![\"Kyle](\"https:\/\/www.thelantern.com\/files\/2025\/08\/494460205_18497011858012023_2800841065907672392_n-1-530x424.jpg\")
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Kyle Foster (right) plays defense against a teammate in practice. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics<\/p>\n
Kyle Foster helped Ohio State\u2019s lacrosse program make history.<\/p>\n
Now, he\u2019s trading his scarlet and gray for some red, white and blue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foster, a junior defenseman who helped Ohio State capture its first Big Ten Championship, was recently named to Team USA to compete at the 2025 World Lacrosse Men\u2019s U20 Championship on Jeju Island, Korea. Foster is one of 22 players representing the United States in the 20-team event, which spans from Aug. 15 to 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cWearing the red, white and blue means I\u2019m representing my country on the global stage,\u201d Foster said. \u201cIt just means all my hard work that I\u2019ve put in these past years has really paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Maryland native\u2019s passion for lacrosse was sparked by his family\u2019s deep roots with the sport. Foster\u2019s father, Richard, played lacrosse at Roanoke College while his older brother, Patrick, played for North Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember going to my brother\u2019s games at UNC all the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt motivated me because I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be out there on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
A three-sport high school athlete who also excelled at volleyball and basketball, Foster said his variety of athletic experience improved his lacrosse technique.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasketball helped me with my footwork,\u201d Foster said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like lacrosse in the same sense that on the defensive side, you have to move your feet and communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n
During his college recruitment, Foster said the brotherhood that Ohio State\u2019s lacrosse program fostered stuck out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just kind of made it feel like home right away,\u201d Foster said. \u201cWhen you step on campus, it doesn\u2019t feel like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re a freshman,\u2019 like you\u2019re conscious of the new guy in town. They don\u2019t treat you like that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a freshman, Foster saw the field in 12 games, playing primarily as a long-stick midfielder. His impact included two ground balls and five caused turnovers, but Foster said he spent much of the year learning the system and adjusting to the college game.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s fast, everybody\u2019s strong,\u201d Foster said. \u201cThe ball just moved so much faster. There\u2019s so much more terminology that I need to remember compared to high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
That language included not just familiar terms like \u201chot\u201d and \u201cfire,\u201d which indicate the first slide on defense, but more complex terminology mapping specific areas of the field, like \u201czero\u201d (behind the cage), \u201c100 alley,\u201d and \u201c500.\u201d Foster picked it up through repetition in practice and film sessions with defensive coordinator Coach Crane and veteran teammates, Cullen Brown and Bobby Van Buren.<\/p>\n
By his sophomore season, Foster was ready to make the transition to a close defender role, lining up alongside Brown and Van Buren\u2014two players Foster said he has looked up to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey kind of brought me in because they knew this was my first year actually playing close and playing with them,\u201d Foster said. \u201cSo, yes, they were hard on me, which I needed just to kind of get comfortable and everything. But they also brought me in, like a little brother kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
As his comfort grew, so did his confidence. In 17 games this past season, Foster recorded 10 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers, more than doubling his freshman season and making him top 10 nationally.<\/p>\n
Head coach Nick Myers said he has appreciated how quickly Foster developed as a member of his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew he was special coming out of high school when we recruited him,\u201d Myers said. \u201cTo play a pretty significant role as a true freshman, and then to really step into a starting, close defensive role last year\u2013really just proud of his growth in his first two years with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myers said it\u2019s not just Foster\u2019s talent that makes him an asset; it\u2019s also his willingness to be coached, his attention to detail and his eagerness to learn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very curious,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe\u2019s always wanting to understand and get a sense of what the standards are. He\u2019s a really hard worker. He\u2019s a guy that, when you coach him, and you do empower him with responsibility, he takes it and kind of runs with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foster\u2019s sophomore season saw historic moments that he said made him understand just how special his team was.<\/p>\n
But history wasn\u2019t made overnight. Ohio State opened the season with a tough 19-13 loss to Utah.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat kind of sparked everybody,\u201d Foster said. \u201cThat was the fire that we needed, kind of like, \u2018Okay, we got this, we got to step up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And step up they did.<\/p>\n
The Buckeyes rattled off an 11-game win streak, toppling national powers like Virginia, Notre Dame and Penn State. In one of the season\u2019s most memorable moments, they clawed their way back from an 8-6 fourth-quarter deficit to beat Michigan and clinch the program\u2019s first-ever Big Ten regular season title.<\/p>\n
Foster and the Buckeyes followed it up with another milestone, defeating Maryland to win their first Big Ten Tournament Championship.<\/p>\n
It was during this season, through the pressure, the big moments and the growth, that Foster laid the groundwork for his next step: earning a spot on the U.S. U20 national team.<\/p>\n
The journey to Team USA began in June of 2024, when around 80 players were selected for the initial tryout that would eventually lead to a roster of 22. Following the five opportunities to watch Foster and other top players from around the country compete, Team USA\u2019s staff announced on Wednesday the completed roster after a final tryout at Cornell University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Assistant coach of Team USA, Ryan McClay, singled Foster out for his rapid growth in his last season and noted like the rest of Team USA\u2019s defensive unit, he has a disciplined and unselfish approach to his game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Foster becomes another Buckeye that will represent his country on the national level. Jack Oldman, a junior FOGO, will suit up for Team Canada in the upcoming games on Jeju Island.<\/p>\n
In recent history, Ryan Terefenko, a former Ohio State midfielder, played for Team USA in the 2023 World Lacrosse Men\u2019s Championship.<\/p>\n
Foster\u2019s selection marks another highlight in his career, one that Myers said is special to both his team and Foster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know this Team USA experience is something he\u2019s had as a goal for a long time,\u201d Myers said. \u201cHe\u2019s got an opportunity to chase down a gold medal this month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster said he was caught off guard when assistant coach Ryan McClay broke the news over the phone that he had made the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was like, \u2018You want the good news or the bad news?\u2019\u201d Foster said. \u201cSo I\u2019m like, \u2018Alright, well, I just got cut.\u2019 That just stinks. And then I said \u2018I\u2019ll have the bad news.\u2019 And he was like, \u2018The bad news is, you have to spend three weeks with me in Korea,\u2019 and then I knew the good news is obviously I made the team so I was really shocked. Doesn\u2019t feel real, but it was an amazing feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Foster, the opportunity to compete with players from different programs is part of what makes this experience special.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited to kind of see how everyone else plays together,\u201d Foster said. \u201cAnd obviously just competing for that gold fires me up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chance to represent the U.S. is an experience Myers said carries a unique weight, one that Foster is prepared for.<\/p>\n
\u200b\u200b\u201cAnytime you get to wear the red, white and blue, it\u2019s hard to really put that into words,\u201d Myers said. \u201cKyle certainly appreciates the responsibility. There\u2019s pressure, but there\u2019s also opportunity that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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