Jeremy Thompson, a top midfielder from Onondaga Community College and one of the most sought-after lacrosse prospects in the country, has been accepted to Syracuse University and was enrolled in summer classes, a university spokesman confirmed on Friday, July 10.

Thompson’s admittance to SU ends roughly two years of speculation about the recruit coming to Syracuse – a goal of his since childhood. After receiving his junior college degree, he finally had the proper qualifications to attend Syracuse with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

‘I called him up and told him how excited I was for him,’ OCC head coach Chuck Wilbur said. ‘The hard work finally paid off. All this work he’s put in for school and on the lacrosse field – he’s finally realizing a dream of his.’

Thompson received a letter from SU in early July, but waited several days to open it in order to have the moment captured on film. (Jeremy and his brother, Jerome, are the ongoing subjects of a documentary called ‘The Medicine Game,’ chronicling their lives and lacrosse careers.)

Luke Korver, the film’s director and SU alumnus, was living in Los Angeles and had to scramble to get a camera crew to Thompson’s home in the Onondaga Nation Territory. The rush was worth it, Korver said, to be able to document such an important moment in Thompson’s life.

‘The family gathered around, and Jeremy opened it,’ Korver said. ‘There were hugs. …He started calling his friends, and they were texting him. The phone has been ringing off the hook for the last few days.’

On the field, Wilbur said that Syracuse fans can expect a near immediate improvement from having Thompson in the midfield. Last spring, he was an NJCAA All-American for the national champion Lazers, tallying 20 goals and 28 assists, including three goals in the national title game.

Wilbur said he foresees Thompson’s transition into the Division I game to be much quicker than that of fellow OCC prospect Cody Jamieson, being that his style is more wide-open. Jamieson joined the Orange midway through last season and netted the winning goal in overtime of the national championship game in May.

‘What Jeremy is going to bring to Syracuse is just another weapon,’ Wilbur said. ‘He’s going to do everything in his power to make the team successful. Compared to a lot of the Native American kids, he’s got more of a field game. He’s very athletic, very fast and can run all day – he does it all. He’s a little more complete. I see him going in there and fitting in a lot easier than Cody did.’

Jerome Thompson, Jeremy’s brother, is also trying to gain admittance to Syracuse for this academic year, but is reportedly behind his brother in eligibility requirements, according to Inside Lacrosse magazine. The NJCAA offensive player of the year (65 goals and 56 assists) spent the summer in Canada playing box-style lacrosse and will try to gain admittance to SU by the midpoint of the fall semester.

But for now, at least one Thompson could be a great improvement for an Orange midfield that lost graduating seniors Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt and Matt Abbott after last season. And Thompson may be just the spark Syracuse needs for next year, coming off its second consecutive national championship.

‘He’s a kid that’s going to go in there,’ Wilbur said. ‘He’s blue collar, he’s got great fundamentals and he’s a hell of an athlete; that’s what he is.’

ctorr@syr.edu

A version of this story originally appeared on dailyorange.com on Friday, July 10.

Published on August 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm