Albany men’s lacrosse’s Seth Oakes thrives after transferring from OCC
Courtesy of Bill Ziskin | UAlbany Athletics
Seth Oakes wanted to play at Albany since he was in ninth grade. His dream took a little longer to become reality than he hoped, but the OCC transfer has found success with the Great Danes.
Flurries dusted Vidas Field in Philadelphia as Seth Oakes emerged from behind the cage. He absorbed check after check before faking a pass to the wing. Then he dropped his shoulder, pushed off his defender and netted a goal over two defenders while falling backward.
Later in the game, he cut toward the middle and split two defenders to catch a Lyle Thompson pass near the crease. He showed his catch-and-finish ability when he slung it behind his back for the score.
First Division I game: Check. Two behind-the-back scores: Check. Four-goal day: Check. Oakes, a junior college transfer, was putting on a clinic in his Albany debut.
“It was just one of those moments where the last two and a half years at community college and online classes and all that stuff, kind of just made it worth it,” said Ky Tarbell, Oakes’ teammate at Salmon River (New York) High School, Onondaga Community College and now Albany. “We just kind of soaked it in.”
In that game last February, a 15-8 Albany win over Drexel, Oakes began a 32-game goal streak he has yet to break. In just his first game with the Great Danes, he showed the skills that have made him one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the country.
This year, Oakes leads Albany in goals (43) and ranks eighth in the country in scores per game (2.87), earning him first team America East All-Conference honors. Last month, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound attack was named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list. On Sunday, he’ll lead the unseeded Great Danes (12-3, 6-0 America East) into a matchup with No. 8 seed Syracuse (11-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
Before notching 54 goals in his first year at Albany, before he became his team’s leading scorer in 2016, Oakes was lost in his recurring thoughts about quitting lacrosse.
He was recruited by Albany in ninth grade, and it quickly became his dream school. The Thompson trio, his good friends and teammates, were going to play there. Oakes followed their paths by playing for the Iroquois Nationals. For years, Oakes had it planned out: He’d graduate Salmon River and play with them at Albany.
Courtesy of Bill Ziskin | UAlbany Athletics
But his SAT score and grades held him from donning the Albany purple and gold. So Oakes ended up at Onondaga Community College instead, where he could improve his grades and become Division I eligible.
“When times would get tough, I’d say, ‘Oh my god, I don’t want to do this anymore,’” Oakes said. “It was just a back and forth argument in my head.
“‘Why am I not there (at Albany) when I should be there?’” he’d ask himself. “My mind was set on being there at a certain time, and I wasn’t there.”
MORE COVERAGE:
- Everything you need to know about Albany before Sunday’s game
- Syracuse reacts to drawing the Great Danes in first round
- Beat writers break down the NCAA tournament field
Oakes spent five semesters at OCC and played one season, 2013, for head coach Chuck Wilbur. In eight games, Oakes scored 46 points on 22 goals and 24 assists, helping the Lazers win the 2013 junior college national championship.
He’s built like a pitbull and uses his brute strength and stick skills to shine, Wilbur said. In that 2013 season, Oakes played with Tarbell and Syracuse’s Tim Barber and Randy Staats, all of whom helped groom Oakes.
“It’s not like Seth was the man every day, and I think that made him better,” Wilbur said. “He was going against Division I competition every day in practice and getting pushed to become a better player.”
But Oakes always had his mind set on Albany. He wanted to play for three years there, so he redshirted in 2014. He used that time to focus in the classroom.
During his second year at OCC, Oakes took an African music class. Tarbell remembers seeing Oakes at the kitchen table in their apartment one day, studying singers and musical instruments for about an hour and a half.
It was the first time I'd ever seen him study for an exam. We never studied, we just pretty much winged it. That's when I really knew he was focused on coming (to Albany).Ky Tarbell
After redshirting, Oakes returned to OCC for a fifth semester in the fall to ensure he would be eligible to play at Albany in the spring. He completed the necessary academic requirements and enrolled at Albany in January of 2015.
In his rookie season, Oakes totaled seven four-goal games and 14 multi-goal contests, including a career-high six goals versus Binghamton. He notched two goals and an assist in the Great Danes’ NCAA tournament win at Cornell last season.
Oakes withdrew from Albany in fall 2015 for personal reasons, which he said had trickled into his mind last season. He lived at his home in Akwesasne, New York, a Mohawk Nation territory near the Canadian border. He declined to elaborate.
But what he’s had on his mind since ninth grade — playing for Albany for a championship — can become a reality with a win over SU and a run through the NCAA tournament. He’s transitioned from his role as solely a goal scorer to someone the offense runs through.
“Seeing him progress,” Tarbell said, “it’s pretty crazy just watching him get better and better and taking on a bigger role.”
He’s playing some of the best lacrosse in his career, at the school he dreamed of. And without his progress, realizing either of those ideals wouldn’t have been possible.
Published on May 14, 2016 at 8:23 pm
Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21
Related Stories
- Syracuse men's lacrosse opponent preview: What to know about Albany
- Syracuse men's lacrosse reacts to upcoming NCAA tournament matchup with Albany
- How Syracuse men’s lacrosse adopted the faceoff culture
- Brandon Mullins never wanted the spotlight, but now he's the focal point of Syracuse's defense
- Men’s lacrosse NCAA tournament 2016: Breaking down the field