Rookies No More: The Rapid Rise of Cannons’ First- and Second-Year Players

“You’re not rookies anymore.”

That’s what Boston Cannons coach Brian Holman told his young players ahead of their first game against the New York Atlas.

“I felt it was time for the younger guys to understand that there's no more time to grow up… We told them, ‘There’s no time to wait. You have to jump in with both feet and start playing,’” Holman said.

This year, the Cannons have 13 players who are currently in their first or second season, with nine having appeared in their first game within the last three months. Seven of those 13 players recorded a point in Boston’s Week 5 game against New York. Yet, the result was a devastating 12-11 defeat and the Cannons’ fourth loss of the season.

“Even though we lost that game, I saw so much improvement,” Holman said. “We felt that we should have won that game by five goals. Everyone in the locker room felt that way.”

Starting the season 1-4 could lead to a free fall for most teams. Yet, Holman and the Cannons remained steadfast.

The Cannons followed up their fourth loss with a thrilling 15-12 win over the Redwoods in California. Following the all-star break, they defeated the Denver Outlaws in another close contest, 15-13. The next week, Boston erased an 11-5 deficit to defeat the defending champions and notch another 15-13 victory. Their win streak ended with an overtime loss to Carolina this past weekend, but Boston is still a game up on New York with a score differential 22 points better than the Atlas and remains in a great position to make the playoffs.

“They believe in each other when a whole lot of people don’t, and that’s the beauty of sports, right?” Holman said following their win over the Outlaws. “It doesn’t matter what people say; it's what you believe and who you are in that locker room.”

Building Trust

Holman explained that Boston’s belief comes from one of the team’s five pillars: trust. Yet, building trust quickly is not easy, so the Cannons employed several ways to cultivate camaraderie.

In addition to team film sessions and logging workouts throughout the week, the Cannons spend as much of their 48 hours together during game weekends, often playing games like the card game “Codenames.

“If you want to make the analogy of a flower blossoming, it’s kind of like that,” Marcus Holman said. “You have to water it, get it some form of light, and it doesn't happen overnight.”

Brian Holman credits Boston’s veterans with fostering trust among themselves in such a short time.

“When a guy like Marcus Holman believes, then Brian Kelly and Mic Kelly believe. When guys like Jack Kielty and Colin Kirst believe, then Will Donovan believes. When Zach Goodrich believes, Ben Ramsey believes. And Matt Campbell and Ryan Drenner, even though they're not playing, they're still on every Zoom call,” he said. “I’m setting the sail, but the leadership group has implemented the belief.”

If Brian Holman is the captain of this proverbial ship, then new assistant coaches Aaron Verardi and Will Manny are his first mates.

“Aaron’s great. He's always been a tough, hard-nosed guy… He brings an outside perspective, because he's not a PLL guy, so he doesn't see the game the same way that Will and I see it,” the head coach said.

“Will is like a son to me. We’ve been together for a long time. He's a legend and our players know that.  He speaks their language. He’s mature enough to deliver it in a way that he's not a player talking to them now. He's a coach talking to them now. We had so much fun in Utah together, and it's just been a blessing to work with him again.”

“It's always just about getting better with Will. It’s been really cool to see his ability to teach the game to these first- and second-year guys the way that he played it,” Marcus Holman added. “He’s been showing these guys that it's not really about what set we're in, but it's about what you should be looking for in these sets and if the defense does this, then be ready to do this.”

Boston’s Offensive Evolution

Manny has overseen a Boston offense that is averaging the most scores per game (13) and has yet to score less than 10 goals through nine games this season. It’s as good of a start as you could ask from the first-year offensive coordinator, but the move from player to coach wasn’t without growing pains.

Manny admits that he never felt fully ready to retire. Attending training camp, but not getting to suit up for the first time was particularly difficult. Thankfully, Brian Holman helped ease his transition.

“What really helped me get to a really good mental space to hang up the cleats was Coach Holman saying, 'Look, it's going to be tough for you to be in the lineup this year, but I want you to coach and I think your impact on these guys and in the game of lacrosse will be even higher than what you've done for 14 years playing in the pro game,’” Manny said. “I knew I could probably coach in the league, but hearing that from him and keeping me within the Cannons organization after deciding to retire was what helped me get over the hump.”

Rookies Mikey Weisshaar and Jack Regnery have played a large role in the Manny-led offense.

“We were excited about Mikey's ability to be versatile; knowing that we could plug him in right away and he's been able to come out of the box and produce,” Marcus Holman said. “He's a tough and selfless player.”

“Regnery’s a competitor to the nth degree. I was told his work ethic was beyond anything they had seen at Tufts. So, I knew the type of player we were getting when we drafted him, but nobody truly knows when the lights come on,” Brian Holman said. “When he was 1-for-10 in his first game, that didn't bother him at all. Shooters shoot, and I think playing in our system has unlocked him a bit. We like to play fast, and there’s freedom for him to be a playmaker.”

Other players who have been “unlocked” this season are sophomores Mic Kelly and Coulter Mackesy. Mic Kelly currently leads all Boston midfielders with 16 points, and his 22 assist opportunities are the most among all true PLL midfielders this season. Meanwhile, Mackesy is tied for fifth in the league in points with 28 and has a balanced stat line of 14 total goals and 12 assists.

“I'm super proud of Coult. He's so skilled. When he plays fast and runs hard off picks, he's almost uncoverable because he can morph and do a bunch of different things: feed, re-dodge, shoot from range, shoot on the run,” Manny said.

