At the end of each season, The News-Press and Naples Daily News select All-Area teams honoring the best athletes for every varsity sport. Coaches from area schools are sent nomination forms and are asked to nominate and rank their athletes as well as those from other teams. That data combined with our research led to the selection of the All-Area teams.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Isaac Lyon
School: Community School
Year: Senior
If you’re going up against Isaac Lyon in the faceoff circle, good luck.
To say Lyon is good at what he does is an understatement. The Utah-bound senior had not just an elite senior season, but a stretch that may never be seen again by a faceoff guy in Southwest Florida.
Lyon won 1,536 of 2,042 faceoffs over a five-year career, clipping at over 75 percent. His senior season was even more impressive, winning 286 of 344 faceoffs — north of 83 percent. Lyon also scored 32 goals with 21 assists, helping the Seahawks make it to a Final Four once again.
Lyon is the 2026 Southwest Florida Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year, becoming the fifth different Community School player to win the award in each of the last five seasons.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Lyon said. “Being able to look back on this season and be like, ‘Wow, it was a great season.’ We went to states and all that, and very excited about it, honestly.”
Question: What goes into what you do on faceoffs?
Lyon: This season, I ramped it up a lot, especially with working out. I would do 30 minutes’ worth of faceoffs after every practice, and then going into states, I started doing about two hours of faceoffs a day, where it’s just me clamping a ball and listening to a whistle over and over again until game time comes. It’s not like I’m trying to react to the whistle, just timing it to where I’m perfectly hitting it before that other player can react. My goal ever year has been to get better at that.
What was it like having a broader role in the offense this season?
Lyon: It’s always something I wanted to implement in my game, because most guys are FOGOs (face off get off). I felt like this year if I took that to my advantage and kept the FOGOs on the field and make them play defense, that’s a huge disadvantage for the other team. So, I started getting more in the offense, learning plays, and I liked it a lot.
What led to Utah being the school where you wanted to play collegiately?
Lyon: I like a college for what it has to offer, not just its academics. When I went to Utah, I didn’t expect much. I was like, ‘All right, I’m gonna go to this different college.’ But then I went to Utah, I was like, ‘Holy cow, look at these mountains, look at all these things to do.’ I realized that this is where I wanted to be. There’s also great academic opportunities for me there. I was like, ‘This is my spot.’
What’s your favorite memory as a part of CSN lacrosse?
Lyon: Beating Saint Andrew’s, for sure. That one during my sophomore year. Everybody was lights out and locked in. I went 90 percent (on faceoffs), Slus (Michael Slusar) saved every shot. Cal (Wyatt) had nine goals, and we did the unthinkable.
What are you going to miss the most about high school lacrosse?
Lyon: I’m going to miss being able to hang around with teammates after every practice because I think that’s what made us a special team, is how we were just bonding all the time compared to most teams. I feel like they just practice, and that’s it. We all came together as a team after every practice, and we wanted to hang out, do things, and grow together.
FIRST TEAM
Dom Ardezzone
School: Aubrey Rogers
Year: Senior
Highlights: Ardezzone emerged as one of the area’s top offensive threats in the midfield, exploding for 73 goals and 11 assists while helping the Patriots to their best season in school history.
Cale Austin
School: Community School
Year: Senior
Highlights: Austin was another key piece in the midfield for the Seahawks, finishing with 17 goals and 13 assists to help send the Seahawks to the Final Four for the third consecutive season.
Jack Brown
School: Community School
Year: Junior
Highlights: Brown helped anchor one of the top defensive units in Class 1A, having a hand in a defense that conceded just north of six goals per game against the toughest schedule in Southwest Florida.
Brock Catlin
School: Canterbury
Year: Junior
Highlights: One of three USA Lacrosse All-American selections in the area, Catlin was an elite midfielder for the Cougars, totaling 73 goals, 53 assists, and 85 ground balls to help the program reach a regional final.
Caid Catlin
School: Canterbury
Year: Sophomore
Highlights: Catlin put together a strong season as an attacker on a potent offense, accounting for 59 goals and 41 assists to help the Cougars to an 18-4 record.
