Editor’s note: Baltimore Watchdog reporters enrolled in a sports journalism course conducted group interviews with Towson athletes. Below are their profile stories.
By Noah Reem
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Brody McLean didn’t expect his college lacrosse career to start out this way. As a freshman at Stony Brook University, he wasn’t getting any playing time. He feared he might never see the field.
He had committed to Stony Brook in his junior year of high school — earlier than many recruits do. He had left his town in Ontario, Canada, and had gone to an unfamiliar place. But he wasn’t connecting with the coaching staff. And he didn’t think the university was a great fit.
But this wouldn’t be the end of the line.
McLean transferred to Towson University in time for the 2018 season. He would join a team coming off a Colonial Athletic Association title. The Tigers’ coach, Shawn Nadelen, had just won Division 1 coach of the year. McLean said it was the coaching staff that confirmed his decision to come to Towson.
“When I came here, I met the coaches and kind of just felt the connection right away,” he said.
Still, McLean didn’t have an immediate impact on the field. Towson went 7-8 on the season, losing to the University of Massachusetts 12-8 in the CAA championship. After only playing in three games in the 2018 season for the Tigers and putting up one goal on three shots, McLean came into the 2019 season looking to prove that he was a force to be reckoned with.
And he was.
McLean started in 16 games, putting up 45 points with 39 goals and six assists. This campaign included three straight games with a hat trick, four goals against No. 6 Maryland, a career best six points at Mount St. Mary’s, and an eight-game point streak helping the Tigers go 11-5 and secure another CAA championship.
McLean took awhile to adapt to lacrosse in the United States. In recent years he’s used what he learned playing box lacrosse in Canada to his advantage in the outdoor game.
“That’s the big difference between Canadian and American lacrosse players right now,” McLean said. “We’re kind of used to that indoor tight space.”
McLean said that learning how to play while getting smothered by defenders while trying to work in an enclosed space has made him the player he is today.
“I think the biggest thing is just how compact everything is in indoor lacrosse,” McLean said. “Having to catch in tight spaces and having pressure on you at all times. It’s a pretty rough game indoors. That stuff just kind of helps you build up your strong hand.”
McLean’s has demonstrated his ability to stick with his dominant hand and use it to get out of any situation rather than switching hands.
“Once you’re kind of comfortable with your one hand, I don’t see a point in having to switch,” McLean said. “Obviously not everyone can play the way Canadians do… but for me, being able to get to my left hand whenever I am on the field helps me.”
McLean also credits his success to his size, and said that there’s no need for him to trash talk.
“I am very quiet,” he said. “What I’ve realized is that now I’m a bigger guy and all I really have to do is stare at someone. If I drive a ball down their throat that sends the message. I don’t talk. I don’t chirp anyone. I just play.”
Nadelen said McLean has a special skillset — one that he immediately noticed.
“He was able to catch passes and finish shots in ways our players were not accustomed to due to his box lacrosse experience,” Nadelen said. “He had a good nose for the goal and used his body well to get in position to get shots off and then would use defenders to shoot around as screens, which is something our players were not that developed at.”
This past season was a struggle for Towson, which didn’t win a game in a season shorted by COVID-19. McLean had 12 points on nine goals and three assists.
“The whole team atmosphere was that we were really confused about what was going on,” McLean said. “That wasn’t something we were expecting….At the end of the day, we can’t do anything about the past games, we can only do something about moving forward.”
Nadelen said it’s that attitude that makes McLean a leader on the team.
“Brody loves the game of lacrosse and being a great teammate,” Nadelen said. “It is evident in how he practices and presents himself off the field. Brody is certainly a leader on and off the field. You won’t hear him yelling to get his team pumped up, but you will see him talking intently with his teammates.”
Added Nadelen: “He has been a real pleasure to have in our program and I’m grateful he decided to return to Towson to finish on a high note. “We expect him to be a big part of our success in 2021.”
Teammate Koby Smith said McLean plays a key role on the team.
“Brody leads through his actions,” Smith said. “He leads through his plays on the field but he’s an even better teammate off the field.”
After getting drafted in the 2020 National Lacrosse League draft by the Calgary Roughnecks as the 63rd overall pick, McLean plans on coming back to Towson to play another year. And he has future aspirations outside of lacrosse.
“If I’m able to play then I will,” McLean said. “Right now I’m more focused on going into wildland firefighting. If I can get that job and play professional lacrosse then I will do that.”
