By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 9/29/10
Conestoga junior attackman Tyler Brooke has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at the University of Maryland, completing a whirlwind 24-hour period for top Philly junior recruits.
Brooke is the fourth Philly boy from the Class of 2012 to announce his commitment to a major Division I college in the past day, although he made his choice last week. He also is one of three Philly juniors in the past week to commit to Maryland – the others are Conestoga teammate and linemate Bradlee Lord and Garnet Valley defenseman Ryan Lehman, each of whom play club lacrosse with Brooke for Mesa Fresh 2012.
Conestoga, the defending state champion, now has three junior attackmen that have committed to Division I colleges – Brooke and Lord to Maryland and Connor Frisina to Massachusetts. Two members of last year’s team, midfielder Ryan Lord and defenseman Casey Ikeda, are currently freshmen at Maryland.
Last year Brooke had a team-leading 27 goals for a squad that won the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association championship while finishing 24-2.
He was a First Team Central League pick for the Pioneers, who were ranked among the top six teams in every national poll. They also were the top-ranked team in the PA Media Rankings,
Brooke, who competed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Showcase in June, was listed as the No. 21 Young Gun Rising Junior by Inside Lacrosse this month. He also made the Fab 40 team at the Philly Lacrosse Showcase last November.
Brooke, a First Honors student, plans to study business. He said he was impressed with Maryland coaches John Tillman (first-year head coach), Ryan Moran and Kevin Warne.
“First off, the coaches were really nice,” he said. “I loved the school right away. The business school is amazing; after I got there for my visit, it was an easy decision.”
Brooke was happy that both Lord and Lehman also committed shortly after he did, but noted that the biggest endorsements came from Ryan Lord and Casey Ikeda.
“I heard nothing but good things from Ryan and Casey,” Brooke said.
Brooke is excited about the 2011 season. The Pioneers lose an amazing senior class of 19 players, but the returning talent stamps them again as a major contender.
“Obviously, there is a lot of talk about the 19 seniors that have left,” he said. “The class was very deep. But we had a lot of sophomores that played at the varsity level and we have a strong senior class. We’ve all been playing together for so long.
“It will be an exciting challenge and I think we can live up to that if we work hard. We definitely have the talent to do it.”
Brooke wished to thank Conestoga head coach Brian Samson and assistants Brody Bush and Craig Gratton and Mesa Fresh coaches Peter Rohr, Marty McGregor and Rob Lord.
Brooke’s commitment to Maryland gives Maryland five Philly commitments, including seniors Kevin Forster (La Salle attackman) and Goran Murray (Haverford School long stick midfielder).
