Aside from John Jay, no team from the Hudson Valley region has more seniors committed to play lacrosse in college than Rye.
The six-time Class C sectional finalist Garnets have six players set to take their skills to the next level.
Among them is Briggs Barton, an athletic attackman with good size at 6-foot-3. Barton, a member of the Hudson Valley Empire State Games team, is bound for Connecticut College.
Here’s a Q&A with Briggs on his commitment:
What were the main factors in your decision to attend Connecticut College?
I’ve always wanted the opportunity to play lacrosse at a high level for a school that also has great academics and I will get both at Connecticut College. Coach Dave Cornell was the NESCAC coach of the year last year and the program is headed in the right direction. The campus and facilities were amazing and I felt right at home on my visit.
What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I made visits to Loyola, Fairfield, Penn State, Towson and UPenn.
What adjustments do you think you will need to make to play at the next level?
I will need to get faster and work on keeping my head up when I dodge.
What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
My strengths as a player are my versatility and ability to play equally with both hands. My style of play is very aggressive and I do whatever it takes to win.
What players have you looked up to as you have moved up through the varsity ranks?
I’ve looked up to both Cole McCormack and Mike Linehan. They were always hard workers and great leaders.
When did you first realize you had the potential to play at the college level?
I’ve wanted to play in college since I started playing lacrosse in sixth grade.
Rye senior commits
Click on the links to read the story on each player’s commitment, if available:
Briggs Barton, Connecticut College, attack
Christian Bonaventura, Middlebury, midfield
Mike Collins, Binghamton, defense
Matt McReddie, Bates, midfield
Jack O’Callaghan, Colgate, midfield
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Posted In: Recruiting Rundown
I think Rye can give JJ a run for its money in the section 1 Class B tournament
Good luck with that Mark! Need slacrosse to weigh in, I would trust his opinion more.
Congratulations Briggs and Good Luck!
Wow, thats a big pickup for the conn college program. There is now a pretty strong showing in the NESCAC from section 1, Chen and Mcreddie both headed to Bates, Bonaventura to Middlebury.
Thought for sure Barton was headed D-1,definatly D-1 talent and size, great school and good program though, he will have the chance to start all 4 years.
mark Ratnor: I wouldn’t count on rye just yet, JJ seems to be the pretty clear cut favorite right now. I would have Somers and Rye jockeying for the second spot after Jay.
what about town
P&G,
Wish I could agree with Mark but I can’t. As I’ve said before, IMO, Jay is the very clear favorite to win B and should be one of the very top teams in the NY/CT/LI area,and should be highly ranked nationally.
I see Rye and Town battling it out to be #2 or #3 in B with Somers right behind them.
I agree, but the great part is that they actually play the games. Funny to say this but I think Yorktown will be young and good, and will be more dangerous later in the season. Doesn’t Rye have an older team (senior heavy)? Who plays goal? Can’t count out a Dooley team.
Yeah for sure Town has some real good young kids to do with some top seniors. They’ll be real dangerous later in the season(as will Jay and everyone else as the season progresses).
As you mentioned Rye is very senior heavy with at least 8 starting seniors. IMO the largest # of talented seniors Rye has ever had.
For sure Rye will miss the elite FO play of McCormack but with Cole hurt, his back-up (DiPalma) saw a good bit of action last season, improved, and will provide Rye with a solidly competitive FO kid.
Believe goalie is the real open question with last yrs Jr back-up competing with younger kids for the spot.
I’m a big “strength of schedule” guy in terms of how strong a team will be particularly at play-off time.
I don’t know who the Dooley’s (Rye’s coaches for those that might not know) are scheduling for Rye’s 8 “cross-over” games outside their “south league”. I hope many of these games are with TOP Section 1 teams or TOP out of Section 1 teams. If not it will make playing Town, Jay and others with very strong Section 1 and out of section 1 games even tougher to play!!
Great article.
Congrats Briggs! Solid player and solid citizen.
That’s a terrific school and a building program and I think this shows why lacrosse is different from all the other sports. There are a lot of guys like B, who blow off or slip through DI to play at great DII and DIII schools, and illustrate why DIII schools routinely compete (and beat) many of the mid and low DI teams.
This is a feather in the cap for the CC staff. Have a gr8 time in the NESCAC! CC had its highest ranking in the polls forever last year and they are trying to break into the upper, premiere bracket. Exciting place to be. The thing that hurt them last year was the split with Wesleyan at the end of the season – if they had won both they would have risen in the polls.
[JJ is still the favorite until they’re knocked off.]
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Congrats to Briggs and the Barton family. As a rye fan I was at a majority of the home games this past spring and Briggs without a doubt has the talent to compete at the D-1 level. It is great to see so many Rye kids going off to continue their lax careers with solid programs and more importantly, great schools.
Congrats Briggs! Solid player and solid citizen. That’s a terrific school and a building program and I think this shows why lacrosse is different from all the other sports. There are a lot of guys like B, who blow off or slip through DI to play at great DII and DIII schools, and illustrate why DIII schools routinely compete (and beat) many of the mid and low DI teams. This is a feather in the cap for the CC staff. Have a gr8 time in the NESCAC! CC had its highest ranking in the polls forever last year and they are trying to break into the upper, premiere bracket. Exciting place to be. The thing that hurt them last year was the split with Wesleyan at the end of the season – if they had won both they would have risen in the polls. [JJ is still the favorite until they’re knocked off.] Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Iona Prep is gonna beat rye this year no problem
That’s a bold statement. Has Rye graduated all of their talent or will the Iona team improve dramatically?