Professional lacrosse players are taller on average than the general population.
This article breaks down the average heights by position in the two professional leagues, the NLL and the PLL.
I also look at how the players stack up against other professional sports.
It’s important to know that professional lacrosse players vary widely in height. If you want to take up the sport and are smaller than your friends, just work on your skills and you’ll do great.
How Tall Are Professional Lacrosse Players?
The average height of professional lacrosse players is five foot eleven inches. The indoor and outdoor professional leagues have the same average height.
The shortest players in either league were 5’6’’ and played in midfield. Tyson Roe was the tallest player at 6’10’’.
Although the average height in both leagues was the same, there was a difference in how tall players tended to be by position.
The NLL is the indoor league played on a converted ice rink. The PLL is the outdoor field lacrosse league.
Attack players and goalies in the NLL tend to be an inch taller than their counterparts in the PLL.
Faceoff specialists in the NLL were on average two inches taller than in the PLL.
However, the smallest pro players were in the NLL. These two defense players are five feet six inches:
- Mathieu Boissonneault
- Tyrell Hamer-Jackson
Heights In The NLL
The table below has the average, shortest, and tallest heights in the NLL broken down by position.
| POSITION | AVG | MIN | MAX |
| Attack | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 9″ | 6′ 4″ |
| Defense | 6′ 1″ | 5′ 6″ | 6′ 10″ |
| Faceoff | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 8″ | 6′ 7″ |
| Goalie | 6′ 1″ | 5′ 8″ | 6′ 5″ |
| Midfield | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 7″ | 6′ 7″ |
Heights In The PLL
Here are the heights in the PLL, which has a few more positions than in the NLL.
| POSITION | AVG | MIN | MAX |
| Attack | 5′ 11″ | 5′ 7″ | 6′ 6″ |
| Defense | 6′ 1″ | 5′ 8″ | 6′ 4″ |
| Faceoff | 5′ 10″ | 5′ 7″ | 6′ 2″ |
| Goalie | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 8″ | 6′ 6″ |
| Midfield | 6′ 1″ | 5′ 7″ | 6′ 5″ |
| LSM | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 9″ | 6′ 5″ |
| SSDM | 6′ 0″ | 5′ 7″ | 6′ 3″ |
There is more variability in the average height across the positions here than in the NLL. Here’s a chart of the PLL heights.
Are Lacrosse Players Taller Than The Average Person?
Let’s put this into context with the general population.
The average American male is 5’9’’, which is two inches shorter than the average height of lacrosse players.
How Do Lacrosse Players Compare With Other Sports?
Let’s take a look at how lacrosse players compare with footballers.
Here are the numbers from the NFL across various positions ordered by height:
| NFL | Ft/In |
| Running Back | 5’11” |
| Wide Receiver | 6’0” |
| Linebacker | 6’2” |
| Quarterback | 6’3” |
| Offensive Line | 6’5” |
You can try to match up the positions across the sports, but I don’t think that really works.
Instead of looking at the NFL, how about comparing lacrosse with a more niche professional sport in the United States?
Let’s take a look at rugby. You may not be aware that there is a professional rugby competition in the U.S., but it’s been running for several years.
| Position | Ft/In |
| Scrumhalf | 5’9” |
| Flyhalf | 6′ |
| Winger | 6′ |
| Center | 6’1” |
| Flanker | 6’3” |
| Lock | 6’6” |
If you’re familiar with rugby, you’ll know that I’ve left out some positions.
I just think that players in the front row of rugby scrums are so specialist that there is nothing close in lacrosse.
Who Are The Tallest Professional Lacrosse Players?
We’ve already mentioned Tyson Roe who stands at six foot then.
But there were three other players in the NLL who were six foot seven:
- Reece Callies (midfield)
- Spencer Milne (faceoff)
- Mike Triolo (varies)
Four players in the NLL were six foot six:
- Brett Craig
- Matt Marinier
- Ty Thompson
- Brock Sorenson
I mentioned that players in the PLL didn’t reach the heights of the NLL (and I’m only talking feet and inches here!).
The two tallest players in the PLL were six foot six:
- Mitch Bartolo
- Matt DeLuca
Six players in the PLL were six foot five. They include Myles Jones and Cole Williams.
Do You Need To Be Tall To Play Lacrosse Professionally?
You don’t need to be taller than the average man to play professional lacrosse.
I mentioned that two players in the NLL were 5’6’’.
Out of 112 players in the NLL, there were plenty of players who were smaller or the same as the average height in the U.S.:
| Height | Players |
| 5’6’’ | 2 |
| 5’7’’ | 1 |
| 5’8’’ | 7 |
| 5’9’’ | 28 |
The shortest player in the PLL was 5’7. Here is the breakdown by the shorter heights:
| Height | Players |
| 5’7’’ | 4 |
| 5’8’’ | 4 |
| 5’9’’ | 12 |
| 5’10’’ | 24 |
When I looked at the positions of players of shorter heights, I saw that all the positions were represented.
However, faceoff specialists were notably present at the lower heights. However, that doesn’t mean that this is the only option for smaller professionals.
Being shorter brings some unique advantages.
The lower center of gravity combined with agility makes for great fakes and rolls in attack.
And despite having a shorter reach, the shorter goalies can shift direction and cover space perhaps a fraction of a second faster.
