HAMPTON
JT Giles-Harris was not all that familiar with the greater Hampton population when he started at the school, but as one of the most recognizable players in college lacrosse in 2021, he was plenty familiar to everyone else. A stalwart on John Danowski’s Blue Devils defense, Giles-Harris spent the summer and fall contemplating his future in lacrosse.
At the same time, Hampton coach and former professional lacrosse star Chazz Woodson was looking to make a splash hire. Woodson, who joined Hampton in the summer of 2020, wanted to give an up-and-coming coach a chance to start his career with the Pirates.
Giles-Harris met with Woodson in the fall and the latter offered the former a chance to join his program as an assistant. The former Duke star had other coaching options, but he chose Hampton as his destination — the only Division I HBCU men’s lacrosse program. He now lives in an apartment 10 minutes away from campus.
“I would love it, 20-30 years from now, to be able to look back and say, ‘He started at Hampton,’” Woodson said. “I think this is a place where you can come and prove yourself and then go on and keep coaching.”
Bringing Giles-Harris in is just a small part of a master plan that Woodson had worked on for the better part of two years. In the more than six seasons since Hampton elevated from the club level to a Division I program, Hampton has seen multiple coaching changes and instability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodson, a native of the Hampton Roads area, returned home looking to bring the program consistency, and eventually lift it to new heights. He speaks of future top recruits considering Hampton. He hopes for a world in which the Pirates can compete with Maryland and Syracuse.
“We need to have more candid conversations with top-level guys that are really willing to consider it,” Woodson said. “In order for us to get to where we need to be, we need to be in every Black player's list of considerations, unless Hampton's just not for them. We need to get to a point where they are genuinely considering us as an option.”
However lofty his goals are, Woodson said he knows the process of becoming a legitimate Division I contender will take time. His program needs to win and attract recruits that believe they can win with Woodson’s program. Hampton has yet to beat a Division I opponent but has found success against Division II and III teams.
Hampton’s recent announcement that it will join the Colonial Athletic Association, just a year after joining the Southern Conference, serves as a step forward for a program that has competitive aspirations. The Pirates won’t compete for a CAA title immediately, but they can now envision a future in which they can. That vision can be translated to recruits across the country.
“It’s a chicken or the egg thing,” he said. “Do we get to a place where we are successful and the recruits come? Or do the recruits build it? That’s where we are right now. We have plenty of interest, and moving to the CAA level helps. If we can get guys at the CAA level, then all of the sudden, the picture changes.”
In the meantime, the Hampton men’s lacrosse program, and in the same vein UDC men’s lacrosse, continues to serve as an inspiration to Black lacrosse players across the country. No matter the skill level, many Black children have watched the these programs and been inspired.
Woodson doesn’t need to look far to find a product of that inspiration. Current Hampton assistant and 2020 graduate Kevin Mondy Jr., a Dallas native who stood in the cage for four seasons for the Pirates, credits a trip to Howard University in the fall of 2014 for the inspiration to join the Hampton men’s lacrosse team.
Mundy Jr. and members of his Hillcrest High School team were granted the opportunity to attend an “HBCU Gameday” featuring club teams from Hampton, Howard, Morehouse College and Morgan State. There he saw players that looked like him. He also connected with Lloyd Carter, who led the Hampton club team at the time.
“Going to that gameday gave me a sense of comfort,” Mondy Jr. said. “It was the first time I've seen a lot of minority players playing at the same time, on the same team. When I was around them, they welcomed me automatically like family. I got a lot of phone numbers with guys saying, ‘If you ever need anything, no matter what school you're going to, I'm always here.’”
Among those staying in touch was Carter, who offered Mondy Jr. a chance to join the Hampton program as it transitioned to Division I. Four years later, he finished his career as a three-year starter for the Pirates, setting the program record with 18 saves in one game.
His senior season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he had already made a lifetime's worth of connections and memories. He played the sport he loved as a Division I athlete, and he did so in an environment that made him feel at home, even if it was thousands of miles from Dallas. His teammates helped him with classes, internships and simply navigating life at an HBCU.
When it came time to make a decision about his future, Mondy Jr. was interested in giving back at a place that gave him so much. Woodson approached him about transitioning to a graduate assistant position, and Mondy Jr. spent little time contemplating his next move.
“The game has done a lot for me, so I wanted to give back how it has given to me,” he said. “It was my duty.”
Mondy Jr. hasn’t just bought into the team culture at Hampton. Just like his head coach, he aspires to elevate the program to greater heights.
“The dream is playing on Memorial Day Weekend,” he said. “For us short term, it’s getting a couple Division I wins under our belt this season and showing younger guys that they can come to Hampton and they can help build the foundation.”
The first step is introducing Hampton to lacrosse played at best. Giles-Harris is in the prime of his lacrosse career and is helping mentor those within the Hampton program who’ve never experienced the level of lacrosse he’s played both at Duke and in the U.S. men’s national team player pool.
With Giles-Harris and Woodson, Hampton boasts one of the more star-studded staffs in the nation.
“These guys want to win and improve, but they weren’t exposed to how to do that the best way,” Giles-Harris said. “At a bigger program, they know how to win within the game, because we all grew up playing in different hotbeds against top talent. Once they get exposed, the sky is the limit.”