The Wilbraham & Monson Academy Boys' Lacrosse team thinks so highly of Zach Mann '17 he was named a captain as a junior.
Mount St. Mary's University men's lacrosse program thinks so highly of Zach it offered him a spot on the team as a high school junior, with Zach verbally committing in late January to play for the Division I program in Maryland.
"I'm excited for Zach. This is the first player I've had at WMA who is committing as a junior, other than John Tierney '15," Coach Mike MacDonald said. "For him to get that look at the Division I college this early in his career, there's a lot of promise but he can still develop. I'm excited he's going D1. He's happy and his family is happy. He's going into a great situation as far as academics at Mount St. Mary's."
Zach got on Mount St. Mary's lacrosse radar during the summer. After a visit, and later a Mount St. Mary's Prospect Day, he knew he had found a college home.
"The prospect day was a good chance for me to get in front of all the coaches at once," said Zach, a midfielder. "It was the first time I could be with the coaches while they were coaching. I enjoyed their style. One of the coaches is best friends with my club coach. It's funny because if I don't know which one of them was talking, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They talk the same and act the same on the field. I feel I'm used to the coaching style.
"There are smaller class sizes that I was looking for, and obviously the D1 sports. It's a rural area, but not so far out of the way that there's nothing around. There wasn't anything I was iffy about the school. I liked everything."
Coach MacDonald likes how Zach is growing while at WMA, so much so he earned the status of captain on a strong team.
"His teammates look up to him," Coach MacDonald explained. "He does a good job leading by example. He's got a good group of seniors to work with. He has some growing to do but, lacrosse-wise, his stick skills are some of the best in the league. He's still learning the Xs and Os, but he has great fundamentals and he can play offense or defense. He's our utility man and we use him a lot."