Men's Lacrosse in the PLL: 2026 Season Recap
Sep 14 | Men's Lacrosse
Nine Alumns See Game Action in 2026 Pro Lacrosse Outdoor Season over the Summer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Nine different former Scarlet Knights saw action in professional lacrosse over the summer in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse season.
Rutgers' alumns were heavily concentrated on two teams rosters. RU had four players on the Carolina Chaos (Scott Knobloch, Ross Scott, Christian Scarpello and Adam Charalambides) and three on the Boston Cannons (Ethan Rall, Connor Kirst, Colin Kirst). Joe Juengerkes played for the Maryland Whipsnakes and Michael Rexrode was on the New York Atlas.
Rutgers had a weekly average of 7.5 players on gameday active rosters during the season. That ranked fifth nationally and was second in the Big Ten.
Scott Knobloch
Matthew Paolatto was placed on the PUP list in May. Paolatto did not see game action this outdoor season after excelling indoor for the Colorado Mammoth of the NLL, winning 58% of faceoffs in his rookie season.
Joe Nardella did not play in this PLL season due to injury. Nardella has been one of the most productive professional players for RU, competing in 11 pro seasons, six of them with the Whipsnakes in the PLL, and was third in the league with a 59.8% faceoff winning percentage last PLL season.
Brian Cameron was in training camp with the Denver Outlaws, but the lefty attackman did not make his PLL debut during the season.
Jules Heningburg retired from professional lacrosse ahead of this season. A four-time All-Star, he had 148 career points with 92 goals.
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.
Gallery: (9-14-2026) Men's Lacrosse Alumns in 2026 PLL
Rutgers' alumns were heavily concentrated on two teams rosters. RU had four players on the Carolina Chaos (Scott Knobloch, Ross Scott, Christian Scarpello and Adam Charalambides) and three on the Boston Cannons (Ethan Rall, Connor Kirst, Colin Kirst). Joe Juengerkes played for the Maryland Whipsnakes and Michael Rexrode was on the New York Atlas.
Rutgers had a weekly average of 7.5 players on gameday active rosters during the season. That ranked fifth nationally and was second in the Big Ten.
Scott Knobloch
- A PLL All-Star for the first time, he scored 10 goals with a two-point goal and three assists in 10 games
- Competed in the 'Fastest Shot' competition at the PLL All-Star Game skills competition, impressing with both his right and left handed shot speed
- For his three-year career, he has 46 points (34 goals) in 29 career games with the Chaos
- A PLL All-Star for the first time, Scott had 16 points on 14 goals and two assists as a team captain for the Chaos across 10 games
- In three seasons and 32 games with the Chaos, he has 62 points (44 goals, 18 assists)
- In a career-high 11 games played, the short-stick defensive midfielder had eight ground balls, two caused turnovers and a goal
- This was his first season with the Chaos after five years with the Waterdogs, a 55-game PLL career
- Played in one game this season, notching an assist and two ground balls
- Has 16 career PLL games across the Chaos and Cannons, scoring 21 goals with three assists
- A PLL All-Star for the first time, Rall had a career-high 43 ground balls with 12 caused turnovers and a goal across 12 games with the Cannons, with five caused turnovers in the two playoff games to lead the Cannons to the Semifinals
- He had the most ground balls of any long-stick midfielder in the league and is a finalist for Long Stick Midfielder of the Year for the third time
- In four years with Boston, Rall has 143 ground balls and 64 caused turnovers, along with six goals
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- He had four goals, three assists, five caused turnovers and also won six faceoffs in 11 games.
- He is nominated for the Teammate of the Year Award.
- The do-it-all midfielder concluded his third season with the Cannons following three with the Whipsnakes. Kirst has 58 career points (44 goals) with 98 ground balls in 64 career games.
- In his fifth season with the Cannons, Kirst made 99 saves, stopping 48.1% of shots, and had 14 ground balls.
- A three-time All-Star heading into this season, Kirst has played 45 games in goal in the PLL, with 524 saves, saving 51.9% of shots with 85 ground balls
- Undrafted after being named as high as a Second Team All-American with RU in the spring, Juengerkes joined the Maryland Whipsnakes for his first PLL season, playing in eight games. He had four ground balls, two assists and caused a turnover
- In his sixth season with the Atlas, Rexrode was third in the league with 16 caused turnovers and had 12 ground balls
- He has exactly 100 caused turnovers along with 154 ground balls across 94 career games
Matthew Paolatto was placed on the PUP list in May. Paolatto did not see game action this outdoor season after excelling indoor for the Colorado Mammoth of the NLL, winning 58% of faceoffs in his rookie season.
Joe Nardella did not play in this PLL season due to injury. Nardella has been one of the most productive professional players for RU, competing in 11 pro seasons, six of them with the Whipsnakes in the PLL, and was third in the league with a 59.8% faceoff winning percentage last PLL season.
Brian Cameron was in training camp with the Denver Outlaws, but the lefty attackman did not make his PLL debut during the season.
Jules Heningburg retired from professional lacrosse ahead of this season. A four-time All-Star, he had 148 career points with 92 goals.
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.
Players Mentioned
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