Kyle Hartzell Makes Most of Philip Rivers-esque Return to PLL

Kyle Hartzell woke up June 26 with no plans to ever play professional lacrosse again. The 40-year-old former long-stick midfielder retired in 2023 and has since spent his days running a gym in Park City, Utah.

He was working out when he got a message from former teammate and current California Redwoods head coach Anthony Kelly.

“Do you want to play this weekend?” Kelly asked.

Kelly didn’t provide any other context in that initial text, but the conversation that followed quickly confirmed that Kelly wanted Hartzell to suit up for the Redwoods in their doubleheader in San Diego that weekend.

“I was actually getting ready to head to the airport when I got notified that Arden [Cohen] was no longer available and we were going to have to make a change. Obviously, a little bit of panic sets in,” Kelly said. “We had a doubleheader, which is already difficult. We felt like we were super prepared, and then the carpet got pulled out from underneath and we had to figure things out quickly.”

With starting defenders Chris Fake and Cole Kastner dealing with injuries, the Redwoods re-signed Cohen. When Cohen landed on the PUP list a few days after, Kelly had to quickly pivot to another option.

“We had activated Matt Wright the game prior, but we felt we needed another long pole in case there was an injury to one of our guys, especially with the bad luck we've had in that category,” Kelly said. “So, Joe Spallina and I started racking our brains for options.”

They didn’t think there was a recent graduate they could quickly sign and get to San Diego in time, and very few defenders with pro experience had been released to the player pool.

“There wasn't a young guy who jumped off the board, and asking someone to come into game six of the season is a big ask for anybody,” Kelly said. “We needed a guy who was going to be comfortable and not have the moment be too big for them.”

Kelly thought of Hartzell and reached out. He ended up being the first and only player he asked.

“I told him I needed a guy that I can trust and lean on as a voice,” Kelly said. “He’s basically an extension of Coach [Chris] Collins on the field, and having a guy that can communicate to the level that he can … that's sometimes enough to just make everybody around you better.”

Hartzell’s decision was not his alone to make. As a new father with a 7-month-old daughter at home, he had to run it by his wife first.

“I wanted to play, but at the end of the day, my wife is home with the baby and working a full-time job, so it had to be cleared by her, too,” Hartzell said. “When I told her the call I got, she told me, ‘You have to do it,’ and was in full support.”

With his decision made, Hartzell quickly packed and headed to the airport to catch the last flight of the day to San Diego — all within two hours of getting the call.

Hartzell didn’t have long to get acclimated. Following a delayed flight, Hartzell landed in San Diego, quickly got a physical and then headed to practice with under an hour left.

“He was adamant about getting to practice and being a part of what we were doing,” Kelly said. “He's an intense guy, and once he switched his mindset to being an active player, he was all in.”

At practice, Hartzell was welcomed by a few runs guarding attackman Mikey Boehm. The next time Hartzell would get to suit up would be Sunday’s game. Hartzell said that getting reacclimated to the speed of the game was the hardest thing, but playing lacrosse again was second nature to him.

“Adjusting to the game speed took getting used to, but I played lacrosse my whole life. It’s not like I forgot,” Hartzell said.

Hartzell made the most of his Philip Rivers-esque opportunity. He was tasked with guarding Carolina’s Owen Hiltz and held the Chaos attackman to just 1-for-6 shooting. It was an impactful performance in an eventual 14-13 overtime win for the Redwoods.

“I'm really proud of the way that he played,” Kelly said. “I’m grateful that he dropped what he was doing and turned his life upside down to be there for us.”

Hartzell’s impact was not just felt on the field.

“It was great for guys to see what it takes to be a pro and see a guy who takes it as serious as he did,” Kelly said. “I know everybody thought I was crazy, and I thought I was a little bit crazy myself. … But the way he handled himself validated the decision.”

Hartzell capped his wild weekend by signing autographs and mingling with the California home crowd. It was an unconventional three days for the veteran, but nothing about Hartzell’s career has ever been conventional.

