Meet the 22: Introducing the 2025 U.S. Men's U20 National Team

And then there were 22.

Head coach Shawn Nadelen and his staff have named the final 22-player roster that will represent the United States in the 2025 World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship two weeks from now in South Korea.

This is the first men’s world championship event since World Lacrosse reduced roster limits from 23 to 22, magnifying the need for versatility in the players selected. After a yearlong process that included several training camps and college/high school season evaluations, the group that will compete Aug. 15-24 on Jeju Island includes nine offensive players, nine defensive players, two faceoff specialists and two goalies.

We asked the coaches about the makeup of the roster and why these 22 give the U.S. its best chance to capture its 10th junior world championship.

OFFENSE

Rhett Chambers, A, Providence ’27 
Owen Duffy, A, North Carolina ’27 
Colin Kurdyla, M, Rutgers ’27 
Brendan Millon, A, Virginia ’29 
Rowyn Nurry, A, Cornell ’29 
Anthony Raio, M, North Carolina ’29 
Jack Schultz, M, Maryland ’28 
Tim Shannehan, A, Boston University ’28 
Jack Speidell, A, Harvard ’27

The offense features a variety of players that can be slotted at X, either wing and midfield. The versatility of each individual player was a point of emphasis for offensive coordinator Connor Buczek, the NCAA championship-winning head coach at Cornell.

“As we look at these guys, we’re looking for their ability to do multiple things, playing different roles to help the team,” said Buczek, who played in world championships for the 2012 U.S. U19 team and 2019 U.S. box team. “You’re trying to look for guys that have the ability to play attack and midfield — the guys that can play behind the goal and in front of the goal, guys that can create matchup problems at different places on the field.”

Owen Duffy is the most experienced and accomplished member of the unit. A starting attackman since he arrived at North Carolina, he has 72 goals and 61 assists in 30 career games (4.43 points per game) for the Tar Heels.

“He’s a guy that can play several spots on the offense,” Buczek said. “Obviously, he does a lot of damage from behind the goal and helps manage tempo for us.”

Tim Shannehan and Jack Speidell also figure to be fixtures on the USA attack.

Shannehan was the top-scoring freshman in the country with 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) in his first year at Boston University.

“He gets to the goal and understands when his moments are to be aggressive,” Buczek said. “He’s a quarterback with the way he sees the game. He’s able to dictate tempo and help us be on the same page.”

Speidell exploded for 48 goals as a sophomore at Harvard. Both were USA Lacrosse honorable mention All-Americans.

Colin Kurdyla, Anthony Raio and Jack Schultz are purely offensive midfielders in the context of this team.

Kurdyla was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore at Rutgers this year, leading the team with 27 goals and 40 points. He played both midfield and attack for the Scarlet Knights and could be an invert option.

Raio is coming off a sensational senior year at Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.). The USA Lacrosse High School Boys’ National Player of the Year compiled 99 goals and 77 assists, led the Thunderbirds to an undefeated state championship and set the Long Island record for career goals (283).

Nadelen said Raio found his footing during the team’s final training camp at Cornell last week, learning when to fire away and when to move the ball for a better opportunity.

“We like that aggressiveness,” Nadelen said. “It’s now understanding what’s the right time to dodge, knowing a low-angle shot might not be our best option. He’s really matured both physically and mentally.”

A Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, Schultz played both attack and midfield as a freshman at Maryland. He scored a goal in the national championship game and finished with 14 points.

Rhett Chambers, Brendan Millon and Rowyn Nurry round out the unit.

Chambers gives the U.S. another lefty option on attack after Shannehan. He started as a sophomore at Providence, finishing with 18 goals and eight assists in 14 games.

Millon is an X factor. He comes from a terrific pedigree (both of his parents are former U.S. senior team stars and National Lacrosse Hall of Famers) and was a two-time USA Lacrosse High School Boys’ Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year at McDonogh (Md.).

The top recruit in the Class of 2025, Millon averaged nearly six points per game as a senior while playing through several injuries. He got time on attack alongside Duffy and Shannehan at the USA training camp last week when Speidell was out, but don’t be surprised if you see Millon and Nurry running out of the box in South Korea.

They’re more than capable. Nurry recently completed a post-graduate year at Loomis Chaffee (Conn.).

DEFENSE

Kyle Bergen, SSDM, Notre Dame ’28
Will Erdmann, SSDM, Virginia ’27
Kyle Foster, D, Ohio State ’27
Thomas Gravino, SSDM, Maryland ’27
Robby Hopper, LSM, Virginia ’29
Quintan Kilrain, D, Johns Hopkins ’27
Shawn Lyght, D, Notre Dame ’27
Charlie Packard, SSDM, Richmond ’27
Michael Marshall, D, Cornell ’28

Assistant coach Ryan McClay said every team is to some degree an extension of its head coach. Nadelen came up as a defensive coordinator before taking over for Tony Seaman as the head coach at Towson.

