Of the 16 Division I men’s lacrosse teams competing in the NCAA Tournament this year an impressive 96 players hail from Long Island.

Stony Brook University leads the way with 16 and Hofstra University has 10. The University of Denver is the only team without a player on its roster from the Island, however, assistant coach Kevin Unterstein played at Shoreham-Wading River and Hofstra.

A handful of other coaches hail from the Island too: No. 1 Virginia’s Dom Starsia and assistant John Walker, No. 5 Duke’s John Danowski and assistants Ron Caputo and Chris Gabrielli, Hofstra assistant Joe Amplo and No. 2 Syracuse’s Pat Perritt is a student-assistant.

Notable players to watch for:
-Shamel Bratton, Virginia (Huntington)
-Rhamel Bratton, Virginia (Huntington)
-Adam Ghitelman, Virginia (Cold Spring Harbor)
-Brian Pomper, Virginia (St. Anthony’s)
-Billy Bitter, North Carolina (Manhasst)
-Kevin Federico, North Carolina (West Islip)
-Ryan Flanagan, North Carolina (West Islip)
-Zach Howell, Duke (Huntington)
-Eddie Loftus, Duke (Syosset)
-Rob Pannell, Cornell (Smithtown West)
-Charlier Parr, Stony Brook (Huntington)
-Justin Turri, Duke (West Islip)
-Ryan Young, Maryland (Manhasset)
*This is just a small sampling – with 96 players they’re almost all notable since they play at the nation’s best lacrosse schools.

There are also many Long Island natives competing in the Division II and III tournaments, but far too many to count or list.

The Division I semifinal and championship games, and the Division II and III championship games, will be held at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, May 29-31. The Division I semifinals will be televised live on ESPN2 starting at 4 p.m. Eastern time, May 29. The championship game will be televised live on ESPN starting at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, May 31.