Jeremy Thompson, a top midfielder from Onondaga Community College and one of the most heralded lacrosse prospects in the country, has been accepted to Syracuse University and has enrolled in summer classes, a university spokesman confirmed Friday.

Thompson’s admittance to SU ends years of speculation about the recruit coming to Syracuse – a goal of his since childhood. After receiving his junior college degree, he finally had the proper qualifications to attend Syracuse with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

‘I called him up and told him how excited I was for him,’ OCC head coach Chuck Wilbur said. ‘The hard work finally paid off. All this work he’s put in for school and on the lacrosse field – he’s finally realizing a dream of his.’

Thompson received a letter from SU late last week, but did not open it until this week in order to have the moment captured on film. (Jeremy and his brother, Jerome, are the ongoing subjects of a documentary called ‘The Medicine Game,’ chronicling their lives and lacrosse careers.)

‘The family gathered around, and Jeremy opened it,’ said Luke Korver, the film’s director. ‘There were hugs. …He started calling his friends, and they were texting him. The phone has been ringing off the hook for the last few days.’

On the field, Wilbur said that Syracuse fans can expect a near immediate improvement from having Thompson in the midfield. Last spring he was an NJCAA All-American for the national champion Lazers, tallying 20 goals and 28 assists, including three goals in the national title game.

Wilbur said he foresees Thompson’s transition into the Division I game as much quicker than that of fellow OCC prospect Cody Jamieson, being that his style is more wide-open.

‘What Jeremy is going to bring to Syracuse is just another weapon,’ Wilbur said. ‘He’s going to do everything in his power to make the team successful. Compared to a lot of the Native American kids, he’s got more of a field game He’s very athletic, very fast and can run all day – he does it all. He’s a little more complete, I see him going in there and fitting in a lot easier than Cody did.’

Thompson’s brother and fellow high-octane prospect Jerome, is also trying to gain admittance to Syracuse for this academic year, but is reportedly behind his brother in eligibility requirements, according to Inside Lacrosse. The NJCAA offensive player of the year (65 goals and 56 assists) will spend his summer in Canada playing box-style lacrosse and try to gain admittance to SU by the midpoint of the fall semester.

But one Thompson for now could be a great improvement for the Orange midfield that lost graduating seniors Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt and Matt Abbot after last season. And he may be just the spark Syracuse needs for next season, coming off its second consecutive national championship.

‘He’s a kid that’s going to go in there,’ Wilbur said. ‘He’s blue collar, he’s got great fundamentals and he’s a hell of an athlete, that’s what he is.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on August 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm