Justin Inacio (born November 6, 1998) is a Canadian professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

player who plays as a faceoff specialist with the

Archers Lacrosse Club The Archers Lacrosse Club is a professional men's field lacrosse team in Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Archers are one of the six founding members of the PLL for the 2019 season. Notable players include Tom Schreiber, Grant Ament, and Graeme ...

of the

Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...

(PLL) and as a defenceman for the

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The te ...

of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

(NLL). Inacio played college lacrosse for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

Early and personal life

Inacio was born and raised in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...

as the son of Nelson and Sandra Inacio. He has an older sister. Inacio began to play lacrosse at the age of 4, and would go on to attend

The Hill Academy The Hill Academy is an independent school in Ontario, Canada, for student athletes in Grades 5 -12/PG with a focus on hockey, lacrosse and golf. It is co-ed, and serves grades 5-12. History The Hill Academy was founded in 2006 by the Merrill fami ...

, where he played lacrosse for head coach

Brodie Merrill Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player. He currently plays in the National Lacrosse League for the San Diego Seals and Premier Lacrosse League for the Cannons. Merrill is recognized by the Premier Lacross ...

. Although Canada rarely produces top faceoff specialists, Inacio was ranked as the top faceoff man in the class of 2017 and was an Under Armour All-American, earning a scholarship to play lacrosse at Ohio State University, becoming the first person in his family to attend college.

College career

As a freshman in 2018, Inacio won 61.3% of his faceoffs, leading all freshmen in the nation, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The following season, Inacio led the Big Ten in faceoff percentage and finished ninth nationally with a 63.7% win rate. Additionally, he set Ohio State single game records in faceoff wins (23) and ground balls (19), and finished fifth in the nation in ground balls per game with 10. During the covid shortened 2020 season, Inacio only appeared in four games, though he won 65.5% of his draws, and during a game against Cornell, he won 30 faceoffs, the third most in a single game in NCAA history. His numbers dipped in the 2021 season, only winning at a 55.1% rate, though Inacio bounced back as a fifth year, winning 59.2% of his draws while also scoring a career high 3 goals, being named an honorable mention All-American. Inacio graduated as Ohio State's all-time leader in ground balls with 357 and second in faceoff percentage at 60.7%. Inacio graduated with a degree in biology, as well as minoring in business.

Professional career

NLL

Inacio was selected 10th overall in the 2021 NLL Entry Draft by the

, though he opted to return to Ohio State for a fifth season. He was set to join the Roughnecks ahead of the 2022 season, however a knee injury forced him to miss the entire year.

PLL

Inacio was selected 18th overall by Archers Lacrosse Club in the 2022 PLL College Draft. He played eight games as a rookie, along with two playoff games, winning a total of 41.3% of his faceoffs.

Statistics

NCAA

PLL

References

1998 births Living people Canadian lacrosse players Lacrosse defenders Ohio State Buckeyes men's lacrosse players Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario {{Canada-lacrosse-bio-stub