Next American-Born Box Star CJ Kirst Taking Lessons from Early Success

CJ Kirst helped end another title drought in May.

Fifty-one weeks after helping Cornell end a 48-year NCAA championship drought, Kirst scored five goals with four assists over two games as the Toronto Rock swept the Halifax Thunderbirds for their first National Lacrosse League championship in 15 years.

“Being able to hoist the trophy at the end was special, especially with this group,” Kirst said. “I couldn’t be happier with getting it done with this group.”

To do so as an American-born player carried added significance. Kirst has far less experience in box lacrosse than field lacrosse, which he returned to Saturday night for the Philadelphia Waterdogs against the Carolina Chaos in the Premier Lacrosse League. He had three goals and two assists in his season debut.

“I’m excited to take some of those lessons I learned this winter and this season with the Rock and bring it with me this summer,” Kirst said.

Kirst comes off his first professional season indoors where he served as further evidence that American-born players can bring value to NLL teams willing to take a risk on less experienced players. The New Jersey native closed his first season with 34 goals and 37 assists to lead Toronto. He became the sixth American to be named NLL Rookie of the Year and second for Toronto. Tom Schreiber was Rookie of the Year in 2017.

“This is just such a long season and such a mental battle compared to the field game I grew up playing the majority of my life,” Kirst said. “It was definitely a little bit of an adjustment trying to manage the struggles and the lows. But all credit to Dan Dawson, who was our [offensive coordinator], who gave me the confidence to just go play my game and fly around out there. And I couldn’t have gone through the season without him and all the little film sessions that we did. I learned the game from him and thankfully was able to find my groove towards the end.”

After missing the playoffs and finishing second to last, Toronto had the first three picks in last year’s draft and selected Kirst first overall. The 2025 Tewaaraton Award winner and NCAA all-time leading goal scorer was the second consecutive American to be picked first overall following Brennan O’Neill’s selection by the Philadelphia Wings in 2024.

Prior to O’Neill, the last American selected first overall was Casey Powell by the Rochester Knighthawks in 1998. Syracuse’s Joey Spallina, a New York native, is widely considered a top-five prospect for the 2026 draft.

Kirst was part of a rookie group that was hugely impactful to Toronto’s success. Sam English, a 2024 pick who debuted this year, was named championship series MVP, and No. 3 pick Owen Hiltz came on strong. Hugh Kelleher, a former teammate at Cornell and New York native, was a valuable pick out of the second round.

“Owen Hiltz is one of the best players I ever played with,” Kirst said. “Sam English found his way all over the floor making an impact and Hugh Kelleher was a beast on the defensive end and also finding the back of the net a couple of times, and Lucas Hucal is another great defensive player on our back door who was able to just find his groove. I think the rookies as a whole, we were able to find a way to make an impact, and the veterans gave us the confidence to just go out there and play our game.”

Kirst was able to focus on fitting in on this team a year after being a leading voice for Cornell. It took some leadership responsibility off his plate, which allowed him to focus on his game and his role while trusting a strong core of veterans.

“A lot of learning opportunities, especially in a game that I didn’t really play a lot growing up,” Kirst said. “That’s definitely one thing that was a little bit different.”

Kirst blossomed under the tutelage of Dawson, an NLL legend as the league’s second all-time leading scorer. He gave Kirst pointers on how to approach the game, from how to be aggressive with the NLL’s 30-second shot clock and how to maximize his relentless motor and skillset.

“Dan gave me some words of wisdom to just attack early and play in the two-man game with some of our other lefties and just try to try my hardest to go for that full 30 seconds,” Kirst said. “Whether that was also staying back a little bit and trying to ride the ball back, which not many people do in box, but our coaches gave me the confidence to do that. And I think that was something that helped me learn that you could break down the game into 5-v-5 segments — there’s little ground balls and little plays that you can really be successful in. I’m glad that our coaches were able to see that within myself and then I was able to capitalize and try to find ways to do that every single game.”

Kirst, whose brothers Connor and Cole also played NLL, wasn’t sure entirely what to expect of his first season. He hadn’t played an extensive amount of box. His first serious look at the game came in the summer of 2023 when he and Cornell teammate Andrew Dalton played for the Mimico Mountaineers of the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League. Then, in 2024, he played for the U.S. Men’s Box National Team in the Box Lacrosse World Championships.

“I got to be teammates with my brother, and that was kind of the real eye-opening experience of playing against the best players in the world,” Kirst said. “And I knew kind of what to expect heading into the NLL season a little bit, but this was a little bit different compared to the World Games and playing against Team Canada, Haudenosaunee and all that.”

Kirst’s impact has been undeniable at every stop in his career. After the U.S. finished third for five straight box worlds, Kirst helped them move up to silver in 2024. He’d previously played on the U20 Men’s National Team that won gold in 2022. Last fall, he was part of the Men’s Sixes National Team in international competition as they gear up for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

He got out to a fast start scoring Toronto’s first goal of the season. Each discipline has its nuances, and a full year in the NLL helped Kirst grow.

“There’s just so many tight little windows and there’s different ways you can think about shooting the ball and trying to score,” he said. “And more importantly, you think about setting other people up. I think there’s definitely little aspects of the game that I’m excited to see in the field game and just have my eyes a little bit more open to it. Just knowing that there’s a lot more space, there’s a lot more athletic guys that you’re playing with because of the space that you have and you can truly be effective in some of the ways you play and play on the offensive end, whether that’s playing in the pick game or just moving off ball and finding a tight window.”

Playing in the NLL and Toronto environment only added to his enjoyment. Rock City has a reputation for a passionate fan base. They had been frustrated not having a title for a decade and a half, and they relished this year’s success.

“It’s box lacrosse there from a young age. It’s like Friday Night Lights,” Kirst said. “You dream about playing for the Junior A team for your respective organization and you play in front of the whole town, and then when you get to the NLL you see the support from all those neighboring towns. Toronto is so lucky to be right in the middle of that where you have all those big towns like Burlington and Mimico, Orangeville, all right around there who support us. And then having the opportunity to play in front of those kids and those fans was special because how deep the Toronto Rock organization runs up there. And we felt their support all year long.”

The title capped quite a year of lacrosse for Kirst after finishing his college career on a high. His learning curve has included recovery from surgery before his PLL debut season and then navigating working a day job in insurance in New York City and moonlighting on weekends in the NLL.

He and Kelleher would travel to Toronto games every weekend, where Kirst showed he could shine in box lacrosse while winning another championship.

“I couldn’t have done it without having a teammate with me,” Kirst said. “Hugh Kelleher was not only a beast on the floor with us, but one hell of a teammate off the floor. We did it all together. That was maybe even more special, having 30 weekends in a row to do it and hoist the trophy at the end.”