PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 2024 Premier Lacrosse League season saw a record 11 Scarlet Knights across rosters throughout the league year. It was another successful campaign for RU products showing their talent at the next level.
 
Maryland Whipsnakes: Joe Nardella

Nardella returned to action after missing last PLL season with an injury and made his fifth all-star game. A finalist for the award for Faceoff Player of the Year, Nardella led the league in the regular season by winning 67 percent of his faceoffs. He won 164-of-243 at the 'X', adding 93 ground balls and five goals. In the postseason, he won 37 more faceoffs (54%), with 19 ground balls, and an assist, which came in the championship game as the Whipsnakes finished as runners-up.

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. 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.
 
Carolina Chaos: Jules Heningburg, Shane Knobloch, Ross Scott

Heningburg joined the Chaos via free agency for this season. He had 11 goals and six assists with six ground balls in 12 games and was named to the All-Star roster. 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. The 2024 First Team All-American and national Midfielder of the Year for RU played in 10 games with 11 goals and three assists along with 11 ground balls.

Scott followed up his third straight all-Big Ten season at RU to cap his career in the spring with an impressive showing as a rookie. The Third Round Draft pick played in 12 games with 15 goals and two assists along with nine ground balls. Scott scored in nine of the 10 games in the regular season.

Boston Cannons: Colin Kirst, Connor Kirst, Ethan Rall, Adam Charalambides

Colin Kirst, 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. He posted a 54% save percentage and 11.4 goals-against-average. He had 25 ground balls and 141 saves in 11 games and was named as a PLL All-Star.

Connor Kirst was an All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2021 at RU. In his first year with the Cannons, he played in 11 games, scoring 13 total goals, a new PLL career high. He also had two assists and 16 ground balls.

Rall played in 11 games this season at long-stick midfielder. In that time he had 12 caused turnovers and 29 ground balls, also scoring a goal and adding an assist. 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 was on the Cannons' training camp roster after a strong NLL indoor season over the winter. 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 in his career, scoring six goals and scooping 10 ground balls.

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 played in 11 games for the Atlas as one of their starting defensemen. Rexrode has 14 caused turnovers and 12 ground balls.

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, played in his first full summer season in the PLL after making his PLL debut in February's indoor Championship Series. Jacoby played in six games with the Atlas, recording five points on two goals and three assists, and collecting four ground balls.

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 played his fourth season with the squad. The lone Scarlet Knight to be on a team that did not make the playoffs, Scarpello saw action in nine regular season games, where he had one goal, 12 ground balls and four caused turnovers.

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.