(Rochester, NY)… Rochester Knighthawks President and General Manager Dan Carey announced today that the team has extended faceoff specialist Nathan Kapp with a two-year contract and signed former draft picks Amos Whitcomb and Clifford Gaston to three-year contracts.
“Bringing Kapper back, we felt like he’s a guy who will be fighting for a spot; he’s got a lot of room to grow, but he did a good job last year,” Carey said. “I think the development component to him in that position is important to us. Cliff and Amos came to training camp last year, and both impressed us. I think there’s something there with both of them to bring to camp to see what they can prove.”
“We’re going to have a pretty stacked right side, and it’s going to be difficult to make the team,” he added. “But it’s about creating competition in camp and bringing in guys who really want to earn a spot. Those are two guys that we’re excited to see back with us to let them fight for an opportunity.”
Kapp will look to pick up where he left off with the 2025-26 season. In seven games, the Middleton, Wis., native went 114-for-196 at the faceoff dot, good for 58 percent. He recorded at least 60 percent at the faceoff dot in four of those seven games, breaking 70 percent three times. He finished the year ranked sixth in the league in faceoff winning percentage among players with over 10 attempts. Following last season, Kapp was selected by the Knighthawks fans as the recipient of the team’s Unsung Hero Award.
Kapp played college lacrosse at Jacksonville University, where he left as the greatest faceoff specialist in program history. In five seasons as a Dolphin, he took over 1,600 faceoffs and scooped up 468 ground balls. His career faceoff percentage sits at .554. In his final year of eligibility, Kapp went 240-408 at the dot and scooped up 120 ground balls. He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in faceoff wins (917) and ground balls (468).
Whitcomb and Gaston, both 2025 Knighthawks draft picks, return to the roster after stints with the team last year. They return following a summer that saw them both shine in Senior “B” in the Can-Am Lacrosse League (CALL).
Whitcomb, a member of the Seneca Nation born and raised in Salamanca, NY, was drafted by the Knighthawks in the fourth round of the 2025 NLL Entry Draft. He spent last summer playing for his hometown Newtown Golden Eagles. In 10 regular-season games, he scored 10 goals and tallied 19 assists. He really shined in the CALL playoffs, where he tied Clay Scanlan for the team lead in points. In 10 games, Whitcomb scored 10 goals and notched 28 assists while helping his team win the CALL championship against the Tonawanda Braves, which featured Taylor Jensen and Gaston.
Whitcomb played his college lacrosse for the University at Albany. In four years, the attackman racked up 49 goals, 21 assists, and 43 groundballs. He earned America-East All-Rookie honors in 2022. He played three years with current Knighthawks Graydon Hogg and Jake Piseno and spent his entire collegiate career with fellow 2025 draft pick Adam Thistlethwaite.
Gaston rejoins the Knighthawks after being released from the team’s practice squad at last season’s trade deadline. The Welland, Ontario, native is one of the greatest attackmen to ever come out of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). In four years, Gaston scored 229 goals and 315 total points, both second-most in program history. In his junior year, he set RIT’s single-season points record. He was a three-time All-American, earning third-team honors as a sophomore before earning first-team honors as a junior and senior. He was also a three-time all-conference first-team selection.
In the fall of last year, Gaston was a training camp standout, scoring five goals and notching three assists in three games. This past summer, he continued that offensive output in the box for the Tonawanda Braves. In 15 games between the regular season and playoffs, Gaston scored 30 goals and dished out 23 assists. He led Tonawanda in scoring during his 10 playoff games, with 18 goals and 16 assists.
He also spent part of the summer coaching the Rochester Hawkeyes as their offensive coach in the National Collegiate Box Series Championship. He helped the team make the NCBS Finals while coaching alongside Ryland Rees and Jensen.