PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's lacrosse will once again be well represented in the professional ranks when the Premier Lacrosse League begins on the weekend of June 1. There are 11 Scarlet Knights on PLL training camp rosters for five different teams ahead of the season opening in Albany week one.
 
Carolina Chaos: Jules Heningburg, Shane Knobloch, Ross Scott

Prior to this season, the Chaos had never fielded a RU player on their squad, the last PLL team without one. That is set to change after the team was active in acquiring RU talent. Head coach and GM Andy Towers signed Jules Heningburg as a free agent, then drafted Shane Knobloch and Ross Scott with two of his top three draft picks.

Heningburg will play for the Chaos following spending the last five seasons with the Redwoods. He has recorded 127 points on 79 goals and 48 assists across 52 games. At Rutgers, he was a two-time All-American and two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, finishing second all-time at Rutgers in points.

Knobloch was the first midfielder selected in the 2024 Collegiate Draft. The fourth overall selection was the highest drafted RU player in history. Scott was drafted in the third round, 20^th overall.
 
Boston Cannons: Colin Kirst, Connor Kirst, Ethan Rall, Adam Charalambides

The Cannons had three Scarlet Knights see game action last season, and increased that number heading into training camp with an offseason acquisition of Connor Kirst.

Colin Kirst has excelled between the pipes at the PLL level. In 13 career games, he has made 148 saves for a 55% save percentage, also collecting 25 ground balls. In his first season as a full-time starter last season, he received a nod to the All-Star Game. A two-time All-American and two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection at RU, he was one of the Finalists for the league's Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Connor Kirst, previously a First Round pick of the Whipsnakes (seventh overall in 2021), is set for his first season as a teammate with his brother and fellow alumn in Rall after an offseason trade. Kirst has played in 30 career games with 24 points (19 goals, three assists), 45 ground balls and eight caused turnovers in three years with the Whipsnakes. An All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2021 at RU, Kirst had his best pro season last year as he set or tied career-highs with 25 ground balls, six goals, nine points, and added three caused turnovers.

Rall excelled in his rookie season as one of the top newcomers to the league. In nine games, he had 30 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers, plus one goal. He also had eight ground balls and four caused turnovers, with two goals and two assists, in February's Championship Series.  A three-time All-American (twice being named to the First Team) and three-time all-Big Ten selection while at RU, he was one of the Finalists for Rookie of the Year.  

Adam Charalambides had a breakout season indoors over the winter with the Vancouver Warriors, scoring 37 goals and adding 61 assists for 98 points. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten and 2021 All-American at RU. Charalambides has seen action in five PLL games with the Cannons, scoring six goals and scooping 10 ground balls.

Maryland Whipsnakes: Joe Nardella

Nardella is set to return from injury after not playing last season in the PLL, although he has been healthy enough to return for this past indoor season in the NLL. He returned to game action by winning 68% of his faceoffs and collecting 167 loose balls in leading the team to the NLL Championship.

Nardella, a four-time All-Star and two-time PLL Champion, enters his fifth season with the Whipsnakes. With the club, he has won 61.4% of faceoffs (505-of-822).

Nardella is one of the top faceoff men in the world, including time with Team USA. He has played professionally outdoors since 2015 with the Boston Cannons and Atlanta Blaze in the MLL, then has been with the Whipsnakes in the PLL since 2019. In 82 games, Nardella has won 1,246 of 2,149 faceoffs (58 percent) with 649 ground balls and 66 points (34 goals and 32 assists). At Rutgers, Nardella was a two-time All-American, the Big Ten Specialist of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten as a senior and was a two-time all-conference selection in the BIG EAST.

New York Atlas: Michael Rexrode, Ronan Jacoby

A standout defenseman at Rutgers who was a two-time All-American, two-time First Team All-Big Ten and the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Rexrode is set for his seventh pro season and fourth as a starter on the Atlas' defense. Over 59 games played, he has caused 58 turnovers and collected 113 ground balls.

Jacoby is set to make his PLL summer season debut after making a name for himself in the PLL Championship Series in February with the Archers. Jacoby, a member of the 2022 Final Four Team who scored 37 goals for that squad to earn Second Team All-Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-American honors, had 15 goals and 20 points for the Archers across four games, impressing to earn a contract for the summer with the Atlas.
 
Philadelphia Waterdogs: Christian Scarpello

Scarpello, who played in 60 games 'On the Banks' as a short-stick defensive midfielder from 2015-2018, has been a valuable piece for the Waterdogs as he enters his fourth season with the squad. Last season, he had a career-best 17 ground balls in nine games. Scarpello will play on national TV, as he and the Waterdogs play the Utah Archers in the league's season opener, a 1 pm game on ABC (Saturday, June 1).
 
Rutgers men's lacrosse has established a strong pipeline to the professional ranks. Rutgers boasts a total of 45 alumni all-time between Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and the National Lacrosse League (NLL). This success placing players in the pros has been accelerated recently, with 33 alumni coached at RU by current head coach Brian Brecht to go on to the professional level.