Connor McClelland

Connor McClelland
Leading From the Back Door — The Captain Brampton Can Count On

Position: Defence / Transition
Shoots: Left
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario
MSL Team: Brampton Excelsiors
NLL Team: Saskatchewan Rush

Built in Brampton

Some players represent a team because they wear its jersey.

Others represent something deeper.

For Connor McClelland, Brampton lacrosse has been part of the journey almost from the beginning.

He grew up in Brampton. He played Junior A for the Excelsiors. He graduated into Major Series Lacrosse with the Excelsiors. And today, when Brampton's senior team walks onto the floor, McClelland does so wearing the captain's "C."
It's fitting.

Because while McClelland's professional career has taken him more than 2,500 kilometres west to Saskatchewan, his summers have continued to bring him home.

And over the years, the player who once produced offense from the midfield at Marquette has evolved into something every successful team needs:

A defender who can be trusted.

A transition player capable of changing ends quickly.

And a leader willing to accept responsibility for everything that comes with wearing the "C."

Growing Up an Excelsior

McClelland was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, a city with one of the richest lacrosse traditions in Canada.

He attended St. Michael's College School before spending a postgraduate year at Trinity-Pawling School in New York.

His accomplishments started early.
Representing Team Ontario, McClelland captured national box lacrosse championships in 2009, 2011 and 2013, along with a field lacrosse national title in 2015.

At St. Michael's, he was part of a provincial championship team in 2015.

Then, at Trinity-Pawling, McClelland earned All-Conference recognition in the New England West 1 High School Lacrosse League.

He was developing into an accomplished field player.

But box lacrosse remained home.

Brampton Junior A

McClelland's development continued with the Brampton Junior A Excelsiors.

And even as a junior player, his greatest strengths were becoming apparent.

In 2017, Brampton recognized McClelland as its Most Valuable Defensive Player.

The following year, he helped the Excelsiors reach the 2018 Minto Cup.

Playing in Brampton meant learning within an organization where championships and great defensive players have been part of the culture for generations.

McClelland absorbed those lessons.

Years later, the Saskatchewan Rush would describe Brampton as a "defender factory."

Connor McClelland became another product of it.

Marquette University

McClelland took his field lacrosse career to Marquette University, where something interesting happened.

He demonstrated that he was far more than simply a defensive player.

During his collegiate career, McClelland played midfield and became an increasingly important offensive contributor.

Over 56 games, including 39 starts, he recorded:

45 goals
16 assists
61 points

He earned BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week honours and was selected to the USILA Team of the Week.

McClelland was also named a team captain.
That part matters.

Because years before he would wear the "C" for Brampton, teammates and coaches at Marquette were already recognizing the leadership qualities that would follow him throughout his career.

McClelland also excelled academically, earning BIG EAST All-Academic Team honours multiple times while majoring in advertising.

Learning Both Ends of the Floor

McClelland's collegiate career also helped develop the versatility that eventually became so important professionally.

He had experience as a defensive midfielder.
He became an offensive midfielder.

And during his summers with Brampton in Major Series Lacrosse, he continued learning how to become a complete two-way player.

That's an invaluable education.

Playing offense teaches you what offensive players are trying to create.

Playing defense teaches you how to take it away.
And transition players have to understand both.

By the time professional box lacrosse came calling, McClelland wasn't simply an athlete capable of running between the lines.

He understood what was happening at both ends.

National Lacrosse League

The Saskatchewan Rush selected McClelland 12th overall in the first round of the 2020 NLL Entry Draft.

For a defender, being selected that high says plenty about how Saskatchewan viewed him.

McClelland completed his collegiate career before making his NLL debut during the 2021-22 season.

He immediately became a regular.

In his rookie season, he appeared in 17 games and recovered 50 loose balls while causing 14 turnovers.

The following year, he played all 18 games and collected a career-high 67 loose balls.

Then came 2023-24.

McClelland again appeared in all 18 games and produced a career-high 22 caused turnovers.

Those are the numbers that matter for a player like Connor McClelland.

Not goals.

Possessions.

Stops.

Loose balls.

Turnovers created.

The little victories that gradually change a lacrosse game.

Becoming a Fixture in Saskatchewan

Through the end of the 2025-26 regular season, McClelland had appeared in 86 NLL games, all with Saskatchewan.

