SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's lacrosse program opens the 2026 season against Providence College on Friday, Feb. 6.
The Black and Gold finished the 2025 season with a 10-5 record overall and a 5-1 record during the regular season against conference opponents. The program's strength against league competition earned them the America East Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the 2025 America East Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament.
The Black and Gold scratched and clawed their way through their victorious semifinal overtime match against Binghamton to advance to the America East Championship final for the second time in three years. Bryant would finish as the runner up.
Bryant enters the 2026 season ranked second in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll. Dawson Reilly and
Luke Mead were named to the preseason all-conference team.
OFFENSE
Dawson Reilly headlines a Bryant squad that recorded the second-most goals in the conference last season. Of the 185 goals scored, Reilly led the team with 41. The attackman was named to the America East All-Academic Team last season while recording nine hat tricks and five assists. Reilly had 19 ground balls and recorded three games where he scored at least five goals.
Patrick Walsh will look to build on the success that he's established through his first two years as a Bulldog. Walsh established himself as a versatile threat during his first campaign at Bryant, netting seven goals and two assists through the 2024 campaign. Walsh built on that success with a more impressive 2025 campaign that featured 15 goals, 11 assists and his first three career hat tricks.
John Tomsheck enters his senior season ready to play a critical role for the Black and Gold. Tomsheck served as a dynamic facilitator in the midfield, recording 12 goals and 17 assists last season.
Zac Amend returns to the Black and Gold for his sophomore season. In 2025, Amend recorded 24 goals, nine assists and had a shot on goal percentage of 67.7% while racking up 25 ground balls. Amend had several highlight performances throughout his freshman season. He posted six points against Vermont, four points against UMBC, while tallying five hat tricks throughout the season. For his efforts, the midfielder was named 2025 America East Rookie of the Year.
Owen West is another sophomore eager to attack for the Black and Gold. West was named to the America East All-Rookie team after appearing in all 15 games and finishing with 12 goals and eight assists.
DEFENSE
Luke Mead was named to the All-America East Second Team while causing 20 turnovers, the second-most on the squad in 2025. Mead scooped up 24 ground balls and recorded an assist against Bucknell. In his three years at Bryant, Mead has caused 36 turnovers and corralled 55 ground balls.
Jack McCloskey returns following an impressive redshirt freshman season. McClosky quickly became acclimated to the starting lineup, becoming a consistent starter after the first third of the season. McCloskey recorded 24 ground balls and caused 20 turnovers for the Black and Gold last season.
Junior
Sam Klein will continue to provide assistance to the Black and Gold in the midfield. The Beverly Hills, Michigan native scooped up 31 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers.
GOALIE
The Bulldogs will see familiar faces in the cage this season.
Scott Einarson started all 15 games for the Black and Gold last season, racking up 156 saves earning a pair of America East Goalie of the Week honors. Einarson averaged 10.4 saves per game while leading the conference in goals against average.
In addition to Einarson,
James Carr returns after appearing in four games last season, making three saves. Carr recorded a save against NJIT, Vermont and Merrimack.
FACEOFF
JJ Murphy and
Jordan Hernando will likely be the go-to faceoff specialists for the Bulldogs. Murphy appeared in all 15 games as the primary specialist for the Black and Gold. Murphy finished nine games with double-digit faceoff wins, finishing the season having won 160 of his 279 faceoff attempts for a percentage of 56.4%.
For more information on Bryant University men's lacrosse, follow the Black and Gold on Instagram at bryant_mlax.
