RVC Native Polanco Inducted Into Pro Lacrosse Hall Of Fame

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — Nicky Polanco, a former standout lacrosse player at Oceanside High School and Hofstra University, will soon be inducted into the Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

The Rockville Centre native was among 11 players named to the inaugural class of the professional league’s highest honor, the Premier Lacrosse League announced Tuesday.

Polanco joins Mark Millon, Casey Powell and John Grant Jr. at attack, Jay Jalbert, Gary Gait and Matt Striebel at midfield, John Gagliardi and Pat McCabe at defense, Paul Cantabene at face-off, and Brian Dougherty in goal in the star-studded first class for the Pro Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony is Sept. 19 during PLL Championship weekend in Washington.

The Bridgeport Barrage selected Polanco fourth-overall in the 2002 MLL Collegiate Draft, and he enjoyed a nine-year professional career in which he won MLL titles in 2004 with the Philadelphia Barrage and 2012 and 2013 with the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

Polanco was named MLL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. He also suited up for the Long Island Lizards from 2005-2011, and played the final four games of his career in 2015 with the New York Lizards. After his final MLL season in 2015, Polanco ranks 10th all-time in ground balls with 480.

Polanco graduated in 1997 from Oceanside High School, where he led the Sailors’ boys’ lacrosse program to its first county championship in 1996. He earned an Honorable Mention All-American as a junior and First Team All-American in his senior season, according to the high school’s Hall of Fame website.

Polanco graduated in 2002 from Hofstra, where he was a two-year letterwinner on defense for the Pride in 2001 and 2002. He was named a USILA All-America honorable mention as a junior before earning All-America first team honors his senior season. He was named All-CAA Second Team after recording one goal, three assists, and 70 ground balls in 2001, and he was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year in 2002 as a senior after tallying two goals, three assists and 73 ground balls.

Polanco was inducted into the Long Island Metropolitan Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame in 2015.