He had accumulated:

257 loose balls
59 caused turnovers
30 blocked shots

He also contributed seven goals and 15 assists.
More importantly, he became part of the identity of the Rush defense.

And Saskatchewan made it clear that they wanted that relationship to continue, signing McClelland to a new three-year agreement in 2026.

Professional sports can be transient.

Players move.

Rosters change.

Roles disappear.

Remaining with one organization for years says something about trust.

Saskatchewan knows what Connor McClelland brings.

And they continue wanting him there.

Major Series Lacrosse

While Saskatchewan became his professional home, Brampton remained home.

McClelland moved from the Junior A Excelsiors into Major Series Lacrosse and steadily became one of the senior club's leaders.

Eventually, the letter on his jersey changed.
Connor McClelland became captain of the Brampton Excelsiors.

For a player who grew up in Brampton and developed through the organization, it's difficult to imagine a more meaningful honour.

Being captain isn't simply about talking in the dressing room.

It's about setting expectations.

It's about showing younger players how to prepare.

It's about being accountable after losses as well as victories.

And on a young Brampton team, that veteran presence matters enormously.

More Than Defence

McClelland's offensive background hasn't disappeared.

Every once in a while, we're reminded it's still there.

Against Six Nations during the 2026 season, McClelland came flying up the floor in transition and converted a Seth Van Schepen pass just 11 seconds after Dhane Smith had scored for the Chiefs.

It was vintage transition lacrosse.
Stop the opponent.

Get moving.

Make them pay before their defense gets organized.

Those goals may not happen every night.

But when they do, they demonstrate why McClelland's background makes him so valuable.

He's a defender who understands what to do when an offensive opportunity suddenly appears.

Beyond the Floor

McClelland's professional life has developed away from lacrosse as well.

He works in financial and insurance services, helping individuals, families and business owners with wealth planning and financial strategy.

It's another example of the balancing act familiar to so many professional lacrosse players.

Train.

Travel.

Compete against the best players in the world.
Then return home and build a career outside the arena.

McClelland has managed both.

By the Numbers

Hometown: Brampton, Ontario
Position: Defence / Transition
Shoots: Left
High Schools: St. Michael's College School / Trinity-Pawling
Junior: Brampton Excelsiors
2017: Brampton Junior A Most Valuable Defensive Player
2018: Minto Cup appearance — Brampton
College: Marquette University
Marquette Career: 56 games / 45 goals / 16 assists / 61 points
College: Team Captain
NLL Draft: 12th Overall, 2020 — Saskatchewan Rush
NLL Team: Saskatchewan Rush
NLL through 2025-26: 86 games / 257 loose balls / 59 caused turnovers
MSL Team: Brampton Excelsiors
MSL: Team Captain
Team Ontario: Four national championships across box and field lacrosse

Gary Groob's Take

There are certain players where the letter on the front of the jersey tells me more than the numbers on the back of the stat sheet.

Connor McClelland is one of them.

He's the captain of the Brampton Excelsiors.

And I think that means something.

This isn't somebody who arrived in Brampton for a couple of summers and eventually inherited a leadership role.

Connor grew up there.

He played Junior A there.

He became one of the organization's top young defensive players there.

And now he's leading the Major Excelsiors.
There's a lineage to that.

When I watch Connor, I see a player who understands his job.

He's not trying to become something he isn't.

He's going to defend, battle for possessions, move the ball up the floor and make the opposition work for everything it gets.

But every once in a while, you see the old midfielder come out.

We saw it against Six Nations this year.
Dhane Smith scores.

Eleven seconds later, Connor is coming the other way in transition, takes the pass from Seth Van Schepen and puts the ball in the net.

That's the kind of play that can change momentum.

And it reminds you that this defender scored 45 goals at Marquette.

What I respect most, though, is the consistency.

Saskatchewan drafted him in the first round.

Five NLL seasons later, he's still there.

They've now signed him for another three years.

That tells me the people who work with Connor every day know exactly what they have.
A player they trust.

And I think that's the best way to describe him in Brampton too.

On a young team trying to build its way back toward where one of Canadian lacrosse's most historic organizations expects to be, you need people who understand what wearing that Excelsiors jersey means.

Connor McClelland does.

He's worn it for most of his lacrosse life.

Now he wears the "C" with it.

And for me, that's exactly why Connor McClelland belongs among the Stars of MSL.

— Gary Groob