How a Division II program in Kansas City forged a Minnesota recruiting pipeline

Tyler Smith jests that he was born with skates firmly fitted on his feet. Like many hockey-crazed Minnesotans, the 2022 Duluth East graduate’s first love was the ice.

However, he soon discovered a passion for another stick sport: lacrosse. With few designated fields in his hometown, Smith sharpened his skills in backyards and played games on golf course fairways.

As he rose to statewide prominence as one of Minnesota’s most gifted lacrosse players, Smith dreamed of playing collegiate lacrosse on the East Coast. But a Division II coach in Missouri proved persistent on the recruiting warpath.

“I had no idea Rockhurst was even a thing,” Smith said. “They kept texting me, and eventually I checked it out on the way back from another college visit.”

When Smith committed to the program in July 2021, he ultimately enrolled in one of Minnesota’s preeminent men’s lacrosse pipelines.

Located just minutes south of downtown Kansas City, Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit school with fewer than 3,000 undergraduates. Twenty-such students are men’s lacrosse players from Minnesota.

“We’re traveling six hours south — away from our families — to go live on our own,” said Matthew Kallberg, a Prior Lake alum and senior defender for the Hawks. “It’s one of the scariest things you do, but then you find out, ‘My God, these guys are all from the same state I am.’ We’ve played against each other. We have hockey and all these other similar interests.”

For Minnesotans looking to pursue lacrosse collegiately, local options are few and far between. Men’s college lacrosse programs here only compete at the club level.

Marquette University in Milwaukee, the nearest men’s Division I program, is about a five-hour drive from Minneapolis. Meanwhile, the closest Division II program, Illinois’ Lewis University, is more than 400 miles away from the Twin Cities.

Rockhurst’s coaching staff has no direct ties to Minnesota, and there isn’t a tuition reciprocity deal between Missouri and Minnesota, but the southbound trek of local lacrosse stars to Rockhurst coach Kevin Kelley’s squad has only expanded as the program has progressed from infancy in 2014 to perennial Great Lakes Valley Conference contenders.

The Hawks will welcome 10 recruits from the North Star State in their 2025 class, three from Lakeville North. The figure marks the most popular landing spot among Minnesota lacrosse commitments by a hefty margin. Add in four more 2026 commitments and Rockhurst is set to field at least 28 Minnesotans on its roster in two seasons’ time.

“It’s really comforting when you come down here at the end of every summer and just see guys from back home,” said Linus Toward, a sophomore attackman whose younger brother, Landon Toward, is a 2025 Rockhurst commit. “It’s not like you leave all your college friends at college. You’re going back home and you’re coming here with all the same guys.”

To build a program from the ground up, Kelley knew he needed to be crafty from a recruiting standpoint. He possessed neither the resources nor the name brand of more established programs in other states. So, Kelley scoured nontraditional states for high-potential gems.

“I look for kids that have Division I ability,” Kelley said. “The majority of Division I teams are East Coast, so they’re going to recruit in their own backyard. It’s taking a risk to some degree when you’re recruiting from Minnesota. But I love the athleticism. I love kids that play multiple sports.”

During his first two seasons, Kelley had no Minnesotans on his roster. He signed his first prospect from the state ahead of the 2016 season, then six more joined the team’s ranks the following year.

Kelley struck a proverbial well packed with untapped potential. Kelley said Minnesota players carry a “blue-collar mindset,” which entails an unquestionable work ethic.

“In my 2017 class, I had a whole slew of Minnesota kids I started getting,” Kelley said. “It showed me how tough these kids were. They’re great players, but they’re kind of unique in how they go about things. I quickly found out that their mindset is a type of mindset that I have.”

This hard-nosed mentality came to fruition when about 11 inches of snow accumulated on the Hawks’ field during the team’s January preseason preparations.

Now, most Minnesota club lacrosse players have direct connections to the Hawks. Kelley leans on his alumni network and current players to aid his recruiting efforts, and he has developed working relationships with many of the state’s high school and club coaches.

For Rockhurst senior midfielder and 2021 Roseville alum Bjorn Anderson, watching top talent in the state commit to Rockhurst provided a significant pull factor.

“The first time I heard about Rockhurst was from Sam Lindahl, who coached me one summer in eighth grade for a tournament,” Anderson said. “He was Mr. Lacrosse from Minnesota, and probably one of the best players to ever come out of Minnesota. Seeing he chose Rockhurst as a school was a big factor, and the fact that I got to follow him was pretty awesome.”

With both Rockhurst and Minnesota still seen as relative geographic outsiders, incoming players have embraced an underdog mentality of sorts. That mentality gives them a chip on their shoulder whenever they compete.

“Obviously, lacrosse is big on the East Coast, but it’s really growing in Minnesota,” said Isaiah Hazekamp, a senior long stick midfielder and defender at Eden Prairie committed to the Hawks. “We have a lot of players here, people who are willing to put their bodies on the line.”

As the sport continues to develop in Minnesota, Kelley has no intention of relenting his recruiting efforts in the state.

The Buffalo, N.Y., native can’t quite pinpoint how he wound up searching for prospective players hundreds of miles north of his campus — but Rockhurst’s Minnesota contingent has forged a fundamental component of the program’s culture centered on grit and gumption.

With two regular-season games remaining, the Hawks are tied for the top spot in their conference. Kelley’s group has a chance to take home a regular-season GLVC title for the first time in program history.