Head Coach Joe Ernst, the Pirates men’s lacrosse program and the Southwestern University Athletic Department announced their inaugural recruiting class this afternoon and marked it with their first practice of the fall season. The Southwestern men’s lacrosse program made the jump to D-III for the 2010 season after participating as an MCLA club team for the past 25 years. The Pirates will compete in the SCAC, which now sponsors lacrosse as an official conference sport.

The class consists of nine returning players from the club team: Nate Carney, Luther Faulk, Matt Hanson, Stephen Howe, Chris Lange, Sam Marsh, Thomas Mock, Jack Parker and Jesus Torres. New to Southwestern are freshmen: Zach Anglin, Steven Broes, Miguel Caballero, Paul Erickson, Jacob Guajardo, Rory Jones, Elliott Kelly, Jon Kirk, Jamie Long, Rhys O’Farrell, Grady Sampley and Edward Williams. Two transfers round out the class and are: Shane Carney and Donnie Murray.

Zach Anglin – Defense – Hamilton, TX/Hamilton
Zach Anglin is a 6-foot, 170 pound star strong safety for the Hamilton High football team. He is a ferocious competitor with great speed and athleticism. He was All-District in both football and track. The Pirates will be looking for hard “to-the-body” slides from Zach. His intended major at SU is Physics.

Steven Broes – Defense – Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central
Steve Broes is a 5-foot-10-inch, 165 pound long pole that played under Coach Rob Goodwin at West Morris Central High School. Steve has great quickness and a good stick and will help anchor a quick doubling defense. He is undecided on a major.

Miguel Caballero – Midfield – Laredo, TX/St. Augustine
Miguel Caballero is a 6-foot, 190 pound midfielder with good speed and size and will help form a solid SSDM unit for the Pirates. His intended major at SU is Political Science.

Nate Carney – Attack/Midfield – Georgetown, TX/Anderson
Nate Carney is a 6-foot-3-inch, 215 pound short stick who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman as well as four years at Anderson High School in Austin, TX. During his first two years at Southwestern he was named as Freshman Player of the Year and All-Conference. During the 2009 campaign for Southwestern’s MCLA program Carney had 22 goals and 11 assists, averaging 2.2 points per game. He will add size and good hands on both ends of the field. This year he will Captain the Pirates inaugural season of NCAA D-III lacrosse. He is majoring in Business at Southwestern.

Shane Carney – Midfield – Georgetown, TX/Anderson
Shane Carney is a 6-foot-1-inch, 200 pound midfielder who transferred in from playing MLCA at the University of Texas – Arlington as well as four years at Anderson High School in Austin, TX. Shane is an exceptional athlete who in addition to nine years of lacrosse experience also competes in triathlons. He will add size, speed and a fierce attitude to the Pirates midfield. His intended major at SU is Political Science.

Paul Erickson – Midfield – Georgetown, TX/Huntington-Surrey
Paul Erickson is a 5-foot-8-inch, 150 pound midfielder from Huntington-Surrey High School. His speed and agility will be an asset to an already very fast midfield. He will be majoring in Economics at Southwestern.

Luther Faulk – Midfield – Brownsville, TX/St. Joseph’s
Luther Faulk is a 5-foot-10-inch, 175 pound midfielder who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. During his two years on the club team Luther anchored a solid midfield unit and last year received All-Conference honors. During the 2009 campaign for Southwestern’s MCLA program Faulk had 10 goals and 12 assists, averaging 1.47 points per game. This year he will Captain the Pirates inaugural season of NCAA D-III lacrosse. He is currently majoring in Business at SU.

Jacob Guajardo – LSM/Defense – Katy, TX/Cinco Ranch
Jacob Guajardo is a 6-foot, 165 pound long stick that played three years under Coach Peter Marin at Cinco Ranch High School. Jacob is a quick, tenacious defender who has a great field sense and an ability to control his man. His intended major at SU is Psychology/Pre-Med.

Matt Hanson – Attack/Midfield – El Campo, TX
Matt Hanson is a 6-foot-2-inch, 250 pound short stick who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. Matt’s size and soft hands allow him to be a great role player on the crease on both ends of the field. He is majoring in Philosophy at Southwestern.

Stephen Howe – Defense – Austin, TX/St. Michael’s/Kimball Union Academy
Stephen Howe is a 6-foot-4-inch, 215 pound defensemen who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. He was also a letter winner in both lacrosse and hockey in high school. His size and demeanor on the field will help to anchor a close defense. He is undecided on a major.

Rory Jones – Midfield – Temple, TX/Temple
Rory Jones is a 6-foot, 175 pound midfielder who has good size and speed and will help to form a solid SSDM unit for the Pirates. His intended major at Southwestern is History/German.

