KINGSTON, JAMAICA – JLA President, Calbert Hutchinson, is excited to announce that a Jamaican team of over 40 athletes has formed to compete in the 2017 International Lacrosse Showdown this coming weekend at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, USA. The event has been coordinated by the Israel Lacrosse Association, who earlier this week held a press conference in Tel Aviv to announce the details of their plans to host the 2018 FIL Men’s World Championships. (Click here for coverage of this announcement.)
“Participation in this event is an important next step in our engagement of Jamaican lacrosse players in the Diaspora,” said Hutchinson. “While local, home-grown development here is Jamaica has and always will be our top priority, we are really excited to engage with Jamaicans living abroad in the USA, Canada and the UK to give them an opportunity to support and connect with their roots.”
The roster for this weekend’s event is comprised largely of Jamaican-American heritage players, all of whom are eligible to compete for a spot on Jamaica’s 24 man roster for the the 2018 FIL World Championships.
Hutchinson continued, “Ultimately this weekend is not about the 2018 team, it is about fostering a sense of fellowship and family among Jamaican lacrosse players living abroad. The roster for the 2018 Championships is going to be a balance of top local talent here in Jamaica with the most talented players in the diaspora, but we really want to encourage the Diaspora to keep participating in events like these throughout the year.”
Donald Wilson of Bridgeport, CT, who hails for Westmoreland will be coaching the team alongside Skip Darden (Hobart). Former NCAA All-American, Evan Redwood (Amherst), led the charge in forming the team for this weekend’s event. Evan’s parents hail from Kingston, and now reside outside Baltimore, MD.
The schedule for this weekend’s event is:
FRIDAY, May 26
6pm – Israel vs Portugal
7pm – Israel vs Greece
8pm – Greece vs Portugal
SATURDAY, May 27
7am – Hungary vs Puerto Rico
7am – Greece vs Jamaica
8am – Philippines vs Jamaica
8am – Hungary vs Portugal
9am – Philippines vs Portugal
9am – Greece vs Puerto Rico
SUNDAY, May 28
7am – Israel vs Jamaica
7am – Greece vs Philippines
8am – Israel vs Hungary
8am – Puerto Rico vs Portugal
9am – Philippines vs Puerto Rico
9am – Hungary vs Jamaica
MONDAY, May 29
7am – Israel vs Puerto Rico
7am – Hungary vs Greece
8am – Hungary vs Philippines
8am – Jamaica vs Portugal
9am – Israel vs Philippines
9am – Puerto Rico vs Jamaica
Team Jamaica’s roster for this weekend is:
| No. | First Name | Last Name | Position | Current or Most Recent School or Team |
| 0 | Nashwan | Hoffman | Midfield | Adelphi College |
| 1 | Rob | Kelly | Defense | University of Richmond |
| 2 | Peter | Fell | Midfield | Bates College |
| 3 | Anthony | Little | LSM | Rutgers / Charlotte LC |
| 4 | Aston | King | SSDM | Frostburg State |
| 5 | Zavier | Luddington | LSM | Newmarket Redbirds |
| 6 | Deshaunte | longley | Midfield | Johnson & Wales |
| 7 | Shakir | Saunders | Midfield | East Coast Dyes |
| 8 | Jalen | Paul | Midfield | Franklin Pierce |
| 9 | Chris | Wong | Attack | |
| 10 | Donneal | Green | Midfield | Howard CC |
| 11 | Brendan | Murphy | Midfield | Rochester River Monsters |
| 14 | Joshua | Duperly | Midfield | Coral Reef HS |
| 15 | Josiah | Wilson | Attack | Denison University |
| 16 | Shakeim | Golden | Midfield | Georgian Court |
| 17 | Tyrrell | Halliman | Goalie | Onondaga |
| 18 | Courtney | Morgan | LSM | Connecticut College |
| 20 | Khary | Dennis | Midfield | Williams College |
| 21 | Hakim | Thompson | Midfield | Princeton |
| 22 | Shawndel | Evans II | Midfield | Thiel College |
| 23 | Jordan | Bogle | Attack | Anderson Broaddus |
| 25 | Mark | Dwyer | Midfield | Stevenson |
| 27 | Tim | Saunders | FO Midfield | Brunswick School |
| 28 | Justin | Ashman | Defense | Suffolk CC |
| 35 | Mike | Hicks | FO Midfield | Bergen Catholic |
| 37 | Brian | Bristol | SSDM | Bowdoin College |
| 38 | Manzu-Lyn | Cain | SSDM | Staffordshire University |
| 39 | Jamar | Hall | SSDM | Stockton University |
| 40 | Wayne | Johnson | Attack | Suffolk CC |
| 43 | Colin | Shea | Attack | Stockton University |
| 47 | Nes | Geffrard | Midfield | University at Albany |
| 48 | Brian | Mahadeo | Midfield | University of the Cumberlands |
| 50 | Justin | Ashman | SSDM | Suffolk CC |
| 52 | Jordan | Williams | Attack | Brooklyn Dodgers LC |
| 54 | Alex | Kelly | SSDM | Monmouth University |
| 60 | Joel | Brown | Midfield | Florida Southern |
| TBD | Mark | Darden | Midfield | Hobart |
| TBD | Elijah | Darden | Midfield | Mt. St. Mary’s |
| TBD | Timothy | Swaby | ||
| TBD | Raymind | Swaby | ||
| TBD | Doug | Clemmon | Midfield | Western Connecticut |