvard Stadium on April 27, 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Alex Trautwig
Source: Getty Images

Merrill is one of the famous lacrosse players born in Canada. As a member of the Baltimore Bayhawks in 2005, he received the MLL Rookie of the Year title. Throughout his career, Merrill has won the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year title four times.

During the Toronto National's debut season, he won the defensive player of the year title for the fourth consecutive time after assisting the team in capturing the MLL Championship. For the duration of the MLL, Merrill is a player with the most groundballs. In addition, after earning Best Defender at a fantastic tournament, he received All-World recognition.

1. Gary Gait

Famous lacrosse players
Head coach Gary Gait of the Syracuse Orange walks off of the field during the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship at Johnny Unitas Stadium on May 30, 2021. Photo: Patrick Smith
Source: Getty Images

He tops the list of famous male lacrosse players and is also the best in Canada. He was an NCAA champion from 1988 to 1990 and a four-time All-American for the Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team. While attending Georgetown, he received two Lieutenant Raymond Enners Awards, given to the best college lacrosse players.

From 1995 to 1999, he received league MVP recognition five times in a row and also won All-Pro honours each time. Gait set a league record for points in an indoor career with 1,091 and led the league in both goals and points seven times. Gait played in the MLL for five seasons between 2001 and 2005, winning three championships and sharing the MVP honour in 2005.

Because of where the game originated, the most famous lacrosse players are primarily Americans and Canadians. However, the game is gaining popularity, and it will soon become just like other sports all over the world.

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Authors
Kenneth Mwenda photo
Kenneth Mwenda
Kenneth Mwenda is a business and sports writer with over five years of experience. At Sportsbrief, he contributes to writing biographies and listicles.