Robert Morris announced Monday that 2018 graduate Jimmy Perkins will be returning to the program for his seventh year of eligibility — one of the many unique circumstances created after the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 spring sports season.
He's back for an unprecedented run.
— RMU Lacrosse (@RMUMLacrosse) August 31, 2020
Welcome back to the program, @Jimbo_Slice_4! #ColonialPride | | #EarnItEveryDay pic.twitter.com/TGN4AYACE8
Perkins joins Adam Charalambides of Rutgers as the only two NCAA Division I seventh-year student-athletes in men's lacrosse. Perkins previously spent four seasons (2015-18) at Robert Morris before transferring to Utah to pursue a Master's degree in real estate development. In two seasons with the Utes, Perkins recorded 42 goals and 10 assists.
In the abbreviated 2020 campaign, he scored a team-high 18 goals, netting a season-best four of them against No. 17 Air Force. The year prior, Perkins ranked 12th nationally in man-up goals (7) and tallied five goals and an assist at No. 2 Duke. He also scored the first goal in program history on Feb. 1, 2019 against Vermont.
"It's hard to think of an adjective to describe Jimmy Perkins returning to RMU for his seventh season," Colonials head coach Andrew McMinn said. "Jimmy entered our program in 2014 as a walk-on and no one other than him could have written the story that leads to today. After dealing with multiple injuries his first two seasons, he developed into our leading scorer while helping carry our program through our 2018 championship year. Upon graduating, Jimmy had a passion to pursue a Master's in commercial real estate, which led him to the University of Utah where he continued to excel in the classroom and on the field. To have him return as a Colonial once again is almost surreal! We are very happy for him personally and can't wait to see what he does in his final year."
Perkins missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Robert Morris due to injury. He ranks third in program history with 1.21 assists per game and owns the single-game record for assists with six on Feb. 9, 2018. He started all 18 games and earned All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Second Team and NEC All-Tournament Team recognition as a redshirt-junior. Perkins' 30 assists in 2018 are the second most in a single-season in program history, and his 61 points are rank fifth in a single season.
The Colonials also return three impact scorers from 2020 campaign in midfielder Jake Boudreau and attackmen Brandon Sulhoff and Elliot Holden.