PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Six alumns of the Rutgers men's lacrosse program are on initial rosters for professional indoor lacrosse teams ahead of the 2025 season. The National Lacrosse League (NLL) season starts this week, with six former Scarlet Knights seeking professional action.

Connor Kirst is with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Adam Charalambides returns to the Vancouver Warriors, recently being named the No. 45 Player in the NLL preseason by Inside Lacrosse. Joe Nardella is with the Oshawa Firewolves and Brian Cameron is on the Philadelphia Wings roster. Two recent draftees are looking for their first NLL action, with Matthew Paolatto on the Colorado Mammoth and Dante Kulas on the Firewolves practice roster.

Last season, four of these six alumns played in the NLL.  Adam Charalambides played with the Vancouver Warriors, Joe Nardella with the Albany Firewolves, Connor Kirst with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs and Brian Cameron with the Toronto Rock. Cameron moved to the Philadelphia Wings for this season, and Paolatto and Kulas are set for their rookie seasons in the NLL.

All four RU alumns had a big impact for their teams last season. Charalambides had 84 points (30 goals and 54 assists), Cameron had nine goals and 14 assists, Kirst had 12 points and 122 points as a team captain and Nardella had a league-best winning percentage on faceoffs of 65%.

Rutgers men's lacrosse has established a strong pipeline to the professional ranks. Rutgers boasts a total of 47 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 35 alumni coached at RU by current head coach Brian Brecht to go on to the professional level.

Kirst was an All-American and First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2021 at RU. Charlambides was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten and 2021 All-American at RU. He totaled 149 goals (second all-time at RU) and 201 points (fifth all-time in program history). Cameron played the 2022 and 2023 seasons at RU, scoring 60 goals with 19 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.

Kulas was drafted by the Firewolves franchise, going in the Third Round, 38^th overall. He played at Rutgers from 2022 to 2025, appearing in 52 games total and making 32 starts. Across that time, the attackman scored 54 goals and had 30 assists for 83 points, also collecting 40 ground balls.

Paolatto was a Third Round selection of the Mammoth, going 44^th overall. He excelled in his lone season at RU, where he was the team's top faceoff specialist. The native of Sherborn, Mass. had a winning percentage of 59.2% at the 'X' last season (173-of-292) with 99 ground balls, two goals and four assists. He spent the summer with the PLL's Whipsnakes franchise, backing up former Scarlet Knight faceoff man Joe Nardella.