Chris Rotelli (born December 18, 1980) is a professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

player who had a standout collegiate career at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

before going on to the professional ranks in

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...

High school and collegiate career

A native of

Rumford, Rhode Island Rumford is the northern section of the city of East Providence, Rhode Island, USA. The Rumford section of East Providence borders Seekonk, Massachusetts, Pawtucket, Rhode Island and the Ten Mile River (Seekonk River). Rumford has been part of thre ...

, Chris Rotelli played high school lacrosse at

Moses Brown School Moses Brown School is an independent Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. It was founded in 1784 by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, and is one of the oldest prepara ...

, where he was a three-time high school All-American and four-time All-State selection. He then attended the

from 2000 to 2003, where he became one of the most decorated midfielders in Cavaliers history. As a senior in 2003, Rotelli helped lead the team to the 2003 NCAA Division I National Championship. He was the team's leading scorer with 49 points and was among the ACC leaders in scoring, goals, and assists. That year, he won the

Tewaaraton Trophy The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and th ...

as the nation's top college lacrosse player, the

McLaughlin Award The Lt. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award — also known as the "Don MacLaughlin Award" — has been given annually since 1973 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) to the NCAA's most outstanding college lacrosse midfielder. ...

as the nation's best midfielder, the ACC Player of the Year, and was selected as a First Team All-American by the

USILA The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the vars ...

. In addition, he became the first lacrosse player in history to win the ACC Male Athlete of the Year award ( Anthony J. McKevlin Award) and was the first overall pick in the

collegiate draft.

Professional career

Rotelli was drafted first overall in the 2003 Major League Lacrosse college draft by the Bridgeport Barrage. After the 2003 season he was traded to the Boston Cannons where he played during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. When the MLL expanded to include several new teams, he was drafted in the first round (second overall) in the 2006 MLL Expansion Draft by the

San Francisco Dragons The San Francisco Dragons were a professional field lacrosse team based in San Francisco and San Jose, California. From 2006–2008, they played in Major League Lacrosse and they ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situati ...

. In 2006 and 2007, he served as co-captain of the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. The Dragons have since ceased operations, but now he plays for the Chicago Machine. Rotelli also runs youth instructional lacrosse campsThe Chris Rotelli Lacrosse Camp
/ref> and is the Founder and CEO of ADVNC Lacrosse.

Awards and achievements

* 4 time

All-Star 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 * Number 1 overall pick in 2003 MLL draft * San Francisco Dragons Team Co-Captain 2006, 2007 *

2003 - best NCAA lacrosse player * ACC Male Athlete of the Year 2003 ( Anthony J. McKevlin Award) * ACC Player of the Year 2003 *

2003 - nation's top midfielder * Member of the NCAA Division 1 Champion University of Virginia team 2003 * 3 time USILA All-American (Honorable Mention 2001; First Team 2002, 2003) * NCAA All-Tournament team 2003 * 3 time All- ACC * ACC All-Tournament team 2003 * University of Virginia Team Co-Captain 2003 * ACC Championship 2000, 2003 * 3 time High School All-American - Moses Brown High School, Rhode Island

Statistics

University of Virginia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotelli, Chris 1979 births Living people American lacrosse players American people of Italian descent Major League Lacrosse players Sportspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse players Moses Brown School alumni