Michael Powell (born October 29, 1982) is a former American professional lacrosse player who was a four-time First Team All-American at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, played professional lacrosse for the Baltimore Bayhawks and

Boston Cannons The Cannons Lacrosse Club are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) . Formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, they played in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as the Boston Cannons from their inaugural 2001 sea ...

, and played on the United States team in the

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World Lacrosse Championships where he was named to the All-World Team. Powell is the only player to win the Jack Turnbull Award as the top attackman in Division I lacrosse four consecutive times. Powell was also a four-time finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, the lacrosse equivalent of the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

, and is one of two male players to win the award twice. He led

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

to two national championships and holds the school record for most career points. Syracuse retired his #22 jersey in 2023. Powell is now a singer/songwriter and tours both as a solo artist and as a member of his band The Black River.

High school career

Powell attended Carthage Senior High School in Carthage, New York, where he was a high school All-American. He set the New York State high school records for most points in a season with 194 points in 2000, most points in a game with 15 points in 2000, and most assists in a season with 120 assists in 1999 and 115 in 2000.

College career

Powell enrolled at Syracuse in the fall of 2000 as one of the most anticipated recruits in college lacrosse history. He wore the #22 Syracuse jersey, the same number previously worn by both of his older brothers Casey Powell and Ryan Powell, and by lacrosse legends Gary Gait and Charlie Lockwood.

2001 season

In his freshman season, Powell tallied 30 goals, 40 assists (70 points), and 69 groundballs while leading Syracuse to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship title game against Princeton University. In the championship game, he scored an unassisted goal with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but Syracuse lost to Princeton on a B.J. Prager goal with 41 seconds left in overtime. Powell became the first player in Syracuse lacrosse history to be named a First Team All-American as a freshman. He was also awarded the Jack Turnbull Award as the nation's top attackman, and was a finalist for the inaugural Tewaaraton Trophy.

2002 season

In 2002, Powell scored 42 goals and 42 assists en route to leading Syracuse to a national championship. With four goals and three assists in the championship game, he was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player and won his first Tewaaraton Trophy.

2003 season

Powell missed the fall 2002 semester and fall practice at Syracuse but was able to regain academic eligibility before the 2003 lacrosse season. Scored 31 goals and 33 assists for 64 points. Despite the aggressive defenses that targeted him during the season, he helped lead Syracuse to the Final Four, of what would eventually be 22 consecutive Final Fours, an NCAA records. Syracuse fell to Johns Hopkins University 19-8 in the semifinals.

2004 season

As a senior, Powell led the Orangemen to their ninth NCAA championship. In the NCAA tournament, Syracuse defeated top-seeded

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

in the semifinal round 15-9 and then beat second-seeded Navy in the championship game 14-13. On the season, Powell scored 89 points (47 goals, 42 assists), surpassing the Syracuse record shared by his two older brothers to become the all-time leading scorer at Syracuse with 307 points. That number ties him for 12th all-time in NCAA history. Powell was again selected as a First Team All-American, becoming just the sixth lacrosse player to earn that recognition four times, won his second Tewaaraton Trophy, and his first Enners Trophy as the most outstanding player in men's college lacrosse.

Professional career

Following his graduation, Powell surprised many in the lacrosse community when he chose not to play professional lacrosse for Major League Lacrosse in the 2004 season. Instead, he pursued a career as a professional musician. Powell, along with his two older brothers, also signed an endorsement contract with lacrosse equipment manufacturer

Brine, Corp. Warrior Sports, Inc., doing business as Brine, is a sporting goods manufacturer in the United States. It manufactures lacrosse, Football (soccer), soccer, volleyball, and field hockey equipment. It markets its products under its own brand as well ...

, with Mike working out of Brine's west coast office. Casey and Ryan had previously been employed by Warrior Sports. In 2005, Powell joined the MLL and was drafted by the Baltimore Bayhawks, where he and teammate Gary Gait led the Bayhawks to the league championship. Powell also played in the

MLL All-Star Game Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game is the all-star game of the MLL. Years 2000s 2001 The inaugural 2001 All-Star Game, was titled the Major League Lacrosse LacrosseStar Game. From 2001–2003, the All-Star Game had the National Division playin ...

, where he was selected as MVP. He sat out the 2006 MLL season. On March 21, 2007, Powell, along with Ben DeFelice and a 2008 conditional draft choice, was traded from the Baltimore Bayhawks to the

in exchange for Ryan Curtis and Conor Gill. Powell was a member of U.S. World Team in the

2006 World Lacrosse Championship 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, where he was the U.S.'s leading scorer and was selected to the All-World Team. The U.S. team fell to Canada in the championship game, 15-10, marking the second time the Americans had lost to the Canadians in 14 contests.

Personal life and music career

Powell is a traveling musician and an accomplished writer with over two hundred songs. Heavily influenced by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Townes Van Zandt. He has released 6 albums, "Strange Bedfellows" 2007, "Replevin" in 2009, "The Night The Date Was Tied" in 2010, "Kapow" 2011, "Tied To The Rail" 2014, "Classic Universe" 2018. The single "Twenty One Rounds" was released on Memorial Day 2018 and was inspired by growing up in the shadows of the Fort Drum military base. In addition to his older brothers, Casey and

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

, Mike also has a younger brother, Mason.

Statistics

Syracuse

: ^''(a)'' 13th in NCAA Division I career assists : ^''(b)'' 6th in NCAA Division I career points

Awards

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Michael 1982 births Living people American lacrosse players Lacrosse players from New York (state) Major League Lacrosse players People from Jefferson County, New York Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse players