After committing to Syracuse University lacrosse prior to his junior season that never happened, Peabody native and Pingree School senior Kyle McCarthy has been chomping at the bit to get things going with the Orange.
Now, after making his plans official by signing his National Letter of Intent, that itch has been getting worse.
“It’s been so hard waiting this long, and it’s been harder with everything that’s gone on in the world since I committed,” said McCarthy, who played his freshman year at Peabody High before transferring to Pingree. “They key for me is to just continue to work hard every day, because when you show up at a Division I program like that, you can tell who’s put in the work and who hasn’t.”
McCarthy verbally committed to Syracuse back in September of 2019, meaning he didn’t have to deal with the recruiting challenges that many 2021 commits have had to deal with over the past year with the pandemic.
“I was honestly really fortunate to have been recruited so early in my high school career by such a great program with an incredible legacy,” said McCarthy, who has won two New England Small School titles in his time at Pingree. “For a lot of my teammates both at school and with 3D Lacrosse, they weren’t as lucky. When I ask them about getting recruited, all I hear is that things are really dry at the moment because of restrictions. It’s hard to hear and it’s tough to watch your friends go through that when it’s not their fault at all.”
But what McCarthy did have to deal with — just like everyone else — was the cancellation of his junior season of lacrosse last spring.
“Not getting to play with all of my friends in the Class of 2020 was nothing less than heartbreaking,” said McCarthy. “For me personally, it was obviously tough because junior year is such an important season for a high school player. But I was more upset for the seniors on our team that had to end their high school careers that way.”
“It was tough to see him miss that important junior season, but I think Kyle has a bit of a leg up in the fact that he was able to start for us right away as a freshman and he’s already got two years of high-level lacrosse under his belt,” said Pingree lacrosse coach Kevin Tersolo. “He’s faced a lot of Division I commits to this point and he’s been able to hold his own every time. I expect no different from him coming up in his senior year.”
But, ever the hard worker, McCarthy — who can play either defender or long stick middie — remained active throughout the spring, summer and fall this year playing club lacrosse with 3D Lacrosse.
“It was refreshing to get back out there on the field and get a chance to play again,” said McCarthy. “We were able to play in tournaments here and there, usually only two or three games at a time, but we were all just thrilled to get out there and compete.”
As a prospect, Tersolo sees that McCarthy has all of the necessary tools to make an impact at the next level.
“He’s a vicious defender, he plays aggressively but smart, and his work ethic is incredible,” said Tersolo. “He’s a great kid, a great teammate and he’s easy to coach. He’s played every role we’ve ever needed him to, and he’s constantly looking to get better.”
Now, as he looks ahead to what he hopes will be a full senior season of lacrosse, McCarthy is excited to see what’s next.
“The No. 1 thing for me this offseason and all the way up until I leave for Syracuse is focusing on strength and foot speed, because that’s what separates you at the Division I level,” said McCarthy. “It’s obviously going to be a big change when I get there and I’m competing against the best players in the whole country, so I need to be more prepared than I’ve ever been.”
