Syracuse Men's Lacrosse: Attacker Michael Leo Discusses Commitment

Syracuse Lacrosse is the gift that keeps on giving.

Michael Leo will stay in-state to continue his lacrosse career at Syracuse. The St. Anthony (N.Y.) attacker becomes the third in-state commit in the Class of 2022, along with five-star recruit Carter Kempney and the number one recruit in the nation, Joey Spallina, who pledged orange on Tuesday, according to insidelacrosse.com.

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Leo is a four-star recruit himself, who has the versatility to play all over the field because of the athleticism he possesses. The freedom to fly around and make plays is just one of the reasons Leo picked Syracuse, he loves what the program stands for and it's history.

"The lacrosse history there is unreal, they've been to so many championships, playing in the carrier dome and the academics are really good."

Offensive Coordinator Pat March was Leo's primary recruiter. He engaged with Leo through zoom meetings and the two would go over film of the style of play Syracuse plays. 

"He showed me videos on what offense they run, it was really cool. I think I fit really well."

That's what excites Leo the most, the style of play with which Syracuse plays.

"Everyone moves around and that's kind of how I play, I'm not just on the left side, I'm playing up top, and that's what they really liked about me."

When Leo informed the coaching staff at Syracuse on his decision to commit, they were all extremely excited.

"I called them September 10 in the morning and I told them 'I just wanted to tell you I want to commit to Syracuse'. He (coach March) was stoaked, and then I called coach Desko and he was really excited, too."

A big influence on Leo's decision to commit to Syracuse was his friend and future teammate, Joey Spallina. 

"Me and Joey Spallina are really close, we always wanted to play club lacrosse together. We were like 'let's just go to Syracuse together', and then we obviously had to think long and hard about it." 

Along with Spallina, Leo keeps in touch with all the recent commits.  

"We just made a group chat with all of the guys that are committed, Carter (Kempney), Luke Rhoa, Jimmy (McCool), so yeah we are excited."

Not just a highly-touted group, but a close one. Something which can enhance the chemistry on the field, which is so important. 

Leo's family was pleased to hear his decision, and the fact that they don't have to travel across the country to watch him play makes it that much better. 

"They were all excited, it's pretty cool that they are four hours away so they can just go up on the weekend and watch the game. It was a good experience during the process and I'm glad we got through it."

As far as expectations go, Leo did not hold back in talking about where this team can be at the end of each year he is wearing orange. His abilities and the players around him give him supreme confidence.

"I think when we are there, all four years we can compete for an ACC championship and a national championship, if not win a national championship our freshmen year with all the guys coming back. We have got a pretty good squad coming in, so it's going to be exciting."