The Bill Belichick Effect on North Carolina Lacrosse

One is random. Two is a coincidence. Three is a trend.

Top 2025 recruit Gary Merrill (St. Anthony’s/Team 91 Long Island) confirmed on social media last week what North Carolina lacrosse coach Joe Breschi told USA Lacrosse Magazine in December — that new football coach Bill Belichick had extended him an offer to play both sports in Chapel Hill.

Then over the weekend, Belichick secured commitments from two additional crossover athletes in the Class of 2026 in Jermaine Anderson (Calvert Hall/FCA Maryland) and Crew Davis (Iona Prep/2Way).

Belichick famously loves lacrosse. He played at Annapolis High (Md.) and Wesleyan, raised his three children in the sport and often attends NCAA and PLL games. Belichick’s son, Steve, played at Rutgers. His daughter, Amanda, played at Wesleyan and is the coach at Holy Cross. He’s close friends with former Johns Hopkins coach and current North Carolina assistant Dave Pietramala, whose wedding over the summer gave Breschi a chance to reconnect with the six-time Super Bowl winner.

“What I’m really excited about is our hire of Coach Belichick,” Breschi said. “Not only the buzz around him coming, but what it does for us recruiting dual athletes.”

Breschi cited Troy Reeder (Penn State/Delaware) and Ricky Miezan (Stanford) as examples of North Carolina lacrosse commits who opted to play football elsewhere absent the opportunity to do both in Chapel Hill.

“Now that we have Belichick, he’s like, ‘Whatever you need for the lacrosse program, let me know,’” he said. “To have a lacrosse guy in that role is enormous.”

Merrill was the first domino. New York’s Gatorade Player of the Year in football, the St. Anthony’s quarterback/midfielder had already committed to North Carolina for lacrosse. He’s the consensus No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2025 behind McDonogh (Md.) attackman Brendan Millon (Virginia).

Merrill held off signing for lacrosse, however, so he could sign with North Carolina football. A 6-foot-1 quarterback, he accounted for 3,717 yards and 51 touchdowns as a rusher and passer for the CHSFL runner-up Friars.

“Part of the deal was him having a chance to play both,” Breschi said. “Luckily, Belichick is in the fold and he’s like, ‘Yeah, whatever you need.’”

Anderson plays the role of disruptor in both sports as a strong safety and long pole at Calvert Hall. He’s rated as a four-star prospect by Inside Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse Federation and signed an NLI deal with STX following a top-three finish in multiple categories at the PLL Combine over the summer.

One of the top short-stick defensive midfield prospects in the 2026 class, Davis was the MaxPreps Player of the Year in New York for football. A running back, he rushed for 1,350 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 52 passes for an additional 728 yard and seven touchdowns.