SPARKS, Md. – It’s been 27 months since the last time J.T. Giles-Harris suited up in USA gear. On July 1, 2023, Giles-Harris proudly stood alongside his teammates in San Diego as the U.S. Men’s National Team as they hoisted their second consecutive World Lacrosse Men’s Championship Trophy.
In the ensuing two-plus years, Giles-Harris has been plenty busy. In addition to his duties as an assistant coach at Jacksonville, Giles-Harris continues to thrive on the field – earning All-Pro honors the last two seasons in the Premier Lacrosse League. This summer, he helped the Denver Outlaws reach the PLL championship games.
The U.S. National Team has also been highly-active, just in different disciplines. In September 2024, the U.S. men’s box team had its best finish ever at a World Lacrosse championship, earning a silver in Utica, N.Y. Since then, the U.S. sixes teams have competed in three separate international events, including the Atlas Cup at USA Lacrosse headquarters in September and the World Lacrosse Super Sixes in Ontario last weekend.
Last night, the focus turned back to field lacrosse as the U.S. men formally kicked off the process leading up to the 2027 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in Japan.
Giles-Harris, who earned All-World honors in leading a dominant U.S. defensive effort in 2023, is in a new role as one of the team’s veterans. The last time, he was just two years removed from his final year as a star at Duke.
“It was cool because I got to play with the guys I looked up to to from a defensive perspective and offense – some teammates from school made it very comfortable and also playing under Coach D [Duke coach John Danowski] made it just like a college practice,” Giles-Harris said. “It made me very comfortable in the setting. I didn’t really have any nerves at all. That’s a testament to the staff and the guys on the team – not only on the team, but also through the tryout process. It’s pretty open, pretty cool, just hanging out with everybody.”
The opening session of this tryout opportunity on Friday night was focused on performance testing, but head coach Seth Tierney – an assistant coach for the last two U.S. men’s teams (2018 and 2023) – set the expectations pretty clearly as it gets ready for scrimmages on Saturday and Sunday.
“The staff is here to pick 22 guys, whether they played on last time’s team or they didn’t, that are going to mesh together, have an unbelievable compete level, embrace this process, embrace this thing and get after it,” Tierney said.
Those selections won’t come immediately – and there are numerous individuals in the player pool not at this initial tryout due to injuries or other commitments – but time is precious, even with the world championship still two years away.
For the players, it will be about enjoying the process while dreaming of the opportunity to wear red, white and blue.
“The end goal is to make the team, that ‘s obviously the most important thing,” Giles-Harris said, while acknowledging some things he wants to do differently. “Being more open than I was last round, developing relationships. It’s a new crop of guys, not everyone was here last time, that’s what I’m most looking forward to do this time around.”
Setting the Tone
Tierney officially opened the tryout with some messages for the team, but with so many new faces – only seven of the players in the tryout played on the 2023 team – he wanted the vets to share what it means in their own words. Tierney called on gold medalists Ryan Terefenko, TD Ierlan, Giles-Harris and Brenna O’Neill to share their experiences.
But he also called on Brad Smith to speak. Smith was tantalizingly close to making to making the final roster for San Diego, but just missed cut. Smith emphasized for everyone in the room that’s an honor to even get to where this group has gotten, just being invited to try out.
“At the end of the day, all you can control is what you’re doing, how you can make your teammates better – leave it all out there in the process whether it turns out the way you want or not. No regrets as long as you’re doing everything you can.”
A First-Timer
One of the first-timers to the national team is Aidan Carroll, fresh off his rookie season with the Maryland Whipsnakes after a standout career at Georgetown. He was an All-American with the Hoyas and an All-Star in the PLL, but he left the season hungry after Georgetown got bounced in the NCAA quarterfinals and the Whipsnakes bowed out in the first round of the PLL playoffs.
“We didn’t finish well this year in the PLL, and even college,” Carroll said. “I don’t necessarily regret things, but I feel like I left a lot on the table. So, just leaving nothing on the table and realizing you just have to be aggressive at these types of things and not taking a backseat is my mindset going in.”
Carroll said that moments after winning the beep test, a performance standard that measures endurance and stamina with a repetitive, timed running test. It’s utilized by every team within the U.S. national team program.
The competitive juices were on full display as Carroll edged out Piper Bond and Ben Ramsey as the last three players standing, but the camaraderie of the team was also displayed as eliminated players cheered on their teammates and pushed them to go to their limits.
A Friendly Face
One player not suited up this weekend, but here for the training camp is Xander Dickson. Dickson suffered a gruesome injury in the PLL championship game that forced him to miss last month’s Atlas Cup and this training camp. Dickson was all smiles greeting his friends and moving around in a walking boot as he continues his rehab to get back on the field. That he’s here is a testament to what this opportunity means to the players.
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