By Justin White
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Towson fifth-year attackman Brody McLean has always worked with his hands – whether it be playing hockey or lacrosse growing up in Canada, or playing college lacrosse. And after he graduates, he wants that to continue.
“I’ve always, no matter what, I don’t want to end up in an office, I want to use my hands, whatever I’m doing,” McLean said.
With his college career coming to an end soon, McLean is looking to the future. He hopes to continue playing lacrosse professionally and use his hands as a wildland firefighter.
“I always knew I wanted to help people, and being an athlete, using my physical strengths to my advantage in firefighting would be something that I’m interested in,” McLean said.
His physical strength has helped him immensely as a lacrosse player. McLean picked up sports early in life and was drawn to the tough and compact sport of indoor lacrosse. This helped him build up his stick skills and use of his hands in tight spaces, giving him a unique playing style when it came to playing the outdoor game in the United States.
McLean used his toughness to muscle his way through defenders from a young age. One reason he excelled at that: his father taught him how to fight when he was 13 years old. And he learned toughness by playing box lacrosse.
McLean found success at the high school level. He was captain of St. Michael’s CSS and was named the team MVP for three straight years.
It was not a smooth path for McLean to get to where he is on the Towson roster, being one of the top scorers for the past two seasons. He spent his freshman season at Stony Brook University in New York. He didn’t see playing time because of a combination of injuries and his style not fitting with what the coaches wanted.
“I knew where I was on the depth chart with them,” McLean said. “And I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time in their offensive system.”
He needed a fresh start somewhere else with an offense that catered to his style. And he needed to find a coach who would help him develop as a player. He found this with Shawn Nadelen, Towson’s lacrosse coach.
McLean had a lot of work ahead of him coming into a new program a year off of his last appearance in a real game. But he was ready for this challenge and spent the summer bulking up and working with the coaches to prepare for the upcoming year.
“We understood it was a change for him and adjusting was not going to be easy,” Nadelen said. “We knew we had to be patient and keep communicating to him what was needed and how to help him along the way.”
This did not immediately translate into success for McLean, as he struggled in his first game for the Tigers against Johns Hopkins in 2018. He played some that season but didn’t have a huge impact on the field.
The next year, it was much different. All this hard work culminated in McLean’s breakout performance in February 2019 against No. 7 Johns Hopkins. He scored three goals in Towson’s blowout victory.
“Things just kind of flipped…the confidence came back like I can do this — I can play at this level,” McLean said.
This newfound confidence did a lot for McLean, as he went on a tear through the rest of the 2019 season scoring 39 goals and having six assists.
In his time at Towson, McLean has evolved into a leader both on and off the field.
“You won’t hear him yelling to get his team pumped up, but you will see him talking intently with his teammates, being a mentor to the younger guys and helping keep everyone calm and focused,” Nadelen said.
The 2020 season was a tough one for McLean and the Tigers, going 0-6 throughout the shortened season. McLean plans to return this spring, looking to bounce back.
“All of us were focused on staying together as a team and not letting any of the outside noise get to us. At the end of the day we can’t do anything about the past games we can only do anything about moving forward,” McLean said.
By Bobby Gay
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
After watching from the sidelines his entire freshman year and deciding to transfer, one of the nation’s top college lacrosse players has found a home at Towson University.
Brody McLean was a promising star coming out of a small town in Ontario, Canada. As a high school junior, he signed a scholarship to play lacrosse at Stony Brook University. However, after dealing with injuries and not seeing any playing time during his freshman season, McLean was once again trying to find a new school.
“Honestly, it was just not a great fit with just the school in general,” McLean said. “I think the coaching staff was not a great fit for me personally.”
McLean transferred to Towson before the 2018 season began. He made his debut against 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins and played in only two other games that season, accounting for one goal. He was determined to make a larger impact the next season.
One reason McLean didn’t make an immediate impact playing college lacrosse: He was trying to get used to a different style of play than he was used to. Growing up in Ontario, the weather does not permit for outdoor lacrosse a large majority of the year. So he played indoor lacrosse, also known as box lacrosse. McLean attributes his talent on the lacrosse field to the skills he learned while playing the indoor game back home.
“It (indoor lacrosse) helps Canadians grow up having to catch in tight spaces and having pressure on you at all times,” McLean said. “It’s a pretty rough game indoors. That stuff just kind of helps you build up your strong hand and gives you an edge when you come down here.”
McLean admits it took time for him to transition to the outdoor game in America. His toughness eventually paid off.
