Swarm's New Era Begins
NLL Georgia Swarm

Swarm's New Era Begins

Published on November 26, 2025 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Georgia Swarm News Release


The Georgia Swarm head to Buffalo on Saturday, November 29, for a 7:30 p.m. NLL season opener against the defending champion Buffalo Bandits, stepping into one of the toughest atmospheres in the league with a roster that looks-and feels-different from years past. It's not a rebuild. As Head Coach Ed Comeau said, "We are retooling around a core that still features Lyle Thompson, Jordan MacIntosh, Shayne Jackson, Bryan Cole, Adam Wiedemann, Jeff Henrick, and Kason Tarbell," but the core is now surrounded by one of the youngest, biggest, and most athletic supporting casts the Swarm have assembled in a decade. Sixteen first-round picks appear on the roster, eighteen including dispersal selections, and many of them will be thrown directly into meaningful minutes. "There's just a contagious energy with these guys," Comeau said. "The vets feel it. The coaches feel it. It's real."

The biggest buzz of camp has been 21-year-old forward Nolan Byrne, a 6'3 ‚¬Â³ scoring threat who shoots from range, uses his size well, and already flashes an elite-level offensive feel. Internally, the comparison that keeps surfacing is Bandits star Josh Byrne-not a nickname Nolan asked for, but one his game keeps earning. He joins a loaded left side with Bryan Cole, Shayne Jackson, Richie Connell, and Zach Miller, creating genuine competition for touches and minutes. Comeau said the depth on that side has "raised the pace and pushed everyone to elevate," a theme that has carried throughout camp.

Rookie defender Ben Trumble has also turned heads with his versatility, rattling opposing offensive players with his physicality and smart positioning. He's played defense, taken shifts on offense, and even tested his hand at face-offs, proving he's a player willing to do whatever the team needs. Transition rookie Jeremy Phoenix adds more speed to the mix, playing bigger than his frame and competing for a rotation spot throughout camp.

Second-year defender Jacob Hickey might be the internal breakout candidate of the year. After appearing in nine games last season, he showed up this fall playing faster, stronger, and everywhere at once-loose balls, transition pushes, body-on-body defense, all of it. Teammates have been talking about him all week, with some viewing him as a future leader for a roster full of players in their early 20s. The Swarm believes Hickey's jump is a major piece of their defensive evolution.

On the back end, Georgia's size is impossible to miss. Nearly every defender stands between 6'2 ‚¬Â³ and 6'6 ‚¬Â³, and the group plans to use that length to play loose, athletic, and aggressive-similar to the young, fast defenses that carried Saskatchewan and Albany deep in recent postseasons. Michael Grace returns from Syracuse and a standout PLL summer, bringing more length and physicality, while rookie forward Richie Connell has impressed with his finishing touch and willingness to battle inside.

All of it funnels toward fourth-year goaltender Brett Dobson, who enters the season with a renewed edge after a year he felt didn't meet his own standard. He's locked in on climbing toward the league's new benchmark-an 80% save percentage that separates good from elite. With a tightened and more athletic defense in front of him, the Swarm expects Dobson to settle quickly and steer what could be the most cohesive unit they've iced in years.

Offensively, everything still runs through Lyle Thompson. It's his first season without his brothers beside him, but he remains the engine of the Swarm attack and has already begun syncing with the younger players around him. Playing with Lyle requires an adjustment-his pace, his reads, his unpredictability-but the rookies have embraced it, and Comeau said Lyle's leadership this camp has been "as impactful as his skill."

Saturday night in Buffalo is a test-arguably the harshest in the league-against a Bandits squad raising a banner and getting rings and that score in bunches and punishes every mistake. But for the first time in several seasons, the Swarm enters with length, youth, speed, and real internal momentum. This is a team betting on its young core, a team building a new identity, and a team ready to see how quickly all that potential can translate into one of lacrosse's loudest buildings.

Georgia's new era starts now.

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