MSL 
Alex Simmons
Alex Simmons 
Creativity, Confidence and a Relentless Drive to Get Better
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Smithville, Ontario
Current MSL Team: Oakville Rock
NLL Team: Oshawa FireWolves
A Player Who Creates Something Out of Nothing
There are offensive players who thrive within a system.
Then there are players who have the ability to break the system entirely.
Alex Simmons has that quality.
Give him a little room and he can shoot. Take away the shot and he can find a teammate. Give him neither, and Simmons has the creativity and confidence to manufacture an opportunity that wasn't there a moment earlier.
From Smithville, Ontario, through St. Catharines box lacrosse, Culver Military Academy, Denver and Syracuse, and eventually into the National Lacrosse League and Major Series Lacrosse, Simmons has continually demonstrated an ability to adapt his game to the level around him.
From Smithville, Ontario, through St. Catharines box lacrosse, Culver Military Academy, Denver and Syracuse, and eventually into the National Lacrosse League and Major Series Lacrosse, Simmons has continually demonstrated an ability to adapt his game to the level around him.
And everywhere he's gone, he's produced.
Early Years
Born in Hamilton and raised in Smithville, Ontario, Simmons developed his box lacrosse game with St. Catharines, spending eight seasons in the organization and earning Junior A Rookie of the Year honours.
But Simmons' development wasn't limited to the box.
He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana, one of the premier scholastic lacrosse programs in the United States. At Culver, Simmons was a First Team All-Midwest selection and helped the program win a national championship, two Inter-Ac championships and two Midwest championships.
That combination—Canadian box lacrosse creativity and elite American field lacrosse—would become an important part of the player he eventually became.
Climbing the Ladder
Simmons continued playing Junior A for the St. Catharines Athletics, developing into one of Ontario's premier offensive players.
His junior career culminated with Simmons being named OJLL Player of the Year in 2021.
By then, the attributes that define his game today were already evident: quick hands, an ability to change direction seemingly without warning, a dangerous shot and, perhaps most importantly, the confidence to attempt plays other players might not even consider.
University of Denver
Simmons took his talents to the University of Denver, playing for one of the NCAA's most respected lacrosse programs.
Over four seasons with the Pioneers, he appeared in 50 games and accumulated 129 points on 81 goals and 48 assists. He became the 11th-fastest player in Denver history to reach 100 career points.
His accomplishments included:
• Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-America Honorable Mention
• BIG EAST Attack Player of the Week honours
• BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
• Tewaaraton Award Watch List
• Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America Honorable Mention Simmons demonstrated versatility as well, playing both midfield and attack during his Denver career.
One More Chapter at Syracuse
With another year of eligibility available, Simmons transferred to Syracuse University for the 2023 season.
Wearing the Orange, he started all 15 games and added 21 goals and 15 assists for 36 points, bringing his collegiate career total to 165 points.
Playing at two prestigious NCAA programs gave Simmons something few players experience: two different systems, coaching staffs and lacrosse environments at the highest level of the college game.
Each helped prepare him for what came next.
National Lacrosse League
If anyone wondered how Simmons' game would translate to professional box lacrosse, the answer came quickly.
With the Albany FireWolves, Simmons exploded onto the NLL scene in 2023-24, producing 38 goals and 58 assists for 96 points.
Those 96 points were the second-most ever by a rookie in NLL history, and Simmons led all first-year players in goals, assists and points.
He was named the 2024 NLL Rookie of the Year.
But there was an even bigger story developing.
A FireWolves team that had finished 3-15 the previous season made a stunning turnaround and advanced all the way to the NLL Finals, with Simmons playing an enormous role in that transformation.
And there was no sophomore slump.
Simmons produced another 96-point season in 2024-25, scoring 37 goals and adding 59 assists while leading the FireWolves in scoring for the second consecutive year.
But there was an even bigger story developing.
A FireWolves team that had finished 3-15 the previous season made a stunning turnaround and advanced all the way to the NLL Finals, with Simmons playing an enormous role in that transformation.
And there was no sophomore slump.
Simmons produced another 96-point season in 2024-25, scoring 37 goals and adding 59 assists while leading the FireWolves in scoring for the second consecutive year.
Following the franchise's relocation, Simmons now continues his NLL career with the Oshawa FireWolves.
Major Series Lacrosse
Simmons has brought the same creativity to the Oakville Rock.
During the 2026 MSL season, we've already seen examples of what makes him so difficult to defend. He scored four times in Oakville's 13-5 victory over Brampton and recorded another hat trick against the Excelsiors later in the season.
But goals only tell part of his story.
Playing alongside Josh Dawick, Sam LeClair, Carson Moyer and the rest of Oakville's offense, Simmons can just as easily become the distributor. In Oakville's 13-8 victory over Peterborough, for example, he contributed two goals and four assists.
That versatility creates problems for defenders.
Take away his shot and he'll pass.
Take away the pass and he'll attack.
Give him time to think about either option and you're probably already in trouble.
By the Numbers
Hometown: Smithville, Ontario
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Junior: St. Catharines Athletics
High School: Culver Military Academy
College: University of Denver / Syracuse University
College Career: 165 points
NLL: Albany/Oshawa FireWolves
MSL: Oakville Rock
Major Junior Honour: 2021 OJLL Player of the Year
Major Professional Honour: 2024 NLL Rookie of the Year
Gary Groob's Take
Alex Simmons is one of those players who makes me watch a little more closely whenever the ball gets into his stick.
There's an unpredictability to his game that I really enjoy.
Defenders can study tendencies and coaches can prepare game plans, but creativity is difficult to prepare for. Alex has the ability to improvise. He can change direction, find a shooting lane that didn't appear to exist, or make the extra pass that suddenly leaves somebody else standing alone.
But there's another part of his story that impresses me.
When you put up 96 points as an NLL rookie, expectations change immediately. You're no longer the young player trying to establish yourself—everyone knows who you are, defenses prepare specifically for you, and suddenly you're expected to do it again.
Alex did.
Ninety-six points in year one. Ninety-six points in year two.
That tells me something beyond talent. It tells me about consistency.
Watching him with Oakville, I see that same player continuing to evolve. He's dangerous with the ball, but he's also becoming increasingly comfortable creating offense for the players around him.
And he's still young.
For all that Alex Simmons has already accomplished—OJLL Player of the Year, outstanding NCAA careers at Denver and Syracuse, NLL Rookie of the Year and an appearance in the NLL Finals—I don't think we're anywhere close to writing the final chapters of his story.
We're watching them being written.
That's exactly why Alex Simmons belongs among the Stars of MSL.
— Gary Groob