When Marist men’s lacrosse captured their first MAAC championship in 2015, there was a young kid on their sidelines just trying to fit in with the guys on the team. Little did they know that one day, that kid would grow up to be Marist junior goalie Bryant O’Donnell.
Now, O’Donnell gets to play for his uncle, Marist men’s lacrosse head coach Keegan Wilkinson.
Growing up, O’Donnell was a big fan of Marist lacrosse, yet it was not always his main sport. He started by playing baseball for a couple of years in elementary school, but eventually, O’Donnell was bound to fall in love with lacrosse due to his family’s influence.
“I started playing lacrosse in second grade. [Wilkinson] was definitely a big influence and got me into the game of lacrosse,” said O’Donnell “My dad played baseball in high school and I remember I played T-ball when I was really little for a year. Then my dad, when he asked if I wanted to sign up for the next year, I told him I wanted to play lacrosse.”
O’Donnell often made the three-hour trek up from Sag Harbor, New York, to attend Marist lacrosse games. He had Marist-themed birthday parties as a kid and had posters of Red Fox players on his wall growing up.
“Growing up around the team was a different experience. That’s what made me fall in love with lacrosse, Coach [Wilkinson] always had me in the locker room or on the sideline,” said O’Donnell. “All I wanted for my birthdays would be to go and do stuff with the team. So I was driving and watching high-quality lacrosse my whole life.”
The experience of winning a MAAC championship was surreal for both Wilkinson and O’Donnell. O’Donnell and his family ardently supported the 2015 Marist Red Foxes team led by Wilkinson. In the championship game, Marist secured a 16-14 victory against Quinnipiac; the entire family celebrated Wilkinson’s first MAAC title, including a 12-year-old O’Donnell.
“Being around the team was definitely special in the 2015 championship. It was awesome because that was the first time they had won one while [Wilkinson] was there,” said O’Donnell “I remember all the way back to him getting the job. So just being around the program was awesome and the championship was definitely to win one as a player and see them win was definitely cool.”
As O’Donnell grew older, he became adamant about playing lacrosse. The only conflict was his hometown did not have a lacrosse team, resulting in hour-long drives so he could play competitive lacrosse. Once O’Donnell reached high school, he was zoned for Pierson High School on Long Island. This led to a tough choice for his family: either move a town over for him to play lacrosse, which was not a guarantee, or move somewhere else entirely.
O’Donnell ultimately decided to live with his grandparents in Maryland and play competitive lacrosse there.
“I wanted to go to a good high school and play big-time lacrosse. So, I went to Maryland to live with my grandparents my freshman year,” said O’Donnell. “I was living in Columbia Maryland, and that was huge playing there, and then I transferred eventually to St. Mary’s [high school], which is also an awesome experience.”
While O’Donnell already had his heart set on Marist during the recruiting process, Wilkinson advised him to keep his options open. Despite receiving other offers, O’Donnell was bound to choose Marist, a place where he spent so much time and was comfortable.
“I wanted him to have his own opportunities to explore other schools and go through the process like anyone else, I think in the back of our minds, everybody within our family because we are all very close, we’d all hoped at some point that it would work out where Marist was an option for him.” said Wilkinson “I wanted to see him really work for it. I thought that an important piece of this puzzle was that nothing was handed to him, and I pushed him really hard to make sure he was early in an opportunity to play here. He did every bit of that, and I’m really proud of him for that.”
Wilkinson has a tough job being an uncle, a godparent and a coach all at once, but he handles it as best as he can.
“It’s a really hard thing to balance because when you have a relationship that’s so strong with somebody, you obviously want the best for them. So fortunately, we have a really strong culture and we as a staff push all of our guys to really try and strive for excellence in everything that they’re doing,” said Wilkinson. “That’s no different with Bryant, but there are certainly times where I have to grit my teeth. I understand that he is just another guy on this team and I can’t treat him any differently than any of the other guys.”
Prior to last season’s championship run, O’Donnell suffered a fully torn Labrum in his left shoulder, keeping him out for five months.
“I tried to help the team out any way I could,” said O’Donnell. “I was hurt all fall, when I came back that was pretty much what I was trying to do”
After coming back from injury in the spring, O’Donnell stepped into the game against Virginia Military Institute and recorded three saves in under five minutes of action.
Both Wilkinson’s and O’Donnell’s lacrosse journeys came full circle this past May when they won a MAAC Championship together. Each of them mentioned the strong emotions and joy they felt after the win.
“Being a part of a championship team was definitely special because I’d been around the team and have always aspired to win and be part of a program like that, especially like at Marist,” said O’Donnell. “So to be able to do that and have it come full circle was awesome for me and my family.
Now O’Donnell, Wilkinson and all of the men’s lacrosse team are working towards the goal of bringing back-to-back championships to Poughkeepsie.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo; Photos from Bryant O’Donnell
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