Severna Park Lacrosse Player Makes Youth National Team

A 13-year-old Severna Park Middle School student represented USA Lacrosse in an international lacrosse tournament September 25-27.

Wyatt Priem was one of six eighth graders selected for the 24-player 2026 U.S. Boys' U15 Youth National Team. Freshmen and sophomores made up the rest of the roster. In September, Team USA earned a gold medal in the Brogden Cup, held in Sparks, Maryland. Wyatt , a defender, finished top five in goals scored for the team during the sixes competition.

The sixes competition is a game format comprising five outfield players and a goalie per side. Players face off to begin the game and in the second half. Team USA beat Team Canada and the Haudenosaunee squad.

“I’ve always had a good strong suit in sixes,” Wyatt said. “I’m not one of those guys who’s just going to be dodging, but I’m more of a guy who’s just getting cuts, just getting looks, helping out my team. But it definitely feels good to be one of those guys who makes plays for the team.”

In the tournament, Wyatt had to adjust early on to better and deeper competition.

“You have to be smarter in that sort of way, and you just have to know to take your moments in those scenarios … the game moves faster, quicker, everybody’s stronger,” he said. “It makes you play better as your own player.”

Adding more players to the mix for the weekend full-sided tournament made the game faster and more complex, but it also provided a beneficial experience off the field.

“We made a lot of great memories together because we had a lot of time together through breaks between games,” Wyatt said. “We were just in the hotel, all hanging out together and it was very fun … all the team dinners we had.”

Lauren and Ryan Priem, Wyatt’s parents, said it was a special moment to see their son play for Team USA.

When he put the uniform on, they all realized how big an honor it was to represent the country.

“He went out there and he played with his whole heart, and he gave it all he had and you could tell,” Lauren said. “I think that came through too, with how the team did as a whole for all of them. He had the chance to really be coached by some incredible coaches. That was also something new for him; he had been with the same club team since third grade.”

Wyatt brought both sides of the game for Team USA. He has built a reputation as a knockdown defender who creates turnovers and is also athletic enough to get the ball up field and produce offense.

He was selected for the team from the Team USA combine, which takes the top 100 U15 players from around the country. At the combine, players scrimmaged against each other and performed the 40-yard dash and broad jumps.

“Like his mom, I kind of look at the moments like in warmups and stuff and just kind of see how he is with his teammates, and he fit in like a glove with them,” Ryan said. “They’re still connected now.”

Ryan said Wyatt will look back fondly on his experience playing for Team USA, and Lauren said he enjoyed competing with different players.

Wyatt has always demonstrated responsibility for the people he cares about, whether it is his sisters, parents or teammates.

“You see that as he grows as a player and as a person,” Lauren said. “He’s fiercely protective of the people he cares about, and I think it’s that instinct that you can see translate on the field too.”

USA Lacrosse forms new youth teams each year, so while the Priems hope Wyatt’s USA journey is only beginning, it’s up to his desire, development and progress as a player and teammate as to whether it can continue.

“You’ve got to go back out there and prove again why you think you belong, and (we) certainly like his chances,” Ryan said. “But you know, I think the way we’ve always approached things is … (you are) only as good as your last game, so you got to go out there and produce.”

Regardless, Wyatt has certainly put himself on the development program’s radar, and he’s got the itch to keep going.

“It was a new team for him, and he really enjoyed playing with kids who were older, and learned a few things from them too,” Lauren said. “He said it was the best sports weekend he’s ever had.”