Five Selected for US National Team Training Camp

DURHAM A handful of Blue Devils are among the 50 players invited to participate in a training camp Sept. 23-25 ​​in Sparks, Md., as the United States Men’s Lacrosse Team continues preparations for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship. Five Duke players, four former and one current, are among the Picks by the US Men’s National Team and Duke head Coach John Danowski and his staff.

Representing Duke are JT Giles-Harris, Brennan O’NeillBrad Smith, Michael Sowers and Cade Van Raaphorst. O’Neill is the youngest among the 50 players as a junior for the Blue Devils and is one of six players invited who has collegiate eligibility remaining.

Giles-Harris, Smith, Sowers and Van Raaphorst are Shining in the Premier Lacrosse League with Giles-Harris, Sowers and Van Raaphorst recently earning All-Star recognition. Van Raaphorst and Giles-Harris have been Anchors for Atlas and Chrome, respectively, this season as both sit at 4-2 heading into week seven. Chrome is tied for second in the PLL in goals against with Giles-Harris registering seven caused turnovers and 15 ground balls. Van Raaphorst has six forced turnovers and 13 GBs and has scored a pair of two-pointers.

Smith has helped Whipsnakes into the top spot in the standings with a 5-1 mark. The former Blue Devil midfielder has 11 points from his six goals, including one two-point score, and an assist. Sowers ranks tied for eighth in the PLL with 18 points from 11 goals and seven assists. Waterdogs are sitting at 3-3 overall for fifth place.

O’Neill, one of the nation’s leading scorers last season, is set to represent the US on the world’s stage for the U21 National Team at the U21 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland August 10-20. In two seasons with the Blue Devils, O’Neill has 129 points from 98 goals and 31 assists. He currently ranks 36th in career points at Duke and is on pace to become the fastest Blue Devil to 100 career goals. The 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, O’Neill is a two-time All-ACC pick and garnered USILA All-America second team honors in 2022.

The 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship will be held in San Diego, Calif., from June 21 to July 1, 2023. Snapdragon Stadium, a new 35,000-seat stadium slated to open this fall on the campus of San Diego State University, will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, the opening game, the semifinals and the medal round games. The University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium will host the majority of Featured games, and fields on both campuses will be used for the event which will feature 30 nations and more than 100 games.

The World Lacrosse Men’s Championship traces its roots to 1967 when the United States won a four-team Invitational in Toronto that was held in conjunction with Canada’s Centennial lacrosse celebration. Since 1974, the event has been coordinated by World Lacrosse and its predecessors (the International Lacrosse Federation and the Federation of International Lacrosse). Overall, the US has won 10 of the 13 Championships conducted with Canada claiming gold three times.

Here’s the full list of US team players invited to the training camp: