The NCAA tournament is in full swing and many Rochester Knighthawks will be tuned in to their former colleges. This season, eight of the 18 Division I tournament teams and one Division III feature Knighthawks as alumni. Let’s take a look at who’s watching what.
Division I
University at Albany – Blaze Riorden, Connor Fields, Jake Piseno, Graydon Hogg, & Adam Thistlethwaite
Robert Morris University – Ryan Smith & Brad McCulley
University of Virginia – Zed Williams & Thomas McConvey
University of Richmond – Ryan Lanchbury & Mitchell Dunham
University of North Carolina – Chad Tutton
Syracuse University – Jeremy Thompson
Stony Brook University – Ryland Rees
Jacksonville University – Nathan Kapp
Division III
Rochester Institute of Technology – Brad Gillies & Taylor Jensen
Robert Morris University
Two Knighthawks played for the Colonials, and played together while there as well. Ryan Smith and Brad McCulley were on the last Robert Morris team to win an NCAA tournament game, against Canisius in 2018.
Both McCulley and Smith became Colonials as freshmen. McCulley left after his senior year in 2020 for the NLL Draft. Smith returned for his graduate year after being drafted by the Knighthawks and became the greatest scorer in school history. He finished his extra year with a school record 71 points en route to the career points record of 217.
MAY 05, 2018: 2018 NEC Men’s Lacrosse Championship – Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild/CSI Photo
University of Richmond
Richmond’s all-time offensive MVP and one of their best defenders in recent seasons both now play for the Knighthawks, Ryan Lanchbury and Mitchell Dunham. Smith isn’t the only Burlington product to leave his college as the all-time leading scorer; Lanchbury left Richmond in 2022 with a school record 293 points.
Mitchell Dunham graduated from Richmond in 2025 but was one of the Spiders’ best defenders on their way to an NCAA Quarterfinal appearance that played out to a one-goal game against the eventual national champions, Cornell. In the 2025 season, Dunham caused 38 turnovers after transferring from Mount St. Mary’s. That was the second most ever in a season by a Richmond defender.
University of Virginia
The Virginia Cavaliers also boast multiple Knighthawks as alumni. The ACC champs were the home of Zed Williams for his entire collegiate career, where he played as a midfielder and an attackman. Williams made the tournament twice in 2014 and 2015. He still has a close relationship with head coach Lars Tiffany, who also coaches the Haudenoshaunee National Team.
Thomas McConvey transferred in for his graduate season and immediately fit in with the Cavaliers already lethal offense. In 17 games, he scored 28 goals and tallied 24 assists. His assists set a new school record for assists by a midfielder, and he tied the midfield points record for a single season at 52. That season, after already being drafted by Rochester, he earned the Lt. J. G. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Outstanding Midfielder Award.
University at Albany
The Knighthawks have as many University at Albany alumni as there are infinity stones. Two more joined the squad this season, with Adam Thistlethwaite through the draft and Blaze Riorden at the trade deadline. They are the fourth and fifth Great Danes to make the active roster this season.
Three of the best Great Danes ever, without the last name Thompson, are now Knighthawks. Riorden, Connor Fields, and Jake Piseno all wear the green and gold now after etching their names in Albany history. For younger members of the Knighthawks like Piseno, Thistlethwaite, and Graydon Hogg, they are still finding their stride in the NLL. There is no doubt, though, that their time as Great Danes molded them into professional-ready lacrosse players.
This will be the first season since 2018 that Albany does not have to play in the play-in round of the tournament. That was Fields’ senior year, the last time they were seeded.
Rochester Institute of Technology
While every other team on this list is in the same tournament, you can’t talk about Rochester lacrosse without bringing up the Tigers of RIT. The Liberty League Champions are back to their auto-bid in the Division III tournament. Before 2024, the Tigers had won 11 straight Liberty League titles dating back to 2012. Two Knighthawks were at the heart of the defense through that streak and were crowned conference champions every year they played.
Brad Gillies went to RIT and was a two-way midfielder for the Tigers from 2012-14. He made the quarterfinals in every season he was in Rochester. As for Jensen, he became a back-to-back national champion and helped RIT to an undefeated season in 2021.
RIT’s Taylor Jensen (32) running with the ball during RIT vs St. Lawrence Championship game on May 8, 2021 at Turf Field in Rochester, N.Y. (Jaiden Tripi/RIT SportsZone)
Stony Brook University
Ryland Rees is the only Stony Brook alumnus on the Knighthawks roster. He was a two-time team captain and a three-time All-America East first-team selection. In his final season in 2019, he earned the America East Defensive Player of the Year after scooping up 40 ground balls and causing 16 turnovers. This is the first year Stony Brook’s men’s program has made the tournament in 14 years.
2019 Stony Brook MLAX Vs. Marist
Syracuse University
Jeremy Thompson will be rooting for the Orange this postseason. The Onondaga Nation member played all his college lacrosse in Syracuse. He started at Onondaga Community College before transferring for his final two seasons at Syracuse. He joined the Orange after back-to-back national championships in 2008 and ‘09 before taking his talents to the pros.
University of North Carolina
Chad Tutton was the first Canadian to be recruited by Joe Breschi to play at the University of North Carolina in 2013. In four years as a midfielder, Tutton tallied 89 points and 49 ground balls. Since Tutton, UNC has had multiple Canadians on its roster every season; this year, they boasted three.
20 MAR 2015: UNC Lacrosse vs. Duke at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, NC.
Jacksonville University
The Jacksonville University lacrosse program is the youngest program on this list. Started 17 years ago, it got the initial boost it needed in 2016. That was when Rochester field lacrosse legend John Galloway moved down south and took over the only Division I lacrosse program in the state of Florida. This year, they made the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history as ASUN Conference champions.
The best faceoff specialist in the school’s history is now a Knighthawk. Nathan Kapp set program records in ground balls (468) and face-off wins (917) from 2020-24.