While he’s been the starting quarterback for the Orange football team for the past two seasons, Wyatt Jones has had a goal of playing professional lacrosse.
Over the past year, the Premier Lacrosse League has become the latest underground darling among the sport’s faithful who hope it will fully establish lacrosse at the professional level.
While Jones’ professional hopes are still years away from being resolved, on Friday he officially achieved another milestone that will forever be his own.
Jones committed to Mercer University in Macon, GA. At the same time, he became the first Orange lacrosse player to commit to a Division I program.
“Wyatt is a special player,” said Orange Lacrosse Coach Chandler Zirkle, who also coached Jones on the Carolina Hilltoppers travel team. “He’s extremely competitive and works incredibly hard. I expect that he will do very well at the next level.”
Last season, Jones was voted third-team All-State as a midfielder. He helped the Panthers win a game in the state playoffs for the first time since 2015. Wearing his signature #19, Jones led the team with 39 goals. He added 17 assists and was second on the team with 56 points.
In Orange’s 17-13 victory over Northside-Jacksonville in the NCHSAA 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, Jones scored four goals. It was the second state playoff win in team history.
In his sophomore season, Jones started as a midfielder as the Panthers finished 8-7 in Zirkle’s first year as head coach. Among the highlights that season was a 16-4 win over Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham, a game where Jones finished with four goals.
Jones’ announcement came one week to the day after his last football game, where he threw for two touchdowns in the Panthers’ 30-6 victory over Chapel Hill on Senior Night at Auman Stadium. Jones went 9-of-15 for 154 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers. His final touchdown pass was a 44-yard strike to Elliott Woods, who was Jones’ favorite target this season.
This season, Jones threw for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also ran for three touchdowns for an Orange team that finished 5-6.
Jones started all eleven games for the Panthers this season on the gridiron. In the season opener against R.J. Reynolds, Jones went 9-of-19 for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Against Vance County, Jones set a career-high with 13 completions for 141 yards and a 40-yard touchdown pass to Omarion Lewis.
He also scored the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak against Walter Williams on September 13. Jones added rushing touchdowns against Southern Durham and East Chapel Hill.
Mercer started a men’s lacrosse team in 2011. It was the first such program in the state of Georgia. The Bears play in the Southern Conference against Jacksonville, Richmond, High Point, Furman, Air Force, Bellarmine, and VMI.
There are seven North Carolina prospects currently on the Mercer roster. The Bears are coached by Kyle Hannan, who will start his eighth season in February.
“Having a kid go on to do great things like that is huge for us in trying to grow a program,” Zirkle said. “It shows younger guys what is possible if they work hard.”