This article appears in the March edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

Since the day he was named the head coach for the team that will represent the United States in the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, Regy Thorpe has been focused on expanding its pool of players.

With just a handful of Americans currently competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), Thorpe is trying to convert field players to the box game, hoping for success stories like 2017 NLL Rookie of the Year Tom Schreiber.

Thorpe evaluated 40 U.S. hopefuls during an energetic Blue-White exhibition held during the US Lacrosse Convention in Baltimore in late January. A capacity crowd inside the DuBurns Arena saw the White team edge the Blue team 13-12 behind four goals from Blaze Riorden and three goals from Marcus Holman, both members of the 2015 U.S. indoor team that won bronze.

Others also had indoor experience — like Mitch Belisle of 2017 NLL champion Georgia and longtime NLL veterans Roy Colsey and Anthony Kelly — but many more players had limited to no box experience.

“We’re going to scour every nook and cranny and leave no stone unturned,” Thorpe said.

The players are not only looking toward the U.S. team in 2019, but also to open up potential new opportunities in the NLL with the league adding expansion franchises in Philadelphia and San Diego next year.

Here are five who stood out.

Joe Fletcher

A fundamentally sound field defender, Fletcher showed he could play the box transition game, hooking up for a fast-break goal with former Loyola teammate Scott Ratliff.

Matt McMahon

Schreiber, McMahon’s MLL teammate, and U.S. veteran Joel White referred McMahon to Thorpe — and the 6-foot- 4, 225-pound defender did not disappoint.

Myles Jones

Another player with big size, Jones made his presence felt. Playing box for the first time, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound field midfielder turned box forward muscled his way to the goal on a few occasions and scored once.

He’s definitely got the build and the drive,” said Thorpe, who noted that a couple of NLL teams reached out to him after the game inquiring about Jones, among others. “He was learning on the fly and he’s super coachable.”

Ryan Walsh

The former Colgate attackman had a rough introduction to the box game, getting his helmet knocked off a couple of times and getting into a little skirmish with box veteran Bill O’Brien, but he impressed the coaches with his tenacity.

“Billy got after him pretty good, but right before that, he had taken out Billy,” Thorpe said. “He’s got a big body and he played physical.”

Walsh had goals wiped out by a crease violation and a moving pick.

Dylan Donahue

The former Syracuse star scored three goals. “He played the two-man game really well,” Thorpe said. “He squares up nicely and puts himself in a position to get a good shots. He had five or six shots and he scored on three of them.”