PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Three Rutgers men's lacrosse alumns recently completed the 2021-22 season in the indoor pro lacrosse league, the NLL. Joe Nardella (Albany Firewolves),
Connor Kirst (Georgia Swarm) and
Adam Charalambides (Vancouver Warriors) all had successful seasons in the NLL.
Nardella continues to prove himself to be one of the top face-off men in the world, posting a winning percentage of 67.2% on faceoffs (295-of-439) overall. He was third in the league in both faceoffs won and percentage. Nardella also collected 135 loose balls, caused 11 turnovers, and had one goal and six assists while leading the Firewolves to the playoffs. While at Rutgers, Nardella was a third Team All-American, a First Team All-B1G selection, the Big Ten Specialist of the Year and a two-time All-BIG EAST Selection.
Kirst made his indoor pro lacrosse debut with the Swarm as a transition player. In his first year in the league, he had two goals, seven assists, scooped 83 loose balls and had 13 caused turnovers. He also stepped in to win 104 faceoffs for the Swarm. Kirst spent one season 'On the Banks', an All-American season in 2021 where he scored 37 goals and had 16 assists to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament.
Charalambides excelled as a rookie for the Vancouver Warriors, who had selected him in the First Round of the previous draft. In 18 games, Charalambides scored 14 goals and added 33 assists for 47 points. He picked up 70 ground balls while also causing five turnovers. Charalambides spent seven seasons at RU, where he was an All-American in 2021, scoring 149 goals for his career, second all-time in program history.
Two current Scarlet Knights were drafted in the previous NLL draft, with their rights held by NLL teams.
Ronan Jacoby was selected by Panther City and
Brad Apgar was picked by the Georgia Swarm.
Up next in pro lacrosse is the Premier Lacrosse League, with a large representation of former Scarlet Knights to follow. Following three collegiate draft selections and one undrafted player signing, RU is set to have the 3rd most alumns of any school on PLL initial rosters.
