On November 11 2020, Caleb Bennett participated in National Signing Day and committed to playing lacrosse at Ohio Northern University.

From a Lancer to a Polar Bear, Bennett thinks Ohio Northern will be a good fit for him because their engineering program and the size of the campus.

At first Ohio Northern wasn’t a part of Bennett’s list of possible schools. But after some persuasion from his dad and playing well at the University’s prospect day, Bennett was quickly on the coaches’ radar. 

“Caleb has always been a smart player. You can see him directing his teammates on the field, even when he doesn’t have the ball in his stick. He is aggressive and doesn’t quit. College coaches often say than an attacker playing tough defense after a change of possession is something that really sticks out to them, and Caleb is really good at that,” said Scott Bennett, Caleb’s father.

Scott Bennett is very proud of Caleb for working hard in the classroom, too, and never giving up.

Bennett has been playing lacrosse for 11 years and has been on the Linganore lacrosse team since his freshman year, rising to the varsity team for his sophomore and junior year. He knows that playing at the collegiate level will be a challenge, but that’s one he’s ready to face. 

Caleb Bennett has been a part of LOUYAA Rec. lacrosse, Lax Factory, and Team Maryland throughout his lacrosse career. He feels that his club team, Team Maryland, has helped to prepare him for college level playing.

“Club lacrosse is much harder than high school lacrosse because the competition is much greater. Also Maryland is one of the best areas for lacrosse, so the club competition around here is great,” said Bennett.

Rich Thompson, Linganore’s Varsity Head Coach said, “Two years ago I asked Caleb to become more assertive, not shy away from contact, and be more aggressive on the field. Looking back at the tapes from the few scrimmages from last year, you can see that transformation already starting to happen. He made it so that he was going to be a force inside him down at attack.”

At Ohio Northern, Nat St. Laurent founded the lacrosse program in 2016 and has been head coach ever since. Along with his collegiate coaching, he also is a coach for The Redwoods of the Premier Lacrosse League, a men’s professional lacrosse league.

Last season, St. Laurent coached the team to a 4-2 record before the pandemic, and the year prior, the team was 13-5.  In 2018, the Polar Bears got their first OAC Regular Season title.

Caleb Bennett just finished playing a club level fall season, and he’s starting box lacrosse, which is indoor lacrosse.

Bennett is a part of Project Lead the Way and that has inspired him to major in mechanical engineering. After graduation he hopes to get a job in the mechanical engineering field and start coaching lacrosse.