Syracuse lacrosse bolsters defense with Gettysburg transfer Mitch Wykoff

Syracuse lacrosse lost a top cover defender to the pros, but the Orange has made up some serious ground with Gettysburg transfer Mitch Wykoff.

Defenseman Mitch Wykoff, one of the premier transfer prospects across Division II and III, has elected to transfer to Syracuse lacrosse for his final season on the field.

Ty Xanders, the director of recruiting for Inside Lacrosse, revealed this exciting development via Twitter. The 6-foot-2 Wykoff just wrapped up his senior stanza at Gettysburg, a Division III program.

Wykoff, whose hometown is in Fairfield, Conn., will receive an additional term of eligibility stemming from the NCAA’s decision to give student-athletes in sprint sports one more season, if they choose, after the 2020 campaign got abruptly halted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Per Inside Lacrosse’s Dan Kaplan, Wykoff is the No. 2 player in his NCAA transfer-portal rankings of the top-30 DII/DIII guys. This is what Kaplan had to say about Wykoff.

“Mitch is a plug-in defenseman in any spot at any level. His skillset is incredibly versatile and coach Hank Jancyk’s staff loves to empower him to play instinctually. He’s great on the wings of face-offs, takes on the task of guarding the other teams best dodger, is sure handed with his stick skills in the clear, and if you don’t pick him up in transition he will make you pay. In 2019, Wykoff picked up 92 groundballs, had 23 caused turnovers and logged nine goals as a close defenseman guarding the other teams strongest offensive threat. At 6-2 205 and extremely athletic, Wykoff will make a great addition to any defensive unit.”

Wykoff’s excellent skills and talent as a defender bode well for the Orange, which recently saw elite cover defender Nick Mellen elect to forgo an extra year of eligibility at the ‘Cuse in favor of beginning his pro journey. Last week, the Boston Cannons picked Mellen fourth overall in the Major League Lacrosse Draft.

According to his bio on the Gettysburg athletic department’s Web site, Wykoff served as a team captain during the 2020 term and also got selected by Inside Lacrosse as a member of the pre-season All-America second unit.

The news of Wykoff’s transfer to Syracuse comes only a day or two after Orange midfielder Jared Fernandez, a rising senior who has two years of eligibility remaining, decided to transfer to Johns Hopkins and compete for its new coach, Peter Milliman. Inside Lacrosse has slotted the 5-foot-7 Fernandez as the No. 1 underclass transfer.

With regards to Wykoff, welcome to the ‘Cuse family, Mitch!