“Brody is a strong lefty Canadian with great stick skills and an even better lacrosse IQ,” said Koby Smith, McLean’s teammate at Towson. “He’s swift in his movements but loves to post up on the left wing for his favorite shot.”
In 2019, McLean started in all 16 games and finished third on the team in points (45). The opening game that season was against No. 7 Johns Hopkins, which was a 17-8 win for the Tigers. McLean scored three goals in the game and gained tons of confidence.
“It was my first breakout game,” he said. “Looking back on it that was the game that gave me confidence to say I can play at this level.”
Since that night Brody has never looked back. He has established himself as one of the top collegiate players and was a key piece in the Tigers’ trip to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
This past season, Towson did not tally a win — and the season was cut short due to COVID-19. He is ready to come back for another season this spring.
McLean has had an unusual path to becoming a college lacrosse standout, and he enjoys sharing that experience with the younger generation looking to follow in his footsteps. When not competing either for the Tigers or the Canadian national team, McLean is a coach for a youth lacrosse team in his hometown.
After college, McLean said he hopes to play professional lacrosse and also use his hands in another way.
“Right now I’m more focused on going into wildland firefighting,” he said. “If I can get that job and be able to play professional lacrosse, then I would definitely do that.”
McLean is not sure exactly where he wants to fight fires, however he has mentioned traveling out west to aid in the fight against the raging forest fires in California.
“Using my physical strengths to my advantage in firefighting would be something that I’m interested in,” he said. “I’ve always, no matter what, I don’t want to end up in an office — I want to use my hands whatever I’m doing.”
By Matt Hubbard
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Brody McLean had plenty of memorable moments in his lacrosse career prior to Feb. 9, 2019. But that night, as his Towson men’s lacrosse team hosted the No. 7 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays at Johnny Unitas Stadium, he had one of his first breakout performances as a college athlete.
He scored two goals in less than one minute in the second period and had three goals on the night in a 17-8 Towson victory.
“It was a breakout game for me,” McLean said. “That was the game that gave me confidence to say I can play at this level…After that, I just kind of figured, ‘I’m a big guy. I can move kids around. I can play out here.’”
McLean is big: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. And the Ontario native is one of a relatively few players from Canada playing Division I lacrosse in the United States.
McLean originally began his college career at Stony Brook University in New York. At Stony Brook, McLean did not see time on the field as a freshman.
“I knew where I was on the depth chart with them,” McLean said. “And I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time in their offensive system.”
Being able to effectively play with his left hand anywhere on the field is what makes McLean’s style unique for many American lacrosse teams. During McLean’s time in Canada, he played box lacrosse – a version of indoor lacrosse — to build his skill.
“[Box lacrosse] helps Canadians to grow up because it teaches them to catch in tight spaces with constant pressure,” McLean said.
Before McLean committed to Stony Brook, he played for Edge Lacrosse, a club-level lacrosse league.
“Edge was everything,” McLean said. “Without Edge, I wouldn’t be playing college lacrosse.”
Edge Lacrosse is what McLean said helped him develop mentally as a lacrosse player by allowing him to play with the best players from Ontario, and get to the next level of playing Division 1.
McLean said when he was looking to transfer after his freshman year, Towson’s program stood out.
“A lot of my decision was based around the offensive coordinator and where they saw me fitting in,” McLean said. “When I came to Towson and met the coaches, I felt a connection right away.”
Towson coach Shawn Nadelen recalls taking a chance with McLean because he had a strong recommendation from McLean’s Edge Lacrosse coach, and had a strong character and talent.
“We liked how he handled himself in our conversations and we felt he could come in and have a positive impact on our program,” Nadelen said.
Once at Towson, McLean made his debut in 2018 against Johns Hopkins. He played in three games that season. The next season, he had a much bigger impact, finishing third on the team in points (45), with 39 goals and six assists. In Towson’s abbreviated 2020 season, he started in all six games as a attackman and led the Tigers with 12 points on nine goals and three assists.
“He was able to catch passes and finish shots in ways our players were not accustomed to due to his box lacrosse experience,’ Nadelen said.
After McLean’s time at Towson, he plans to pursue wildland firefighting.
“Growing up, I have always wanted to help people, and since I am an athlete, using my strength to my advantage is what I want to do,” McLean said.
Added McLean: “If I am still able to play lacrosse while I am a firefighter, then I will. It is going to be a lot, but I know I can get it done.”
Mclean plans to come back to Towson for the 2021 season.
“I am grateful he decided to return to Towson to finish on a high note,” Nadelen said. “We expect him to be a big part of our success in 2021.”