It’s no surprise, then, to see a collection of defenders who are disciplined in their approach on ball, anticipatory and communicative off ball and opportunistic whenever the ball hits the deck.

Most importantly, they’re unselfish.

“We are team defense first,” said McClay, a two-time U.S. senior team defenseman who won a gold medal with Nadelen as teammates in 2010. Now he’s the head coach at Fairfield Prep (Conn.). “We’ve got two coaches on the defensive end that were in that uniform. We take a lot of pride in that. There are certain things we’re just not going to allow if you want to be a part of this.”

Kyle Foster, Quintan Kilrain and Shawn Lyght anchor the close defense.

McClay identified Foster as the player who demonstrated the most growth over the last year, perhaps a byproduct of playing alongside All-American defensemen Cullen Brown and Bobby Van Buren at Ohio State. At 6-foot-4, he covers a lot of ground and minimizes passing lanes.

Kilrain started his career as a long-stick midfielder at Johns Hopkins but then quickly found a home down low as a lefty close defenseman. McClay noted his vocal leadership, chase-outs on missed shots and ground balls in traffic.

“He makes the plays that aren’t necessarily on the stat sheet but are momentum-swinging plays,” McClay said.

Lyght is the alpha of the unit. Already a two-time All-American at Notre Dame, he was co-winner (with Van Buren) of the Schmeisser Award as the top defensive player in college lacrosse this year.

“I’ve been around a lot of great defensemen,” McClay said. “He’s as lockdown as you get.”

Lyght uses his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame to gain leverage in his matchups. But McClay also marveled at his ability to get the ball off the ground with crafty stickwork, which is unusual for a defenseman of his size.

Michael Marshall is the fourth defenseman. The former New Jersey high school defensive player of the year (he and Lyght won it back-to-back) played sparingly as a freshman at Cornell but has an elite work rate. He could also play pole or take an occasional run at short stick.

Robby Hopper did not try out for the U20 team initially, but his star rose last summer on the recruiting circuit and Nadelen sensed a void at long-stick midfield. Now coaches across the country can’t stop raving about the 6-foot-5 dynamo who scored 11 goals, had eight assists, scooped 71 ground balls and caused 33 turnovers as a senior at Archbishop Spalding (Md.).

“I think he’s outstanding,” McClay said. “He’s got an amazing future. He’s a difference maker.”

Taking a cue from the 2023 U.S. senior team, the U20 coaches decided to carry four short-stick defensive midfielders on the roster. The most-targeted position on the field demands depth, physicality, athleticism and resilience.

Kyle Bergen, Will Erdmann, Thomas Gravino and Charlie Packard fit the bill, with the latter two available for offensive duties if needed.

“When we got together after a goal or a segment, our short sticks led most of those conversations as far as what they’re seeing, what we need to tweak and what we need to do differently,” McClay said. “To have confident young men is really important.”

FACEOFF

Zach Hayashi, FO, Navy ’27
Brady Wambach, FO, North Carolina ’27

This might be the strongest unit on the team, with two of the nation’s most productive faceoff men creating a powerful duo.

Let’s start with Brady Wambach, the nephew of former U.S. women’s soccer star Abby Wambach. He finished fourth in Division I with a 64.3 faceoff win percentage after winning more than 60 percent during his freshman season at North Carolina.

He’ll be paired with Zach Hayashi, who fought through injuries in 2025 after finishing north of 60 percent as a freshman at Navy.

“Brady has lightning-quick hands and is very athletic,” Buczek said. “Zach’s also athletic, but he’s a guy that can scrap a little bit and will compete for some tough ground balls. They complement one another well and give us some good optionality to face off based on what we’re seeing.”

GOALIE

Patrick Jameison, G, Duke ’27
Anderson Moore, G, Georgetown ’27

Hall of Fame goalie Brian Dougherty was one of the evaluators at the first U.S. U20 tryout in June 2024. He immediately singled out these two players as standouts between the pipes.

Both are two-year starters for top-tier Division I programs. Patrick Jameison emerged in 2024 as the first true freshman to start in goal for Duke since 2010, ranking second in the ACC in save percentage. He put up even better numbers as a sophomore (9.73 GAA, 53.6 SV%), earning USA Lacrosse honorable mention All-American honors.

Anderson Moore is the first player (male or female) from Alabama to play for the United States in a world championship. He was the Big East Freshman of the Year and a USILA honorable mention All-American in 2024. Moore led Georgetown to its second straight NCAA quarterfinal appearance this year (9.01 GAA, 53.4 SV%).

Whereas Jameison sits on shots for as long as possible before springing to make saves, Moore plays a more active style.

“As a defenseman, you expect your goalie to make the saves they’re supposed to make and then maybe pull two or three out of a hat,” McClay said. “Well, these guys make everything they’re supposed to make and then probably eight to 10 saves they have no business making. They’re both exceptional.”