Jr. A Laker to play in the Ivy League
Osborne commits to Yale University’s field lacrosse program as a midfielder
Lucas Osborne made a decision at age seven he never knew would have such a significant impact on his life.
Almost a decade after joining the Evolve Elite Lacrosse program the 17-year-old midfielder has committed to Yale University and its men’s field lacrosse program. Yale were the 2018 NCAA Division 1 national champions and 2019 finalists.
Osborne grew up in Bowmanville and played in the Clarington Green Gaels minor box lacrosse program. In his first year of midget he transferred to the Peterborough Minor Lacrosse Association’s midget Lakers program. His midget Lakers coach Jeff Ralph also coached him in the Evolve program starting at age seven.
In January, the Peterborough Merit Precision Jr. A Lakers selected Osborne with the first overall pick in the OJALL draft.
All of those accomplishments can be traced to his decision to join Evolve.
“I was new to field lacrosse and had always wanted to try it,” said Osborne, who is attending The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey after two years at Culver Academy in South Bend, Ind.
“I went to tryouts not knowing how to play field lacrosse at all and now here I am in America playing high school field lacrosse.
“I thought it was just a good opportunity to play more lacrosse in the summer. Especially travelling down to America to play. Evolve was my first time going down to the United States to play lacrosse.”
Osborne, who started in box lacrosse at age three, had two successful years with the midget Lakers. They won the Ontario A championship in 2019 after placing third at provincials in 2018.
He says Ralph and Evolve founder Tracey Kelusky have been two of his biggest influences.
“Coach Ralph is like a brother to me,” Osborne said.
“I have grown up with him since I was seven and he and Tracey have guided me pretty much throughout my entire lacrosse life.”
Kelusky’s connections led to Osborne following in the footsteps of players like Zach Currier, Ethan Walker and Owen Hiltz who went to Culver. He followed coach Jon Posner when he moved to Lawrenceville.
Kelusky and Posner played a part in setting up visits to Harvard, Princeton and Yale but Osborne quickly zeroed in on Yale as his choice after his visit to New Haven, Conn.
“I kind of went with my heart and chose Yale,” Osborne said.
“One of the main things for sure were the similarities from coach Posner and Kelusky to coach (Andy) Shay. He is a coach who is going to be hard on you but he is going to push you to be your best. You can’t beat Ivy school academics and Yale has been such a powerhouse lately I think it’s just a good, top spot for me.
“It’s another step up the stairs where all my hard work has gotten me to that place. Now I have to continue to grind out my school work and playing lacrosse.”
He’ll start at Yale in the fall of 2022 and is leaning toward taking psychology.
He was also excited to be the first overall pick in the OJALL draft.
“I didn’t even know if I was eligible to be drafted in the first place because I had been playing for Peterborough,” he said. “As soon as I saw I was taken in the top spot I was excited because I knew coach Ralph is also a part of that team.”
“Lucas joined Evolve as a third-grader,” said Kelusky. “He’s got great speed and gets up and down the field and touches all the boxes. He’s athletic, competitive and has some grit. I think that’s why a lot of U.S. coaches are looking for those Canadian kids now because of their success and what they bring to the table.”