Carsen Brandt was making his mark long before he stepped foot on Marquette’s campus.
As a high school junior, the Edina, Minnesota native was setting multiple tournament records for Benilde St. Margaret’s. Not only did he set the records for most points (10) and assists (12) in a state tournament game, he got the most points in state tournament history, finishing with 21.
After high school, Brandt went to Marquette as Inside Lacrosse’s No. 54 player in the class of 2023. Just four games into the season, he has lived up to the expectations of being the men’s lacrosse team’s only top-100 recruit.
The first-year attacker has not only started in every game but has also tallied seven goals and seven assists, totaling 14 points. Brandt currently sits tied for third with senior midfielder Luke Blanc for most points on the team.
But even though he has started the season hot, Brandt said he gives all the credit to his teammates.
“They make the plays happen. They’re always telling me what to do and giving me advice,” Brandt said.
Head coach Andrew Stimmel said he is not shocked with how Brandt has been performing to start the season.
“In all honesty, I’d like to say we’re surprised but I don’t think we are. We knew what we had in him,” Stimmel said. “With Carsen, he takes it all in stride and what you want in a young player is someone who is never satisfied. He’ll know [at the end of a game] he could have had more.”
Stimmel said that the way that he has been accrediting his teammates is due to the fact that he has been “coached up well.”
One of Brandt’s past coaches and closest mentors, Ryan McNamara, coached him through his years playing for True Lacrosse, a travel club team. McNamara was also a Marquette men’s lacrosse attackman lacrosse players to be able to go on to the next level.
McNamara said he could see the makings of a star in Brandt.
“From the earliest age I could tell, he was one of those kids that was susceptible with lacrosse,” McNamara said. “He was someone who always had a stick in his hand doing some sort of stick trick when he was younger.”
After just three games as a Golden Eagle, Brandt had earned 14 points. This performance not only put him in the record books but also made him the Big East Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
As McNamara has mentored Brandt, he has seen not only his personal life but also his game, develop. He said that Brandt’s growth mindset will be key to his current and future success in the sport.
“Watching him now, there’s always something he’s improving on. You can tell he has such a passion for the sport which is going to take him far,” McNamara said. “One thing he’s going to start to see is that teams are going to start to do different things, he has to let the game come to him.”
As the season continues, so will the pressure on his overall performances. But Stimmel said his path to success will be through a continuation of what’s gotten him this far: Staying hungry and following his older teammates.
“He just has to keep his head down and stay humble and that’s exactly who he is,” Stimmel said. “Without the guys empowering him to be the kind of player he is, we feel really good about him. He will follow in the footsteps of those older guys.”
This story was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.
