Rookie No More: Nick Rowlett’s Transition from College Star to NLL Warrior

On Saturday, Nick Rowlett took to the turf with a Wings “W” strapped across his chest for the first time, but this was also his first time representing a NLL team in his career. 

The 24 year old, despite making his professional debut this previous weekend, is not a rookie in the sense of high level performance or high level competitors. Rowlett was a graduate student at the University of Michigan in 2023, where his team recorded the best season in the program’s history. During this season the team recorded 10 wins, clinched a Big Ten Tournament championship, had their first NCAA Tournament appearance and win, and produced a trio of All-Big Ten honorees, and the program’s first ever USILA All-America selection. In his own contribution to the team, Rowlett won 57% of faceoffs during the season, putting himself third in University of Michigan’s program, and 23rd in the NCAA. To continue the trend of 2023 success, Rowlett was named to the US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Team of the Week on April 26th.

Rowlett’s success made him a wanted prospect, helping him get selected in the third round of the 2023 PLL College Draft by the Chaos LC. Rowlett played with the Chaos LC until he was moved from Practice Player List to the Wings Active Roster on January 27th.

Rowlett spoke on the experience with nothing but excitement. “As for what was different from the PLL, the atmosphere playing indoors gets a whole lot louder, a lot more rowdy. I noticed also just how involved the fans are,” Rowlett said about his first NLL game experience. With his mother’s side of the family holding residence in Philadelphia, and the reputation that the city holds for its passion for its sports, Rowlett was not shocked by the intensity the city and the fans brought.

“It was kind of nice to kind of be in like a home crowd almost, some family was able to make it up for the first game. That was awesome, just seeing thousands of people who are on your side,” he shared.

Rowlett is still getting the hang of the city, only having been here for a few weeks, but under the wing of Blaze Riorden and Isaiah Davis-Allen he feels confident. Being from the same part of Virginia as Davis-Allen, Rowlett grew up being coached by him before, having a familiar face to help ease the transition to his professional career. Rowlett spoke on the connections saying, “It’s nice having those guys who you’ve always kind of looked up to being able to be there for you, just answer questions and help out”. Rowlett also can look towards his brother when nerves strike, “luckily for in the pro space, I have my brother who plays on my PLL team as well. I was able to use him as a resource”.

While Rowlett’s journey with the Wings is still young, he has high expectations for the team. “The championship is always a goal, right now we’re just focusing on the games ahead”. After a loss to San Diego last week, Rowlett and the team are preparing for the rematch against Halifax, who they beat in overtime in their last meeting. Rowlett spoke of their preparation for this Friday night’s game, ‘‘Halifax is a tough opponent, so that’ll be a good opportunity to figure out more about ourselves and continue to build every single weekend as we progress through the season”.

The Wings will host the rematch against the Halifax Thunderbirds this Friday, February 2nd, at 7 PM EST at Wells Fargo Center. For tickets go to https://wingslax.com.