Eli Felzer
School: Community School
Year: Junior
Highlights: The best attacker on the area’s best team, Felzer was impressive, scoring 43 goals with 19 assists. CSN finished with an 18-4 record, having gone unbeaten against local competition.
Evan Ferguson
School: Community School
Year: Freshman
Highlights: Ferguson was a good long stick midfielder for the Seahawks, scoring four goals while grabbing plenty of ground balls and forcing numerous turnovers.
Jack Fox
School: Gulf Coast
Year: Senior
Highlights: Fox’s play in the midfield was big for Gulf Coast, which won the Class 2A-District 13 title. The senior finished with 46 goals, 17 assists, and 69 ground balls to help the Sharks to a 10-5 season.
Jack Jolly
School: Aubrey Rogers
Year: Senior
Highlights: Jolly led Southwest Florida in goals with 79, finishing third in the state in that category. He also added 48 assists and 45 ground balls, propelling the Patriots to a 16-3 record and a regional semifinal appearance.
Orion Kaplan
School: Canterbury
Year: Junior
Highlights: Canterbury’s top defender rose to the occasion in more ways than one, finishing with 59 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers. He also helped limit opponents to just under 5.8 goals per game.
Paul Kastroll
School: Community School
Year: Junior
Highlights: Another solid defender for the Seahawks, Kastroll was big and physical, helping limit opponents to six goals or fewer in 11 of the program’s 22 games.
Michael Slusar
School: Community School
Year: Senior
Highlights: The Penn signee makes First Team All-Area once again after another season in which he earned USA Lacrosse All-American honors alongside Lyon and Catlin. Slusar finished with a save rate north of 50 percent.
Ricky Swift III
School: Canterbury
Year: Junior
Highlights: Swift was a physical presence as an attacker, scoring 74 goals with 9 assists to help the Cougars advance to a regional final with an 18-4 record. Swift led Canterbury in goals as a junior.
SECOND TEAM
Hastings Carter, Aubrey Rogers
Dom Consolazio, Fort Myers
Jordan Cross, Barron Collier
Josh Cudnik, Canterbury
Ben Dennis, Canterbury
Justin Dowling, Fort Myers
Matthew Dowling, Community School
Noah Harton, Aubrey Rogers
Jet Langford, Canterbury
Sean McNamara, Community School
Cullen Sorrentino, Aubrey Rogers
Burch Summers, Community School
Tye Swetz, Canterbury
Pierce Szymanski, Community School
HONORABLE MENTION
Aubrey Rogers: Nico Lucarelli, Keswick Marshall
Barron Collier: Dani Carvalho, Nick Gale, Brett Klass
Bishop Verot: Brody Evanoski, Dylan Feeney, Drew Schmidt
Canterbury: Nathan Druskis, Bradley Laquis, Brooks Selby
Community School: Christian Shaw-Sarubbi, Phil Taglia, Connor Zawacky
Cypress Lake: Daniel Johnson, Zayne Kimpland, Kaeden Musich
Estero: Corbin Gilliard, Evan Maes, Jaiden Northrup
Fort Myers: Aiden Grisham, Josh Monteiro, Tyler Swartz
Gulf Coast: Cooper Price, Aidan Trapani, Cole Van der Merwe
Immokalee: Luis Acevedo, Cherlin Michel, Christopher Miguels
Lely: Jeffrey Antunez, Roberto Martinez-Garcia, Christian Santiago
Marco Island: Cayson Catalano, Nick Fielder, Veleon Nazarko
Naples: Newell Barefoot, Alex Samuel, Graham Tunkle
Palmetto Ridge: Brayden Brown, Xavier Diaz, Joshua Walsh
Riverdale: Gavin Adorno, Jaxen Clouse, Brock Schmidt
COACH OF THE YEAR
Keith Lee
School: Community School
Highlights: Lee once again guided the Seahawks to a Final Four, finishing with an 18-4 record with a pair of one-goal wins over Canterbury. The Seahawks have had 15 or more wins in each of the last five seasons under Lee’s leadership.
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: amartin@usatodayco.com. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Meet the 2026 SW FL Boys Lacrosse All-Area team, Player of the Year
Reporting by Alex Martin, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
