DEWITT – One Syracuse University lacrosse legend helped Christian Brothers Academy’s boys lacrosse team achieve the pinnacle of a state championship. Another will attempt to do the same.
Ryan Powell was named the head coach of the CBA varsity program this week, less than three months after Ric Beardsley stepped down mid-season.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the CBA family and become a part of an amazing school with a rich tradition,” said Powell in a statement. “I look forward to contributing my years of knowledge and experience to the program.”
While Beardsley stood out for SU in the early 1990s, Powell emerged later that decade as the middle chapter of the most accomplished trio of brothers in Orange lacrosse annals.
By the time Ryan Powell went to SU, his older brother, Casey, had already piloted the Orange to the 1995 NCAA championship while earning three-time All-American status.
Somehow, Ryan equaled Casey’s career point total of 287 (best in SU history at the time), earned All-America status each of his four years while also helping a national title run in 2000. Later, the youngest brother, Mike Powell, broke their mark with 307 career points.
A 2018 inductee into the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Ryan has spent much of the last two decades playing professional lacrosse while also coaching club, high school and college teams, also conducting lacrosse clinics throughout the country.
He takes over a CBA team that, under Beardsley, won the 2017 state Class D championship. The Brothers reached back-to-back sectional Class C finals in 2019 and 2021, each time losing to Jamesville-DeWitt.
