It’s Week 3 in the NLL, and Philly fans are saddling for a Saturday Afternoon Delight, as the Wings are set to finally open the doors to the Xfinity Mobile Arena for their matinee game against the Colorado Mammoth. Though Ron Burgundy may not be calling Saturday’s game, fans are more excited to see #34, their number one overall pick, Brennan O’Neill, back in the red, white and gold for the start of his sophomore season.
Despite his welcome to Philadelphia breaking a four-year box lacrosse hiatus, O’Neill’s first step into the NLL was nothing short of eye-catching. During his rookie season, O’Neill tallied 58 points (25G, 33A) in 18 starts, was selected for the 2024 All-Rookie Team, and was a top contender and shortlisted for NLL Rookie of the Year during the End of Season Awards.
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O’Neill had taken his first steps into the world of professional lacrosse before his final year at Duke University. During the summer of 2023, he was selected to suit up for Team USA at the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego, California, alongside and against several of the lacrosse world’s biggest stars, including current Wings teammates Blaze Riorden, Jack Rowlett and Michael Sowers. He’d be selected first overall the following year in the PLL College Draft by the Denver Outlaws, playing a full season of professional lacrosse before even setting foot in the Arena.
But even with the familiar faces in Philadelphia and two preliminary summers of high-level play, there was still an initial shock for the rookie phenom when he made his debut.
“There were a lot of things that I was learning along the way last year,” said O’Neill. “There’s so much that goes into it and there’s a lot of little things that I had to get used to.”
Looking back on his first year between the boards, O’Neill recalled his early troubles with the League’s format, emphasizing his shot selection and the box style two-man game as areas of initial frustration. But his physical style of play and overwhelming athleticism made his integration to the Wings’ offensive system an easy fit, averaging 3.22 points per game and a weekly highlight.
There were definitely some down days and some up days, and I really just try to look at what worked and what didn’t so I can add more to my game for the coming season,” he said. “But I think a lot of that comes with being comfortable in my environment, knowing the coaching staff, knowing the players, and knowing what to expect a little more has helped a lot.”
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To stay sharp for training camp, O’Neill spent his summer in the PLL with the 2025 runner-ups, the Denver Outlaws. During his time away from the Wings, he was named to the All-League 1st Team, shortlisted as the 2025 Most Valuable Player, and held a top-five slot on the jersey sales leaderboard for a second year. Despite his notoriety, O’Neill has developed and maintained a reputation among fans and peers alike as a true student of the game.
“My hunger comes from not ever wanting to be mediocre, I want to succeed at whatever I do and not and not do things half-go,” said O’Neill. “I don’t want to look back with any regret and say ‘I could’ve done this more, I could’ve worked a little harder, I should’ve practiced this more,’ so I can be the best version of myself.”
But for a player with such a strong sense of inward motivation, O’Neill is the farthest thing from a selfish player. As O’Neill explained, the well-being and success of his teammates are one of his biggest motivators come gametime, with the opportunity to suit up alongside familiar faces so frequently only strengthening his dedication to his teammates and to his city.
Now with a full year under his belt, the gears are spinning at full speed for O’Neill as he and his Wings strap up for their 2025-26 campaign. Unfortunately, in their three preseason exhibition matches against Rochester, Georgia and Toronto, the Wings were unable to scrape out a training camp win. But as O’Neill reported, he and the Wings are from down on themselves as they get set for the Saturday Matinee.
“We’ve really put in a lot of work [during training camp], I really think we’ve accomplished a lot on and off the floor,” said O’Neill. “We were able to get to know each other better, meet the new faces and just build some chemistry. We’ve gotten to go over goals we have for the season, new standards and set the tone for a good start for the rest of the season.”
ABSURD BRENNAN O’NEILL GOALS ARE BACK! 😱@nllwings | 2025 NLL Training Camp presented by @warriorlax. pic.twitter.com/4mk5kVjyMv
— NLL (@NLL) November 23, 2025
As one of three teams that had two additional weeks to prepare for their first outing, Philadelphia has had ample time to hunker down and analyze the previous season. The extra prep time, in addition to the growing anticipation, has helped to not only shape O’Neill’s personal philosophy for the 2026 season, but also strengthen the Wings’ attention to detail. While scoring more goals and blocking more shots were high items on O’Neill’s list, the Wings as a team have named effort, grit and more team-oriented plays and stats as the highest priorities. O’Neill emphasized the need to halt transition and create more for themselves, as well as dominating the loose-ball battles during the coming season.
“It’s kind of cliché, but you can say it’s obvious,” O’Neill joked. “The little things that are effort-based are something we’re really going to pride ourselves on to play our gritty brand of lacrosse and get things done.”
“I really hope that the fans see the effort and, again, it’s kind of cliché, but I hope they see our passion. It might not be pretty, with these early games, teams are always still figuring things out, but at the end of the day, if we have more goals on that scoreboard than the other team, then the job is accomplished.”
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