DANVILLE, Ky. - Senior Ryan Black knows how special hosting the Southern Athletic Association Tournament later this month will be for the Centre College lacrosse team.
"We have hosted two other times (during his career) and we definitely love the support from all the families and students that come," said Black. "Obviously it also means we don't have to travel and we can just go out and play. The only home game we have dropped this year was our opener, so playing at home is a big plus."
Centre (8-2, 3-1 SAA) plays at Berry College Saturday and then hosts Hendrix April 25 to end regular season play. Black has 128 career goals, including 29 this season. He had 49 goals in 2023 when he ranked in the top 10 of the SAA in goals per game, points per game and assists per game. He had 34 goals and 33 assists in 2024 and 16 goals and 17 assists in 2025 when he was hampered by hamstring and hand injuries. The Duluth, Ga., native is a three-time all-SAA pick.
"Ryan has been starting since he was a true freshman, at first in an off-ball/complementary role. Due to injury, he was forced into a role within our offense where the ball went through him; a 'finisher' became the decision/play-maker," Centre coach Phil Havira said. "It was the biggest game of the season, a conference matchup with Rhodes, his first action in this new role. He scored a game-high five goals and we won by one.
'The season flipped for us right there. We went on to win the regular season and conference championship and advance into the round of 32 in NCAAs. Ryan never looked back or regressed. He's never not competed in practice, loves the sport, and shows up every day. Ryan has the passion and internal drive that has made it a privilege to be able to work with him."
Football is huge in most of Georgia and Black played until sixth grade. However, he had started lacrosse in third grade when some family friends who grew up in New York convinced his parents to sign him up.
"Lacrosse has grown a bunch since I was a kid. My high school team made the Elite Eight," he said. "In my opinion, lacrosse is like soccer mixed with hockey. You get the physical aspect and I like that."
He's always been "very point oriented" during his lacrosse career but admits there was a definite learning curve about how to score.
"There is a learning curve just gaining stick skills and IQ that best suits your abilities," Black said. "I was relatively undersized compared to a lot of people when I was young and you learn to adapt. That definitely taught me how to be more creative off the ball and use my leverage and spacing to score. Once we got into high school and a lot of people were on the same playing field athletically, I had that in my bag also.
"When I got here I was playing with two other really good players. They ended up drawing a lot more attention on the attack line. It definitely gave me a bunch of freedom to open up and operate to score. Freshman year not a lot of other teams are scouting you and don't really know your tendencies. It was easy to score because we had a really talented team and I made the most of it.," Black said.
After that freshman season, opposing teams obviously knew plenty about Black's scoring ability and there were scoring opportunities he no longer had.
"You just have to adapt and do what you can," he said.
Havira says Black's intelligence on the field sets him apart from other players.
"He knows the game and he knows the best version of his game. He has plenty of physical attributes that set him apart from the competition, but he is able to leverage that with his team and situational IQ," the Centre coach said.
Black's competitive personality also helps him succeed.
"I'm competitive in pretty much every aspect of my life. I just think winning is very satisfying," he said.
He has coached youth lacrosse the last three summers and his competitive side shows then, too.
"I'll be sitting in the car after games at a tournament and think if this guy did this little thing better we would be better. I try not to nitpick but you have to know your role and I try to help these kids be the best they can be," Black said.
The Centre senior had several college offers, including Division I schools, but wanted to stay in the South because he doesn't like cold weather.
"Centre just checked a lot of boxes for me. It came down to Rhodes and Centre and I knew this was my spot after my visit," Black, an economics and finance major, said.
Black spent the fall semester studying in Strasbourg, the largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France.
"It was a super cool experience. Going in the city, biking, classes and just going out were all great," he said. "I didn't do a lot of lacrosse work. I focused on lifting (weights) the best I could. We (lacrosse players) brought our sticks with us but most people there didn't even know what lacrosse was. They are all focused on soccer."
Soon Black will have to focus on life after Centre College, something he has begun to think about more as his final lacrosse season draws to an end.
"I know I'm going to move home. I have a couple job offers in Atlanta that I plan on doing. I think it would be cool to stay involved in coaching at the youth level as well but I will just need to weigh my options and see what works out," he said.
