Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has re-signed transition man Ryland Rees to a two-year contract, pending league approval.
Rees, 27, recorded one goal and six assists for seven points while being one of eight players to appear in all 18 games last season for Rochester. He was also one of 15 NLL transition players with 100 or more loose ball recoveries (102) while serving as an alternate captain in 2023-24.
Since making his NLL debut in 2019 with the Knighthawks, Rees has totaled 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 points in 64 appearances. A three-time Rochester Defensive Player of the Year, Rees has recorded 776 loose ball recoveries while registering 41 shots and 32 penalty minutes.
Taken with the second overall pick in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, Rees took his first season in the National Lacrosse League by storm, recording 11 points on four goals and seven assists while being one of just four Knighthawks rookies to appear in all 12 games during Rochester’s truncated inaugural campaign. The Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, native finished the year tied for 10th in scoring among all NLL rookies and second behind only former teammate Cory Highfield for the most points among all first-year transition players, earning All-Rookie Team honors for the 2019-20 season.
Named Rochester’s Defensive Player of the Year for the team’s inaugural season, Rees also added a team-high 75 loose ball recoveries, trailing only New England’s Joe Nardella (86) and New York’s Alex Woodall (84) for the most among NLL rookies in that category.
Rees has also played four seasons as a long stick midfielder with the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club and Boston Cannons of the Premier Lacrosse League. In 47 career PLL games with the Waterdogs and Cannons, Rees, a 2019 All-Star selection, has recorded 27 points and totaled 137 groundball recoveries while leading the Waterdogs to a PLL title in 2022.