Thygerson emerges as rare college lacrosse player out of Bakersfield

Jul. 8—As recent Liberty grad Cade Thygerson gets ready to play college lacrosse, one thing he'll have to prepare for is the language barrier.

Sometimes it feels like lacrosse on the East Coast exists in another world from Bakersfield — it's on a whole different plane of competition, treated like football, Thygerson said — and even though he's going to school in California, he has to get ready to mingle with players from across the country.

For one thing, they call lacrosse sticks "twigs." For another, he said, they like to talk about "2v3 drills."

"Over here in Bakersfield," Thygerson said, "we never even heard of 2v3 drills."

Thygerson, who often finds himself having to explain the sport to local friends — he calls it a "mix of hockey, basketball and soccer" — has emerged from the relatively barren Central Valley lacrosse landscape to earn a chance to play at Dominican University of California, located in San Rafael. The Penguins compete in Division I of the West Coast Lacrosse League in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association, playing against teams like Cal and Stanford.

Though no local schools officially sponsor lacrosse, Thygerson was able to get noticed by playing on a Stockdale-affiliated Mustangs club team, one of two under the umbrella of the Bakersfield Youth Lacrosse League. He built up highlight videos and then connected with Dominican on the recruiting website Next College Student Athlete.

Thygerson's progression to the next level is a milestone for Bakersfield Youth Lacrosse, which in 2020 produced what was believed to be its first college athlete on scholarship, according to the US Lacrosse Foundation. (That was Steven Cottrell of the Garces-affiliated Rams, who apparently never ended up playing for NCAA Division III Edgewood College.)

"We have enough recognition," said Chris Orr, the current Mustangs coach, "between the league we play in and the tournament we go to, that our players are getting recognized."

Thygerson only heard about lacrosse for the first time around sixth grade, but apparently always had the look of a lacrosse player. Or at least that's what his cousin, who had friends who played it in the Air Force, told him.

This resemblance precipitated a Google search for local lacrosse clubs that led to a lacrosse career of six years and counting, featuring — with "maybe two or three teams here in the valley" — out-of-town and cross-country trips just to find other people to play against. The Mustangs and Rams take on squads from Rosemead, San Luis Obispo and Vista in the Pacific Lacrosse League.

At one point, Thygerson said, he competed on a summer United States Premier Lacrosse League team in Boston.

"I met a lot of players," Thygerson said. "I've made friends who play collegiate lacrosse for Penn State and St. Mary's and St. Joseph's, and I even have a few friends who play at the Air Force Academy."

As a three-year captain for the Mustangs, playing alongside teammates from other schools like Frontier, East and BCHS, Orr said Thygerson exhibited "the right attitude, a good physical athletic base, and just hard work and determination."

He'll have to keep that up to adapt to a new level of competition at Dominican, where he expects players to display a level of ambidexterity he hasn't seen in high school.

But Thygerson isn't just at Dominican for the lacrosse: He's eager to take part in the school's direct-admit nursing program, especially given its small student-to-faculty ratio. He said he learned about medical studies through the Kern High School District's Career and Technical Education Center, and has also played a role in taking care of his older sister Bryce, who has spina bifida.

"I like the idea of being able to help others in their darkest times," Thygerson said.

As Thygerson branches out into the collegiate world, the Mustangs and Rams will continue to battle Bakersfield's lack of awareness of the sport.

Orr was able to play football, wrestling and lacrosse growing up on Long Island. Bakersfield Youth Lacrosse, he said, does its best to accommodate multi-sport athletes — the club practices later in the afternoon — but still has to struggle with what he calls a "one-sport mentality."

However, he said has seen some progress, as the sport continues to carve out a presence within the city.

"Basically from complete obscurity," Orr said, "to now we definitely have some word-of-mouth recognition."

Lacrosse is among the fastest-growing collegiate sports in the country, and in Thygerson, Bakersfield has a rare representative at that level.

Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.