GUELPH, Ont. – The Gryphons men's lacrosse team returns to the field on Sunday, September 13 as defending national champions as they host the McMaster Marauders. Guelph last season went 9-1 in the regular season before defeating Western and Brock en route to the Baggataway Cup Final where they defeated Nipissing in a snowy final in Brampton to claim their sixth national championship in program history.
The format of the 2026 regular season in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) remains unchanged from last season with 14 teams split into two divisions with the Gryphons playing out of the West division with the opportunity to return to the Baggataway Cup in Ottawa (Nov. 12-14), hosted by the University of Ottawa.
"We have a young team that will need to build throughout the course of the season, but our expectations as defending national champs is to once again put ourselves right back in the mix," says head coach
Sam Kosakowski, who has led the University of Guelph men's lacrosse program since 1992 and has led the team to six national titles. "Our returning athletes are a hard-working group who have tasted what it is like to win, and will bring that with them to the field every day as they now take on bigger leadership roles."
Returning to lead the Gryphon attack is 2023 CUFLA West All-Canadian Robbie Baxter. Baxter, a fifth-year biological science major from Whitby, ON scored 29 goals and had 41 points as part of a Gryphon attack unit that led the league in scoring last season.
Nicholas Volkov scored 9 times for the team last season, bringing plenty of experience to the team.
Brandon Orr is primed for a bigger role in 2026. The third-year sociology major scored 13 goals and had 21 points last season.
Ethan Brown returns for his second season with the team after transferring in in 2025. The engineering systems and computing major from Etobicoke, ON scored 15 times in his first year in Guelph.
Ethan Lee scored 18 goals last season as he enters his fourth year with the program.
Carter MacKay returns after scoring 10 goals a season ago. MacKay, the fourth-year marketing management major captained the Guelph Regals that made it to the 2026 Ontario Junior B Finals which featured his teammates Eli Blakely and
Anthony Fonte and three incoming rookies.
Benjamin Lawlor is also poised for a bigger role heading into year two in Guelph.
Jared Bettonvil returns to Guelph for his fourth-year at his short stick defence. Bettonvil had 12 points last season and 9 assists.
Ryan McDougall will see more time this upcoming season as he goes into his second year with the team alongside his teammate
Eli Blakeley going into his third season. Two-time All-Canadian and last year's CUFLA Outstanding Faceoff Specialist Joe Columbus returns for his third season. Columbus has made his mark on the program in his first two seasons in Guelph.
Jesse Gonsalvez,
Justin Hewitt,
Tyler Smith all are back and feature at long stick midfield and defence alongside
Mathieu Clavet who transferred in from the University of Toronto last season.
Leading the Gryphons in goal is fourth-year marketing management major
Logan Pagano. Pagano was exceptional in the regular season last year, leading with an 8-1 record in the regular season, only conceding 60 goals for one of the top defensive teams in CUFLA. Pagano was named CUFLA's Outstanding Goalie of the Year and was named a First Team All-Canadian for his stellar 2025 season.
The Gryphons will begin their title defence on Sunday, September 13 when they host the McMaster Marauders from the Gryphon Soccer Complex with game time scheduled for 4:30pm.
