UMBC midfielder Pat Young is transferring to play his senior year elsewhere, men's lacrosse coach Don Zimmerman said Wednesday morning.
The news was first reported Tuesday night by Recruiting Rundown, which also reported that Young was transferring to Maryland. Terps coach John Tillman did not respond to a request for comment.
Zimmerman acknowledged that he was a little surprised by Young's decision to leave the Retrievers.
"Pat came to me and said he wanted to transfer," Zimmerman said. "I wished him well, and we're excited to move forward with the guys we have coming back and our incoming freshman class."
Zimmerman declined to elaborate further on their conversation or the specific reasons behind Young's move.
Young's decision is a blow for UMBC, which went 5-8 overall and a 1-5 in the America East last season and missed the conference tournament for the first time since joining the league for the 2004 campaign.
Young ranked second on the team in goals (21) and points (29) and was tied for third in assists (eight). With five goals and one assist in the team's 18-7 rout of Lafayette on March 27, he became just the eighth player in the school's Division I history to record 100 points by his junior season.
In addition to Young, the Retrievers will have to replace a pair of starters on offense in attackman Conor Finch (eight goals and nine assists) and midfielder Ty Kashur (three assists).
Young's transfer figures to open the door for players like freshman Max Haldeman (1 G, 2 A), Steven Partlow (1 G) and Mason Witzler (1 A) to possibly join junior Jack Gannon (17 G, 8 A) and sophomore Dylan McDermott (5 G, 4 A) as projected starters in the midfield.
"We're moving forward with the guys we have coming back, and we're excited about it," Zimmerman said.
If Young does transfer to the Terps, his move would appear to benefit an offense that graduated midfielder Joe LoCascio (29 G, 15 A). The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Young would be a powerful dodging presence from the top of the offensive zone and could slide into the first midfield with juniors Bryan Cole (17 G, 22 A) and Henry West (20 G, 7 A).
Maryland finished 15-4 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten Conference and fell to Denver in the NCAA tournament final on Memorial Day at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.