Hicksville native Keith Cromwell ended his lacrosse career as the leading scorer in Rutgers University history and on March 1, Cromwell’s legacy was cemented as he was named to the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame.
“I never imagined something like this, being inducted into the Long Island Hall of Fame after growing up here in Hicksville. It was a humbling experience,” said Cromwell, who moved back to Hicksville in 2006.
Cromwell, a two-time team captain at Rutgers, finished his lacrosse career (1998-2001) with 114 assists and 152 goals and was a three-time USILA All-American with First Team honors in 2001. The attackman sits atop the Scarlet Knights’ leaderboard in myriad categories – no easy feat considering that the lacrosse program has been in existence for more than 100 years.
The former Hicksville Comet graduated from Rutgers with a degree in labor relations and then entered Major League Lacrosse (MLL) with the Long Island Lizards, winning “Rookie of the Year” in 2001, and played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) with the Philadelphia Wings.
Cromwell went on to earn a master’s degree from Long Island University in childhood education and has passed on his knowledge of the game as a coach at Manhasset High School, Yale University and Rutgers.
Rutgers lacrosse coach Brian Brecht called Cromwell “one of the best players in program history” and described him as a “very energetic and passionate” student-athlete.
Cromwell currently runs his own lacrosse and training program, KC7 Lacrosse, at The Sports Addiction facility in Farmingdale and is considering getting back into the high school lacrosse scene as a coach. For more information, email keithcromwell@yahoo.com.