Elliott Kelly – Attack – Keller, TX/Central
Elliott Kelly is a 5-foot-10-inch, 165 pound attackman who played for Coach Mike Smith on the Keller lacrosse team. Elliott has a knack for finding the open man and getting him the ball, he led his team in assists last year. He is majoring in Economics at SU.

Jon Kirk – Attack – Friendswood, TX/Friendswood
Jon Kirk is a 6-foot, 180 pound attackman who played for Friendswood High School under Coach Steve Kirk. Jon racked up 131 goals and 10 assists in his high school career which included 79 goals and 8 assists in his senior campaign. He was a two time All-District player, named to the Houston All-Star game twice and was named All-State in 2009. He is undecided on a major.

Chris Lange – Defense – Houston, TX/Lamar
Chris Lange is a 6-foot, 190 pound defensemen who played at Lamar High School in Houston, TX and is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. Chris has good size, athleticism and a great stick and will be one of the key anchors to the Pirates defense. He is currently majoring in Business at SU.

Jamie Long – Midfield – Shreveport, LA/Capt. Shreve
Jamie Long is a 5-foot-10-inch, 155 pound midfielder who played lacrosse for Coach Wayne Beggs at Captain Shreve High School. He was a three time All-District player and All-State in his senior season while amassing 147 goals and 65 assists in his varsity career. He is majoring in Business Management at SU.

Sam Marsh – LSM/Defense – Kaufman, TX/Crandall
Sam Marsh is a 6-foot-3-inch, 175 pound long pole who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. He has great speed and will fill a vital role at the LSM position. He also letters in cross country at Southwestern. He is majoring in Environmental Studies at Southwestern.

Thomas Mock – Midfield – Weatherford, TX/Trinity Christian Academy
Thomas Mock is a 6-foot, 185 pound midfielder who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. He is an exceptional athlete and works well on both ends of the field as well as taking face offs. This year he will Captain the Pirates inaugural season of NCAA D-III lacrosse. During the 2009 campaign for Southwestern’s MCLA program Mock had 15 goals and 6 assists, averaging 1.4 points per game and went 36 for 62 on face offs. He is majoring in Kinesiology at SU.

Donnie Murray – Goal - Chandler, AZ/Hamilton/Mercyhurst – North East
Donnie Murray is a 6-foot-1-inch, 180 pound goaltender that transferred in from playing under Coach James Malone at Mercyhurst – North East after a year of JuCo ball. While sharing time in net at MNE he had a 72.5 save percentage. He is undecided on a major.

Rhys O’Farrell – Midfield – Friendswood, TX/Friendswood
Rhys O’Farrell is a 5-foot-11inch, 175 pound midfielder who played under Coach Steve Kirk at Friendswood High School. With good speed and a ton of athletic ability Rhys will be great addition to the midfield on both end of the field. He also will compete for a starting face off spot. His intended major at SU is engineering.

Jack Parker – Midfield – Austin, TX/Westwood
Jack Parker is a 6-foot, 175 pound midfielder who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. He has great athletic ability and lacrosse IQ and will round out the SSDM unit and look to compete for a face off spot. He is currently majoring in Business at Southwestern.

Grady Sampley – Midfield – Garden Grove, CA/Mater Dei
Grady Sampley is a 5-foot-10-inch, 165 pound midfielder who played under Coach Matt Goto at Mater Dei High School. With good hands and quickness Grady will look to make an impact on both ends of the field. He is majoring in Biology at SU.

Jesus Torres – Midfield – Laredo, TX/St. Augustine
Jesus Torres is a 5-foot-10-inch, 190 pound midfielder who is returning from playing on the Bucs MCLA team under Coach Bill Bowman. Last year he served a role as a SSDM and will look to build on last season in the same role. He is currently double majoring in Biochemistry and Biology at Southwestern.

Edward Williams – Attack – St. John’s School
Edward Williams is a 6-foot, 250 pound attackman who played for Coach Sam Chambers at St. John’s School in Houston, TX. In two years on the varsity team he racked up 49 goals and 4 assists. He was a member of Team Texas numerous times and was named to both All-SPC and All-State teams. Edward is a big strong presence around the net and has a “Canadian-like” ability to find the back of the goal. He will be a guy the Pirates look to on offense. This year he will Captain the Pirates inaugural season of NCAA D-III lacrosse. He will major in Business at SU.

Southwestern is a private, highly selective liberal arts institution encompassing the Brown College of Arts and Sciences and the Sarofim School of Fine Arts. Classroom learning is augmented by an environment that encourages participation in faculty-student research, athletics, intramural and recreational sports, and over 90 student organizations. Living-Learning Communities and the Paideia Program offer exceptional opportunities to fully integrate one's experiences in and out of the classroom.

Located in historic Georgetown, just north of Austin, Southwestern's serene residential campus occupies a small portion of 700 acres that include the San Gabriel River and areas reserved for biological and environmental research. Georgetown and the surrounding area offer many opportunities for putting learning into practice through volunteerism, civic engagement and internships.