Seneca High School’s boys’ lacrosse program has seen quite a few brothers play for the team in its short history.
Dylan and Tyler Schulte, Tyver and Vaughn Butler, and Mike and Matt Southwick all are brothers who took the field for the Golden Eagles.
However, there is one family who has had three boys come through the Seneca program — Sean, Kevin and Ian Gray of Shamong have all made an impact on Seneca boys’ lacrosse. Sean, the oldest brother, began playing for the Golden Eagles in 2009 and just finished his college career at Wagner College in May. Kevin, the second oldest brother, played for Seneca from 2012 to 2015 and completed his first college season at Wagner. Back at home, Ian, the youngest brother, is coming off a strong sophomore season for Seneca High School, leading the team in scoring in 2016.
The Gray brothers are different ages and at different points in their life. However, through lacrosse, the three share a unique bond.
The beginning of Gray family lacrosse
Sean didn’t play lacrosse as a young child. He opted to play baseball, instead.
However, things changed in 2005, when Sean decided to try out lacrosse for the first time. He played for the South Jersey Black Storm.
“I played defense from the start,” Sean said. “The team I was on only had a few defenders. I was one of the bigger kids.”
Sean was immediately hooked on lacrosse. He enjoyed the fast-paced action of the sport, something baseball didn’t have.
“It was always interesting,” Sean said. “It’s a quicker game than the other sports I enjoyed.”
That same year, Kevin also began lacrosse, participating in the Lil’ Scoopers division of Seneca Youth Lacrosse.
“I knew baseball wasn’t for me,” Kevin said. “I was kind of the kid that was always running around and had a lot of energy.”
The combination of their love for the sport and their competitive nature made Sean and Kevin lacrosse naturals. Both spoke of playing at home and when their family would go on vacation down the Shore.
“All of us laid around the house all summer,” Sean said. “We had a stick in our hands all the times. Even on vacation we brought our sticks.”
Unlike Sean, who was a defender, Kevin became an attacker. Nevertheless, he still was motivated to become a stronger player than his brother.
“We’re definitely a competitive family in terms of me, my older brother and my younger brother,” Kevin said. “I always wanted to be one step above him.”
A few years after Sean and Kevin started with lacrosse, Ian also picked up the sport with the Seneca youth program. Like his brothers, he fell in love with the sport right away.
“My brothers were role models for me and motivating me to be the best person I can be,” Ian said.
Even with their love of lacrosse, none of the three brothers quite realized the journey they would embark on in high school.
Building blocks for Seneca High School lacrosse
Sean’s first season with Seneca was in 2009 as a freshman. He recalls joining the team and playing for a team looking to rise in prestige in South Jersey.
“I came in freshman year in 2009,” Sean said. “I think we were 8–8 and we lost in the first round of the playoffs by 15 or 16 goals.”
As the seasons went on and Sean got more experience, the Golden Eagles began to win more games. In Sean’s senior year, Seneca won 13 games and got to the semifinals of the New Jersey Group II Tournament. Gray was a big part of Seneca’s success. He twice was named to Phillylacrosse.com’s All-South Jersey team and became the first Seneca boys’ lacrosse player to be accepted to a Division I school on an athletic scholarship when he committed to Wagner College.
However, Sean’s favorite part of high school was playing with his brother Kevin. Sean was a senior when Kevin joined the Golden Eagles as a freshman.
“It was something real special,” Sean said. “I took it all in during high school because I didn’t think we’d be able to play together again.”
With Kevin leading Seneca’s offensive attack, the Golden Eagles continued to improve. They were South Jersey Group II finalists three years in a row from 2013 to 2015. Kevin went on to record more than 200 points in his high school career.
“We kind of blew past our expectations,” Kevin said. “As we went on and on, sophomore year we made the same game. Junior year, the same game. Senior year, the same game.”
In Kevin’s senior year, he got a chance to play with Ian, who was entering his freshman year. With both Kevin and Ian playing attacker, the two got to play side-by-side during the 2015 season.
“There was a lot of weight on my shoulders. I knew I had some big shoes to fill,” Ian said. “Kevin, when he was a senior and I was a freshman, he would steer me the right way and pick me up when I was down.”
Kevin said he was pumped to play with both of his brothers and found it interesting to be both the mentor to Ian and the mentee to Sean.
The final game two Gray brothers played together at the high school level was Seneca’s South Jersey Group II championship game loss to Cranford in 2015.
“That was an emotional day,” Ian said. “That car ride home was so emotional because we were not sure if we were ever going to play together again.”
After the 2015 season, it appeared unlikely any of the Grays would play on the same field again. Kevin had committed to play college lacrosse at the University of Tampa and Sean was entering his senior year at Wagner. However, a change of heart from Kevin completely changed the narrative.
Reuniting at Wagner
Prior to his freshman year, Kevin decided to back out of his commitment to University of Tampa and instead attend school at Florida Gulf Coast University and play club lacrosse. However, he decided he wanted to play at a more competitive level and, after the fall 2015 semester, looked to transfer to a Division I or Division II program.
“When I was looking to transfer, I didn’t think of Wagner at first,” Kevin said. “I looked at a couple D-1 schools and a couple D-2 schools.”
After hearing his brother was looking to transfer, Sean talked to his coaches at Wagner and convinced Kevin to take a look at the school.
“I told him, you could definitely have the talent to play for Wagner,” Sean said. “He came home one weekend in October and did an official visit with Wagner.”
After his official visit, Kevin was sold on Wagner. After thinking he wouldn’t play on the same lacrosse team as Sean again, the two would play one final season together in college in 2016.
During winter break, Sean recalls working out with his brother ahead of the 2016 season.
“We worked out together, we pushed each other throughout the winter,” Sean said.
“Playing with him at the college level, it’s basically like high school times 100,” Kevin added. “I lived in the same house with him. I was with him 24 hours a day. He got to show me the ropes.”
Both brothers said they enjoyed playing together one last season, though Sean described the year as “bittersweet.”
“I played four years and it was the perfect amount for me,” Sean said of his college career. “I’m going to miss playing with the guys. The competitiveness of the sport is something I’ll miss.”
Kevin is excited to continue playing at Wagner in 2017. While there’s no guarantee Ian will follow him to Wagner in a few years, Ian admitted the school is on his radar as he goes through the recruiting process. Ian will graduate from Seneca in 2018.
“I like the school,” Ian said. “It’s definitely a school that I’m considering. That’d be really cool.”
Maintaining family roots
Sean, Kevin and Ian are at different parts of their life. Last month, Sean graduated from Wagner with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Kevin just finished his first year in college, and Ian still has two years of high school remaining at Seneca.
Despite the age difference, the three remain close and all plan to continue practicing lacrosse together at home.
“We’ve been tight throughout the years,” Kevin said. “We love to compete with each other, but at the end of the day, we have a really tight relationship.”
All three brothers said the tightness of the Gray family is a big reason for their success on and off the lacrosse field.
“I’m thankful for my brothers for what they did for and for my parents for steering me in the right direction,” Ian said.
“(My dad) has been driving us around to summer tournaments and tryouts,” Kevin said. “I know he’ll do anything for us in that respect.”
Four years after high school, Sean still hasn’t forgotten about Seneca. He can frequently be seen on sidelines at football and lacrosse game.
“I’m back there all the time,” Sean said. “I go to as many games as I can.”
Sean said he might also consider coaching in the future to stay in lacrosse, leaving the door open for another chapter to be written in the Gray family’s story within the sport.
