The 2026 Rockhurst men's lacrosse season opens today at Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado. The Hawks are ranked 19th in the USA Lacrosse Magazine DII preseason poll, 20th in the USILA preseason poll, and tied for second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Rockhurst returns nine all-conference honorees from last year, highlighted by junior attacker Jonah McConnell, who led the Hawks with 63 points and was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. Senior Brock Ollila was selected the GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year, and sophomore midfielder Nolan Hart received the GLVC Freshman of the Year honor.

The Hawks, who finished 8-6 last year, earned a share of the GLVC regular season crown with a 4-1 conference mark in 2025.

Kevin Kelley, who enters his 13th season with a 106-61 career record, assesses his team heading their first game.

What are the strongest areas on your team?

KK: "Offensively we return all six of last season's starters on the attack and the first team midfield. There's a lot of continuity with that group, as they've played an entire year with each other and knows one another's respective game well. They're all great individual players, but share a team first mentality, so if one is eating, they all eat, as they're ultimate goal is to just win.

"Our leadership is also a big strength for this year. We return multiple captains in Brock Ollila, Lars Yarkosky and Avery Moody. They not only lead by example with their work ethic on the field, but they're also very vocal with what they want accomplished. In addition, those three in particular show leadership in the classroom as they're 3.9 to 4.0 students. They're terrific people and show how to be off the field as well, which carries a lot of weight in our program as we believe in high character individuals."

Who are your top returnees and team leaders?

KK: "We return nine All-GLVC players, highlighted by All-Americans Brock Ollila in goal and Jonah McConnell at attack. Linus Toward had a big freshman year with 47 goals. He took a little bit of a dip in production his sophomore year, but he's such an incredibly hard worker and will no doubt have a big year this year. Daniel Besheer and Connor Falkner were clutch players for us on defense last year and we expect big things from them this season. Avery Moody was an All-South Region Defensive Midfielder and should be in the All-American conversation this season."

Who are your top newcomers?

KK: "Jack Hamilton will be a big impact player for us this season. Jack is a local player who played his high school lacrosse at Shawnee Mission East and transferred from Air Force. He's a heck of an offensive player, but is also just a natural leader who wants to win more than just about anyone. He challenges teammates in a very positive way, unlike any sophomore that we've ever had. He'll be terrific for us.

"Chuck Kretchman is a defensive midfielder who transferred from Davis & Elkins and should be a big contributor on the defensive end. Gabe Miller is a freshman from Minnetonka, Minnesota and keeps getting better every day. We have three freshman defenders who we expect to make impacts right out the gate in Mitch Halsted and Jack Neisen from Lakeville North in Minnesota and Ryan Crew from Edmond North in Oklahoma."

What are your team goals this year?

KK: "We have a really tough, but fun conference in the GLVC, with the likes of Maryville, Lewis and UIndy. Winning the GLVC is always the goal. Last year we lost three games by one goal, we aim to flip that this year, win those tight games against strong teams and the sky is the limit."

How do you like your schedule, especially early in the season?

KK: "We have some tough games early as we travel to Colorado to play two RMAC teams, highlighted by Colorado Mesa. Mesa has always been a thorn in our side as a program; they're relentless and just keep coming at you; exactly what you need out the gate to help prepare you for the tough conference schedule on the back end of the season.

"After our Colorado trip we have a home game (Quincy on Feb. 12) and then head to Florida to play arguably the best team in the country in the University of Tampa, but then a couple days later we play another powerhouse in Florida Southern. Again, two more big boys that will help us prepare for GLVC competition that's always a battle."