FAIRFAX – When Kolton Gillilan graduated from BFA-Fairfax in 2021, he wasn’t sure he’d step on a lacrosse field again; he’d torn his ACL at the end of the high school season and had a long road to recovery. Unbeknownst to Gillilan, he had a college lacrosse career right around the corner.
Gillilan began playing for the Husson University Men’s Lacrosse team in 2023 and has played in 28 games, tallying a career total of 43 points.
On the academic end, Gillilan, a Small Business and Entrepreneurship Major, has a 4.0 GPA and is eligible to be nominated for All-Academic All-American. Husson offers a one-year MBA program, and Gillilan has the option to play a fourth year of lacrosse and get his Masters.
Kolton Gillilan returned to the lacrosse field with full strength and confidence in the 2024 season after ACL surgery
Q&A with Kolton Gillilan
How did you end up playing lacrosse at Husson University? After high school graduation and the ACL injury, I wasn’t planning to play college sports, so I committed to the University of Tennessee. Getting surgery was hard with COVID, and I ended up coming back to Vermont in November 2021 for knee surgery. The week before I came home, I got a call from the Husson men’s Lacrosse head coach. My former BFA-Fairfax teammate Max Sturm went to Husson and walked onto the lacrosse team. The coach was recruiting, and Max suggested he reach out to me. Coach asked me to come for a visit, which I did the weekend before my surgery. I had a lot going on, but I applied. I got an offer back with lots of academic scholarship money. I sat down with my parents, and we agreed it made sense. I moved to Husson on January 15, 2022.
I was still on crutches and a brace and the first semester was rough, but I liked the smaller school. I redshirted with the lacrosse team and was the team manager that spring. I watched the plays, learned a lot about the team, got good grades, and made the Dean’s List that year.
How did you get back to the game after your surgery? After I recovered, I started playing in a league at the University of Vermont alongside some talented players. Last year was my first year on the field. I didn’t get a lot of minutes, which I expected as a new player, but I learned, observed, and did what I could. I ended the season with nine goals and two assists.
What did you take away from overcoming adversity with your ACL? My initial rehab plan wasn’t for sports because sports weren’t on my mind. Making that switch was something I was proud I could do, and it came with a lot of help. Those first three weeks after surgery were tough, and it took a lot from my family to help me. I feel like it helped me grow up–planning doctor’s visits, working on rehab, and moving twice. It showed me a bigger picture and helped me appreciate things I might not have appreciated in high school.
How did things change for you this lacrosse season? This season was very successful for me. I put in the work last summer, and my knee finally felt 100 percent. When fall ball started, I was pushing to be a starter on attack, which was my goal. The coach told me what to work on and how I could most benefit the team.
We had a double header scrimmage against American International College and St. Joe’s. I started at attack, got three goals, and got my confidence up in myself and in my knee. After fall ball, I was on Coach’s radar, and I finished the season with 28 goals
What have you loved about college lacrosse? I love the guys; we’re a brotherhood. Our attack group is solid, talented, and great people. I like that I’m not just a number to my coach or my teammates. Being part of the team keeps me very level-headed, in shape, and accountable.
Taking that jump from high school to college lacrosse is crazy. The pace of play is much faster and more creative; you see a lot of skills you’d never see in high school. In college, everyone is there because they want to be there, and they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t have a high level of commitment. I’ve always been competitive, and playing with others who are talented pushes me even more; D3 players have so much grit.
What’s your most memorable moment in your college lacrosse career? I’ll never forget when I got back on the field and realized I could play again. I remember getting ready in the locker room and realizing I was going back out. I scored my first college goal in my first college game, which was pretty memorable.
How did your time at BFA-Fairfax prepare you for college lacrosse? I decided to play lacrosse my freshman year of high school. I wasn’t good, but I liked the adrenaline and the fast pace. Jenn Gomo and Dave Adams were coaching for BFA-Fairfax, which was a new program, and many of us had never played. They took me from zero to where I was my senior year, and that was a huge transition. When the opportunity arose to play in college, I knew I could do what needed to be done to improve every year.
Who has been inspirational to you as you’ve grown with this game? Everyone says that you owe it to yourself when you play a sport, and I agree that’s true, but I’d say the main drive for me is the people around me. I love my parents, Matthew and Samantha, and my twin brothers Braydon and Brandon look up to me, and their support means so much.
Do you have wise words? I was just an everyday kid from Fairfax who tried to do what I could to stay active, play sports, and hang out with friends. Knowing my mindset in high school proves that anyone can do it. You’ll have to put in the work, but you don’t have to call it quits.
