Burlington lacrosse star Callum Jones signs with New York Riptide

The New York Riptide have signed Callum Jones to a two-year contract, adding to their strong ties to Burlington.

Jones was selected third overall in the National Lacrosse League draft earlier this month. He joins a Riptide team that already includes fellow Burlington natives Dan Lomas, Matt Marinier and Brent Noseworthy, as well as former Burlington Jr. A players Kevin Brownell and Dan MacRae, now both part of the Jr. A Blaze coaching staff.

The 25 year-old played with the Oakville Rock this summer, helping the team win Ontario senior B championship. He had three goals and six assists in 11 regular-season games.

“Callum is exactly what we were looking for in this year’s draft,” said Riptide general manager Rich Lisk. “He’s a tough, experienced defender who we believe can step into the lineup and make an immediate impact. We’re excited to see what he will do on this new look Riptide back end.”

Jones played five seasons of junior lacrosse with the Burlington Chiefs (now Blaze), earning the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League defensive player of the year award in 2018.

Though he took on a defensive role in box lacrosse, Jones played midfield at Norwich University and finished second on the team in both goals (47) and points (78) in 19 games during the 2021 season.

A dual-sport athlete, Jones also played hockey at Norwich.

Two other Burlington players were selected in the NLL draft. Fresh off a Minto Cup victory with his hometown team, Blaze captain Andrew Vradenburg was selected in the third round, 48 th overall, by the Halifax Thunderbirds.

Vradenburg played three seasons with the Blaze, scoring nine goals and adding 18 assists in 65 games. The 20-year-old won a gold medal with Canada at the World Junior Lacrosse Championships in 2022, where he finished with a goal and two assists in four games to finish fourth among defenders in scoring.

Vradenburg signed a one-year deal with Halifax on Friday.

Three picks after Vradenburg, Las Vegas chose Burlington’s Luke Robinson. Robinson played four years at Jacksonville University where the midfielder had three goals and 13 assists in 32 games.

Robinson, 23, played three seasons of Jr. B lacrosse with the Hamilton Bengals, leading the league with 57 goals in 16 games in 2019. Over his career, he had 119 goals and 226 points in 54 games.

Four other players who played junior lacrosse in Burlington were also selected in the draft: Matt Wright, 13th overall by San Diego; Nicholas Volkov, 14th overall by Albany; Thomas Kiazyk, 20th overall by Saskatchewan and Luke Pilcher, 24th overall by Las Vegas.