Former SWR lacrosse star named D-I preseason player of year by magazine

When it comes to this college lacrosse player, there’s no gray area. Chris Gray can play.

Gray, who perhaps didn’t receive the recognition he deserved from college recruiters when he was in high school, is surely receiving plenty of attention now. The former Shoreham-Wading River standout, now an attackman for North Carolina, has been named USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Division I men’s preseason player of the year. And who knows what this upcoming season has in store for him?

“I was pretty underrecruited in high school,” Gray said in a phone interview. “Didn’t really have a ton of looks freshman and sophomore year like a lot of kids in my class, but I eventually found my way, so I think if there is one thing lacrosse has taught me [it] is never give up. Hard work can take you a long way.”

Indeed it has. Following his sophomore year at Boston University, Gray entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in search of a school that offered a better academic fit, not to mention a lacrosse pedigree. He found one in Chapel Hill, N.C.

“From the first moment I stepped on campus, I knew I was going to come here,” he said. He continued: “Really, honestly, it’s everything I’ve dreamed about as a kid, just watching UNC and all its popular programs play. From the moment I stepped on campus and on the field, I was just amazed at how much talent there was.”

The 5-7, 170-pound Gray, a graduate student in his final season of eligibility, now headlines that talent. Last season he was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the most outstanding college lacrosse player in the nation. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s offensive player of the year with a school record 91 points (49 goals, 42 assists). In his last two years at North Carolina, the Tar Heels went 20-3.

As a sophomore at Boston University in 2019, Gray led the NCAA with a Patriot League record 111 points (49 goals, 62 assists). That was after registering 31 goals and 40 assists as a freshman for the Terriers.

Gray played three varsity seasons for SWR, leading Long Island in points as a junior (101) and a senior (115).

In the fall of his sophomore year in high school, Gray verbally committed to Boston University. “I thought they got such a great deal because this kid’s pretty good,” SWR coach Michael Taylor said. “Then, as the years went on, you know, I was like, ‘This kid is more than good. This might be one of the best kids I ever coached.’ ”

Did Taylor envision Gray turning into the type of high-profile player he has become?

“To be honest with you, I don’t think he was the best player in the class as a 10th-grader, but as a junior and a senior he just developed into this wonderful player,” the coach said. “By the end of his junior year, I thought that he was the best player in the country in his class. Obviously, I was very biased because I was his coach, but I just saw the things that he was doing … He seems to always raise his game to the next level when challenged.”

As for that preseason player of the year honor, Gray takes it in stride, crediting his teammates and coaches for putting him in a position to succeed.

“I think it’s always nice to be recognized,” he said. “You know, they always seem to pick great players, so it’s really nice to be recognized with so many other great players, but at the end of the day, it’s a preseason honor, so nothing’s really set in stone.”

Gray isn’t the only SWR alumnus — or Wading River resident, for that matter — on the North Carolina roster. Midfielder Johnny Schwarz and his twin brother, Tyler, a defenseman, are freshmen.

North Carolina will open its season at home Feb. 11 against Richmond.

Gray has a positive outlook on the season. “There’s never a shortage of talent here, which is always nice,” he said. “I’m sure it’s hard on the coaches. There are only so many guys you can put on the field.”

One of them, unquestionably, is Gray, the once underrecruited high school player.

“It is a great story,” Taylor said. “He was not the top recruit in his class and look at what he is doing now.”