Hartzell wasn’t heavily recruited while attending Archbishop Curley in Baltimore, so he attended Community College of Baltimore County-Essex following graduation. After winning an NJCAA championship, he transferred to Salisbury where he was a lacrosse walk-on.

After limited playing time to start, Hartzell became a captain during his senior year and finished his college career by winning a championship with the Sea Gulls under the recently retired Jim Berkman.

Hartzell then went from being drafted 69th overall in the Major League Lacrosse supplemental draft to playing professionally for 16 years and winning two MLL titles and a National Lacrosse League championship as well. He was also a member of the U.S. National Team three times, winning a bronze medal at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, a silver at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championship and a gold at the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship.

The one thing missing when Hartzell eventually retired was a PLL championship.

“[Winning a PLL championship] is certainly one of my motivations. They're one of the top teams in the league and in a really good position for that,” Hartzell said. “It would be awesome to be a part of a championship with this group, in whatever role that I'm in.”

Yet Hartzell emphasized that his main motivation is simply his love for competition.

“I love to compete,” he said. “I love to be out there, and I think being at the age of 40 tells you that. I'm probably never going to get this phone call ever again, so I want to make the most of it.”

“I relate to where Kyle is because I think guys like us just don't ever turn it off,” Kelly said. “This wasn't me pulling Kyle Hartzell out of retirement randomly off a piece of paper. This was having a relationship and knowing exactly what I was going to get if we decided to go with him.”

Kelly sees a lot of parallels between Hartzell’s lacrosse journey and his own.

“As someone who was a 26-year-old rookie when I started playing pro lacrosse, I had to grind it out to get my opportunities. I think Hartzell was really the same way,” Kelly said. “Coming from Salisbury, he really had to prove himself and take advantage of the opportunities that he got along the way.”

The parallels don’t end there. Nearly three years after retiring at 37, Kelly received a call from Regy Thorpe, the U.S. National Indoor Lacrosse Team coach at the time. Thorpe asked Kelly if he was interested in joining the team during training camp ahead of the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.

“Regy wanted me to come in to be a player-coach at training camp. After, he said, ‘Man, you played really well. Do you want to go through this process?’ I ended up making the team, and at 40 years old, went out to Vancouver with them.” Kelly said. “When you're at that point in your career and you get to go back to something you love, you end up playing better because you're just playing loose. I think we saw that from Kyle.”

For both Kelly and Hartzell, simply “making the team” has never been enough.

Kelly played every game at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship and notably had three goals in USA’s 18-10 win over Israel. In addition to limiting Hiltz, Hartzell collected three ground balls and caused three turnovers in California’s win on Sunday.

Hartzell never expected to play pro lacrosse again but has always stayed ready on the off chance he’d receive a call. He credits renowned strength and conditioning coach Jay Dyer for keeping him in shape.

“Jay Dyer still gives me workouts. I've been doing his workouts since I retired,” Hartzell said. “His workouts will keep you ready.”

In addition to staying physically fit, Hartzell has also kept his pulse on the PLL by co-hosting the “Over The Head” podcast with another former pro, Scott Ratliff. When asked if Ratliff was jealous that he didn’t get the call, Hartzell chuckled.

“The funny thing is Anthony [Kelly] actually mentioned Scott was at the games in Charlotte on the sidelines and said, ‘Hey, if you ever need somebody, you let me know. I'm ready to go,’” Hartzell said.

Hartzell will have to see if he’ll get another call from Kelly, but he said he’s remaining ready if the Redwoods choose to dress him for another game. With California still dealing with injuries on defense, there’s a possibility that Hartzell lands on the Redwoods’ active roster for their next game against the Waterdogs on July 10.

Whether Hartzell plays again or his game in San Diego ends up being his swan song, the now 17-year veteran will go down as one of the greatest long-stick midfielders in professional lacrosse history. When asked how he hopes his career is remembered, Hartzell referenced one of his idols.

“Brodie Merrill’s my G.O.A.T and the greatest of all-time at the [long-stick midfield] position… I'd like to be considered with him as one of the best players to ever play our position,” Hartzell said. “But I also hope the fans just remember me as a good guy with good character.”