Kael Wu: Limitless Lacrosse Player

Wu began playing lacrosse early, and he recalls being conscious of his inexperience: “I started lacrosse when I was nine years old in fourth grade so I’ve been playing for eight years now. I remember when I was just starting, everyone else felt like they’d been playing for so many more years than me.” He continued, “When you’re just picking up a stick, every season is important to your growth and it’s easy to feel discouraged at the difference in experience.” Now, he says that “looking back after eight years of lacrosse, I’m realizing that now I’m the kid that’s been playing for forever.”

Wu’s connections to Hopkins Lacrosse go back further than his time as a student. He said, “My first lacrosse experience with Hopkins was when I met the former head coach, Scott Bartush, at a clinic. I also met Zach Bleil ’22 for the first time who was last year’s captain. I remember I was in eighth grade at the time and Zach completely steamrolled me.” He continued, “It was a pretty memorable moment. Definitely something that I still think about.”

As captain, Wu reported that “My tangible responsibilities are running the defense and organizing our [defensive schemes] and positioning live throughout the game. And then there are my more abstract responsibilities, like keeping the team positive and motivated.” Head Coach Conor Shanahan said of Wu, “He possesses quiet confidence and is the type of captain who leads by his actions, letting his strong play on the field do his talking and – in parallel – inspiring his teammates to want to achieve his level of play.” Kelly added, “Kael leads by example on the field, and consistently looks for ways to improve his teammates in any way possible.” Teammate Eli Ratner ‘24 noted, “he brings a lot of experience to the sport. He has been playing lacrosse his whole life and has an invaluable amount of knowledge to share with the team.”

Wu said of his play style, “[It] focuses mostly on fundamentals. Being a technically sound player allows the flashier things to come more naturally. Things I do sometimes look unnecessarily fancy, but at its core I’m able to do them because my foundations are strong.” He continued, “As a defender, it’s important that … the team [and I] all have good fundamentals. Those concrete cores create a cohesive team of six on defense.” Ratner said, “[Wu’s]  play style is very balanced. He does a great job at leading the defense and has great fundamental skills while also making many jaw-dropping plays.” Kelly remarked, “Kael has a creative, crafty play style that is fun to watch and play with.” Shanahan added, “With his incredible speed and elusiveness – complemented by his physicality and smooth stick skills – Kael is one of the most highly-versatile Long-Stick Midfielders I have seen in my years around the game of lacrosse.” He continued, “Kael has started every game since his first year at Hopkins and is a force in our conference, named First-Team All-Conference in 2022. He is a naturally gifted athlete who brings that ‘X-Factor’ to our defense and can take over a game at any moment.”

Wu said his goals for the season are “to have the defense not let up more than seven goals a game, and another would be to hopefully get a goal once a game.” For the team, Wu said he hoped “to win the FAA [championship] this year [and] to develop our younger players to set them up for a great season next year.” Shanahan concluded, “It is a privilege to coach such a high-caliber player like Kael, and I am honored to serve as his head coach during his final season at Hopkins.”