Former Bryant lacrosse star Tom Kennedy has officially signed to the Detroit Lions active roster.
Kennedy played for the Bryant University Bulldogs in both football and lacrosse. He spent five years at Bryant, earning high honors in both sports. He finished his collegiate lacrosse career with 72 goals, 45 assists, and 67 ground balls.
Tom Kennedy is a 2014 graduate of Farmingdale High School in New York. He was a three-year varsity letter winner and a 2014 All-American Honorable Mention. The team went to the county semifinals in 2013 and 2014, where Kennedy earned Second Team All-County and All-State Honorable Mention. On top of his impressive lacrosse career, Kennedy was also a two-year varsity football player, earning a few conference accolades.
Kennedy committed to both the football and lacrosse teams at Bryant University.
During his freshman year at Bryant, Kennedy didn’t see much playing time on the football field but really established himself as a lacrosse player. He was a member of the NEC All-Rookie team, starting 14 of the 18 games that season, and he scored at least one point in 16 of the 18 games played. His freshman year certainly wasn’t a fluke, as he went on to become the team’s starting midfielder during his next three seasons on the team. Kennedy improved his game year after year, making the NEC First-Team by his junior year.
By the time his senior season rolled around, Tom Kennedy decided to pursue football again. The Bulldogs certainly appreciated his return as he stared in all 11 games and caught 57 passes for 888 yards and nine touchdowns. Kennedy also rushed the ball for 66 yards and three touchdowns. He led the team in receiving scores, tied the team leader in rushing touchdowns, and finished second in the NEC in total touchdowns (12).
Tom Kennedy saw similar success during his senior season of lacrosse, being named a team captain and starting in all 15 games. Kennedy scored 20 goals, notched 11 assists, and recorded 26 ground balls that year. His collegiate lacrosse success was noticed nationwide, and he was selected No. 26 overall by the Boston Cannons in the 2018 MLL Draft.
During his time with the Cannons in 2018, Tom Kennedy tallied one point in six games, recording three ground balls along the way. Kennedy decided he wanted to pursue a career in the NFL and rejoined Bryant football as a graduate student in a season that was limited by an injury.
But Kennedy still made his way into the NFL as a member of the Detroit Lions practice squad, and his name has been in the news recently due to his impressive NFL preseason. With the Lions being short on wide receivers, head coach Dan Campbell gave Kennedy a spot on the official roster.
Now for the other lacrosse news from the week of Sept. 21-27, 2021.
Last Week in Lacrosse
Joe Spallina signed a contract extension through 2026 to remain the head coach of the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team. He has led the team to three-straight NCAA quarterfinals and been with the program since 2012.
Stony Brook also announced that it will add Sydney Pirreca to its coaching staff. Pirreca is currently a player for Team USA and was previously an assistant coach for the Syracuse women’s program. The departure of Kim Hillier to Drexel left a spot open on the staff for Pirreca.
The Syracuse Orange continue to add on to their already-impressive coaching staff with the addition of TD Ierlan. The most dominant faceoff man in college lacrosse history joins the Syracuse men’s lacrosse staff as a volunteer assistant.
After a one-year hiatus, the Orange Alumni Classic returned to the Carrier Dome over the weekend. The annual alumni game named its teams after two former Syracuse players, John Zulberti and Rob Kavovit, who recently passed away.
The NLL announced a three-year partnership with Lax Sav, a lacrosse company that specializes in manufacturing lacrosse gloves, team orders, and apparel, as an official equipment partner for the NLL through the 2023-2024 season. The partnership will begin for the 2021-22 season, which will start Dec. 3, 2021 for Face Off Weekend.
STX Lacrosse continues to sign current college stars to NIL deals. This week, it announced the addition of Tucker Dordevic, Brennan O’Neill, Nakeie Montgomery, and Mitchell Pehlke.
Get Caught Up on LAS Content
Miss out on what we did last week? Here’s a recap of some of our top content from the last seven days.
REMEMBERING THE ARIZONA STING: COACH & PLAYER TALK FORMER NLL FRANCHISE
Arizonan Hugo Casey talked to Bob Hamley and Matt Brown about the Arizona Sting, the former NLL team he grew up watching and Hamley and Brown coached and played for, respectively.
NEW BALANCE HEADLINES MY PERSONAL STYLE GUIDE
Wes Berg breaks down what he wears on a day-to-day basis in his personal style guide.
FRANK MENSCHNER CUP TRAVELOGUE: SCOOTERING ACROSS EUROPE
Matthias Lehna and Gustav Weber set out for the Frank Menschner Cup in Radotín with nothing but their scooters.
TOP FIVE COLLEGE LACROSSE VENUES
With college lacrosse sneaking up on us soon, Ryan Conwell broke down the top-five lacrosse venues in NCAA DI men’s lacrosse based on a number of categories.
TOP 10 LACROSSE SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS 2021
Lacrosse was on fire during Summer 2021, and Eric Bowden was lucky enough to capture the top-10 lacrosse highlights from the summer.