From Undrafted to Invaluable

While technically also in his second year, attackman Brian Kelly never saw the field in his entire first year on the team. The Boston attackman went undrafted and never got a chance to suit up in 2025 after signing with the Cannons. Yet, he was anything but “inactive” during his first season.

“He traveled to a bunch of games last year to be a practice. He’s on Zoom calls 20 minutes early and is the first person in the meeting every single week. He's just committed,” Manny said.

“That kid works harder than most kids I've ever been around,” Brian Holman added. “The stuff he does on our team is completely invaluable. He sets the tone and works harder than everybody on the team. He has zero ego.”

After putting in the work for a year, Kelly finally made his pro debut in Boston’s second game, replacing the Cannons’ points leader in back-to-back seasons, Asher Nolting. Kelly quickly justified the decision with a five-point performance in Boston’s 19-5 win over Philadelphia.

“He earned it a year ago and, when he got a chance to step on the field, dropped five in the first night he's ever played in a professional league,” Brian Holman said. “Then he had a couple of stretches where he didn't play well and I kind of laid into him. I said, ‘You're trying to be something you're not. You’re not Asher Nolting, you’re not Joey Spallina, you’re BK.’ He listened and from that point on, he's been ‘Steady Eddy’ for us.”

Brian Kelly isn’t the only undrafted player making an impact. Rookie defender Remington Reynolds has appeared in four games for Boston, including their wins over Philadelphia and California. Graydon Hogg has gone from playing in just three games during his rookie year to now playing in all but one game this season and recording at least a point in six of those seven appearances. Manny also credited Hogg with helping elevate Mackesy’s game, calling them “Batman and Robin” on the left side.

Undrafted rookie Andrew McMeekin has also made an immediate impact since being picked up off waivers by the Cannons. The 2026 national champion has won a PLL-best 61.3% of his faceoffs and is averaging a point per game through six games this season. Manny praised McMeekin’s ability to win faceoffs at crucial moments and desire to get better offensively, which has helped elevate Boston’s transition game.

“He's a wizard. He's dedicated to his craft and skilled as s—. He’s a combination of [Greg] Gurenlian and [Joe] Nardella,” Manny said. “He joins all of our shooting lines and practices fast break combinations with our attack. We score one to two of those a game, so the proof is in the pudding.”

The most notable undrafted player on the Cannons’ roster is starting long-stick midfielder Ethan Rall. After going undrafted, Rall signed with Boston in 2023 and was a rookie of the year finalist in his first season. Since joining the Cannons, Rall hasn’t missed a game and has played a critical role in their recent win streak. His most memorable moment was a well-timed check on Jared Bernhardt with 30 seconds remaining in Boston’s eventual win over Denver.

“To be successful in those situations, you have to want to be in those situations … Ethan said, ‘I got this. I want this.’ It’s in his face. It’s in his eyes,” Brian Holman explained following Boston’s third win of the season. “That confidence comes from his preparation and how hard he works.”

Holman also had high praise for the pair of rookie defenders he drafted in April.

“Hunter [Smith] and Will [Donovan] have been more than what I was hoping for when we got him in the draft. Both are excellent lacrosse players and outstanding human beings. Hunter might be the most competitive rookie I've had on our team since I've been in the PLL, and you could make a case for Will Donovan to be rookie of the year playing close defense for the first time,” he said. “Donovan, Hunter and Remy have been outstanding additions.”

Embracing the Process

At 4-5, the Cannons now find themselves squarely in the playoff hunt, but they know their work isn’t done. Last year, Boston needed to win just one of their final two games, but ended up losing both and missing the playoffs based on score differential.

On Friday, the Cannons will play the stingiest defense in the PLL when they square off against the Western Conference-leading Utah Archers (9.0 scores allowed per game). Boston is tied with the Maryland Whipsnakes for the league's most productive offense (13.0 scores per game).

“Last year, we got out of our process. We started thinking that we had a team that was sort of built to win the championship, and I think we lost our focus,” Brian Holman said. “Then it turned into not being happy and enjoying the game that we love. That was the only time I've seen Marc not enjoy the process, not enjoy everything about playing the sport that he absolutely adores. This year, what I see in him and all of us is that joy is back.”

Despite winning three of their last four games, Holman said the Cannons haven’t been affected by the outside noise, whether negative or positive.

“Last week, I asked our guys, ‘How many of you were contacted by any media two weeks ago?’ Nobody raised their hand,” he said. “Then I asked how many were contacted by the media now, and we had a fair amount of guys raising their hands. I said, ‘Yeah, me too.’”

“We're the same people. We're doing the same job, right? We're going to go out and play lacrosse the way that we believe gives us the best chance to win. If we are who we say we are, and we just believe in the process, and we're not worried about all of the outside noise, then we'll go out and play really well.”

Marcus Holman provided further insight into his father’s coaching style.

“He’s very competitive and wants to win, but he also wants to teach about life through lacrosse and building a team," he said. "What are the virtues and values you need to have and how does that translate to wins?”

Brian Holman believes Boston’s focus on the process more than results will help them during the final stretch of the season.

“If you're chasing victories, it'll kill you," he said. "I never talk about winning with our guys. You can play the greatest game in the world and lose by a goal. And you can go out and play like s—, but end up winning that game,. You just have to put your best foot out there and continue to play for 48-plus [minutes]. And when the whistle blows at the end, we'll look over the scoreboard. If we win, great. If we lose, we'll go back, we'll figure out what it is that we need to improve on, and we'll move forward.”