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Stanford Linebacker & Former Top Lax Recruit Commits to Virginia for Lacrosse

Stanford linebacker and former No. 1 lacrosse recruit Ricky Miezan is transferring to Virginia for the 2023 lacrosse season

Matt Newton

Ricky Miezan recorded 46 tackles and four sacks this season, one of which was against USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Now, Miezan is officially headed to Charlottesville, where he is expected to suit up for the Virginia men's lacrosse team next spring. 

After five years at Stanford, including the last two as a starting linebacker for the Cardinal, Ricky Miezan is returning to lacrosse, a sport in which he was a No. 1 recruit in high school, and transferring to Virginia for the 2023 lacrosse season. 

A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Miezan was initially committed to North Carolina to play both lacrosse and football for the Tar Heels. Miezan was rated the No. 1 overall recruit in the lacrosse recruiting class of 2018 as a junior. Ultimately, however, Miezan decided to pursue a football career and ended up flipping his commitment to Stanford.

Miezan played in four games as a true freshman in 2018 and maintained his redshirt. Injury troubles plagued the next two seasons for Miezan, as he suffered a season-ending injury after just two games in 2019 and was knocked out for the season with another injury in the 2020 season-opener. 

Miezan finally got healthy in the 2021 season and made the most of it, registering 68 tackles, second-most on the team, 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and two passes defended in 11 games. In his second season as a starting linebacker in 2022, Miezan recorded 46 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, and four sacks, ranking in the top three on the team in all three of those categories. He also served as a team captain as a fifth-year senior this fall and was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. 

After five years in the Stanford football program, a tenure in which he played in 29 games, made three appearances on the Pac-12 All-Academic Honor Roll, and earned a degree in sociology from Stanford, Miezan made the decision to enter the transfer portal with the intention of making a return to the sport of lacrosse. 

Virginia men's lacrosse head coach Lars Tiffany visited Miezan at home in Alexandria on Sunday and sold the former highly-touted lacrosse recruit on a commitment to UVA. Ricky Miezan is eligible for one season with Virginia, but according to a report from Inside Lacrosse, there is a possibility for Miezan to pursue a second season of eligibility, as there is a precedent for the NCAA to grant a waiver to an athlete playing an extra year in a different sport.

Miezan was considered one of most athletic lacrosse prospects ever recruited when he was in high school and he has only gotten stronger and more athletic in his time in the Stanford football program. The 6'2", 237-pound linebacker should have no problem earning a significant role with Virginia despite the Cavaliers returning a stacked roster in 2023. 

Virginia is set to bring back 10 starters and over 80% of its scoring from last season, including Connor Shellenberger, Payton Cormier, Xander Dickson, Griffin Schutz, Jeff Conner, and many more. Now, Lars Tiffany is adding a third transfer to that roster, as Miezan joins former Vermont attackman Thomas McConvey, a two-time All-American and 2022 America East Offensive Player of the Year, and former Richmond defenseman Griffin Kology, an All-Southern Conference Second Team selection as a true freshman last spring. 

Miezan, McConvey, and Kology aren't the only impressive newcomers joining the Cavaliers this spring. Virginia's 2022 signing class was ranked the No. 1 overall recruiting class in the country by Inside Lacrosse and includes four five-star prospects, including three of the top ten overall recruits in the country. 

Needless to say, expect Virginia to once again be among the top contenders for a national championship in May. 

See more Virginia men's lacrosse news and content: Virginia Men's Lacrosse on Sports Illustrated

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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