Brayden Stroh is a standout midfielder on the ADVNC NDP ‘23 team who is committed to realizing his dream of playing DI lacrosse at the United States Military Academy starting next Fall.
Stroh was introduced to lacrosse at a very young age by his dad, Brad Stroh, who played in college at Amherst. “I loved playing back East,” said Brad Stroh. “When I moved to Northern California for business school and we had our son, Brayden, I put a fiddle stick in his crib when he was a baby. We signed him up for the Firehawks as early as I could, and he started playing as a toddler.”
Stroh (right) with lifelong friends and fellow ADVNC ‘23s, George Northup (left) & JP Underwood (middle).
“I loved playing with my friends,” said Brayden Stroh. “All my good friends played … Alex Loveland, Eric Bollar, Ashton Axe, George Northup, Ari Krane. Guys I played with most of my life, and we are still friends today.”
Brayden’s younger sister, Brooke, currently a High School junior also plays lacrosse, and was constantly playing with her and brother as well. “I’m the only one in the family who doesn’t play lacrosse,” said Brayden’s mom, Brandy Stroh. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning the game, and a lot of time watching games. Saturdays are always the most exciting day because that’s when my kids’ games are. I love watching them compete and be with their friends.”
One day, Brad Stroh excitedly told Brayden that they had a “lacrosse rockstar” living in their area. “I heard Chris Rotelli lived in the Bay Area,” said Brad Stroh. “Being a lacrosse fanatic, I knew that Chris had won the Tewaaraton Award and the ACC Male Athlete of the Year award at Virginia. I remember excitedly telling Brayden about him. We were lucky enough to have Chris coaching one of Brayden’s early Firehawks teams. That was the beginning of our family’s friendship with Chris.”
Soon after, Chris invited Brayden to try-out for one of the early ADVNC teams. “I was a 4th grader when I first started playing for ADVNC,” said Brayden. “We had a super good team. We went down to our first tourney in San Diego, and blew everyone away.”
Brayden’s experience playing on the ADVNC World Series of Youth Lacrosse teams stands out in his memory. “The event was new at the time, and there was a lot of excitement and interest,” said Brayden. “We had a super talented team and great coaches with Coach Rotelli and Coach Greg Wiegel. We qualified for the main event down in Orange County in really competitive games against west teams. Then, the main tournament in Denver was the coolest tournament I’d been to. The talent level was really high and we did really well against the best teams from out east. It was awesome seeing lacrosse in the Denver Broncos stadium.”
“Chris was awesome to invite Brayden to be on that team,” said Brad Stroh. “When you look back at that team ADVNC had, almost all of those players are going to play high level college lacrosse now. But at the time, for a team from NorCal to compete with and beat the best East Coast and Canadian teams was amazing. Our kids came off that field knowing that as Californians, they could hang with anyone.”
Through the years, Brayden kept getting better at lacrosse and taking it more seriously. At some point, he knew he wanted to play in college. “Around middle school, I knew playing in college was something I really wanted to work for,” said Brayden.
Stroh is a midfielder at The Taft School.
A freshman at the Menlo School in the spring of 2020, Brayden only played one game that season due to the pandemic. “My freshman season was gone, and I was taking all online classes,” said Brayden. “That summer, I was back East, and I went to see some of the top East Coast boarding schools play each other. I knew these schools had great lacrosse and great academics, and I knew a few other people that had gone to some of these schools. That got me thinking about going to boarding school back East. Coach Bell at The Taft School reached out and I started talking to him. I was really impressed by their high level of play and I wanted to make sure I could play lacrosse that next season and be on campus at school and not just be on Zoom. It lined up perfectly for me, so I decided to attend Taft.”
Even though he goes to school in Connecticut, it was important to Brayden to continue playing for ADVNC in the summer. “All those guys I grew up with are such a fun group of guys,” said Brayden. “It’s hard to just leave that behind. Plus, I know all the coaches and feel comfortable with them and have a good bond.”
“Brayden is so dedicated, he wanted to remain loyal and keep playing with ADVNC,” said Brandy Stroh.
When Brayden’s college recruiting journey began on September 1, 2021, he relied on ADVNC and Chris Rotelli for guidance. “Coach Rotelli was super helpful,” said Brayden. “He would reach out to schools on my behalf. He’s been so supportive and helpful with my decisions and thought process.”
Stroh is committed to West Point.
“Chris has turned into a family friend,” said Brad Stroh. “A friend and mentor to Brayden. A trusted advisor to our family. The broader ADVNC community is deep and carries credibility in the lacrosse world.”
“Chris Rotelli has unconditionally supported Brayden,” said Brandy Stroh. “He would text Brad and I after games with feedback and encouragement. He has really always been Brayden’s biggest fan and Brayden knew he could always access him.”
“When I started looking at schools, I knew Army and Navy were high up on my list,” said Brayden. “I’d been interested in serving our country for awhile and they’re the premier leadership institutes we have. They are also great academic schools. But the leadership training is really interesting and will benefit me for the rest of my life.”
“We let Brayden drive the whole process,” said Brad Stroh. “He went on visits by himself. When it got down to considering West Point, Brayden encouraged Brandy and I to do our homework on the school.”
“Through the West Point coaches, Brayden connected us with 10-12 people to reach out to and learn more about West Point,” said Brandy Stroh. “Once we talked to all sorts of people connected to the school, we started to get fully on board with him going to Army. Brayden doesn’t take anything carelessly. He’s a very thoughtful person and wanted to make sure Brad and I understood his thought process.”
Brayden sought the advice of his ADVNC NDP teammates, JP Underwood (Navy Commit) and Ethan Linsay (Army Commit) as well.
“After visiting West Point, I fell in love with the campus, the coaches and their team,” said Brayden. “Their values and work ethic appeal to me personally, and everyone I talked to had great things to say about the Academy. I knew it was the right place for me.”
“The more we got to know about West Point, the more we fell in love with it,” said Brad Stroh. “Brayden’s desire for service and his willingness to sacrifice... we are incredibly proud.”
“West Point is about loyalty and Brayden is a very loyal person,” said Brandy Stroh. “He’s a really good friend and has developed many deep relationships. “He’s loyal to himself and knows he has to do the work, and dedicates himself to the work.”
Stroh met Rob Pannell at ADVNC Tahoe Overnight Camp.
Through the years, Brayden has looked up to a number of older players for inspiration and advice. Those mentors include Rotelli and former SHP and University of Denver standout Shawn Mayle, but also include great players like Rob Pannell, who he met at ADVNC Tahoe Overnight Camp, as well as Kyle Harrison.
Brayden’s advice for younger players who want to follow in his footsteps is: “stay consistent with whatever you do,” Brayden said. “In the weight room, when you shoot, your footwork drills .. and especially in the classroom. You won’t get college opportunities without good grades. In everything you do: have a routine and stay consistent with hard work .. that will get you very far.”