Thevenot continues lacrosse career in New Jersey

Ryan Thevenot had no idea where the hours he poured into lacrosse could take him.

He simply embraced the journey of improvement, and as it turns out, it’s paying off.

The Vincent Massey grad is heading to Georgian Court University to begin his NCAA Division II lacrosse career next month.

“I’m really excited. I’m nervous at the same time, just because I’m pretty far from home but I’m excited to be on my own,” Thevenot said.

“Knowing I’m doing this because of the work I’ve put into lacrosse and how much lacrosse has helped me get where I am, I’m excited to start a new chapter.”

Thevenot grew up playing hockey, but tried lacrosse before heading to Grade 9 and was quickly hooked.

He made Manitoba’s under-15 provincial team and competed at field lacrosse nationals in New Brunswick that same year.

Like many Team ‘Toba athletes from Westman, that meant plenty of two-plus-hour drives to practice. But Thevenot wanted to do more, so he put together a “wall ball” routine, throwing and catching alone early in the morning.

He played for Team Manitoba each of the next two summers and helped Vincent Massey start a high school team in 2024. In 2025, he made the western Canadian U19 squad, which took him to big cities like Baltimore and Denver to face the United States and a few college programs.

“All their defencemen were committed to Duke or Ivy League schools, and it was so cool to see,” Thevenot said.

“It really drove me to get in the gym, put some weight on and try to take everything to the next level. It was a great experience.”

While the pathway to the next level in sports like hockey is a little clearer, with plenty of local examples to follow, Thevenot’s next lacrosse steps weren’t so obvious.

He decided to collect game film from Team Manitoba and the western Canadian team to assemble a highlight reel and sent it to every NCAA Division I, II and III program he could find.

“The worst thing that I could hear is no, right?” Thevenot said. “The process was long sending those and waiting on people. A lot of coaches didn’t get back to me, but at least I knew I did everything I could.”

Most never got back, but Thevenot said he had 30 offers, including a few from DI programs.

He went on a recruiting trip in January, looking at schools in North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Georgian Court stood out for a few reasons, with a clear one that mattered a lot to Thevenot.

“Coach (Mickey) Hover,” Thevenot said. “He has been awesome with me since Day 1. He would call me pretty much every other week to check up on me.

“New Jersey’s a really hot spot for lacrosse as well, so I’m definitely going up against a lot of the top guys, top teams … (Hover) has full confidence in his team that we can beat those top teams in Division II.”

Thevenot plans to study criminal justice with plans of becoming a police officer. He noted his athletic scholarship should cover about 85 per cent of his expenses.

Georgian Court won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title in 2025 after posting a 7-1 regular season. It went 4-4 last year, missing the conference tournament.

Thevenot hopes to make an immediate impact as a speedy forward.

“Pretty much everyone loves my speed and my dodging ability. It’s one of the best abilities I have,” Thevenot said.

“If I can draw a couple of defencemen on me, I can pass to one of my teammates and they have a better chance to score, so I can open the field up.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com