Daniello, ranking ninth among juniors nationally by Inside Lacrosse, had narrowed his choices to UNC, Johns Hopkins and Syracuse before making his initial decision to commit to UNC.
Daniello, who led John Jay in scoring this past season, said then that the fact that both UNC and Hopkins have medical schools gave them a bit of an edge over Syracuse, where his brother, Chris, is a senior attackman on the two-time defending national champions.
"Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of playing for John Hopkins and worked very hard to turn that dream into a reality," Daniello said. "The rich tradition and the opportunity to have a chance to be a part of that tradition was something that I could not let go of after my commitment to UNC.
"While UNC is a very special place and everybody who is a part of that program, from the coaching staff down to the players, are exceptional individuals, I felt I had to chase my childhood dream of being a Blue Jay."
Daniello said he informed the coaching staffs of both schools of his decision last week.
"(Hopkins) Coach (Dave) Pietramala wanted me to make sure that I was changing my decision for the right reasons and that I spoke to UNC before committing to them," Daniello said. "The next morning, I made the very difficult call to (North Carolina) Coach (Joe) Breschi.
"After speaking with him, he was understanding of my decision and wished me well. Coach Breschi is a remarkable person who I have gotten to know very well throughout the recruiting process, along with (UNC assistant) Coach (Pat) Myers, and I wish them nothing but the best. After speaking with UNC, I called Coach Pietramala and officially committed to John Hopkins."
Even minus Daniello, North Carolina will be pretty stacked at attack. Fellow lefty attackmen Nick Galasso, a senior from West Islip, and Jimmy Bitter, a junior who grew up in Manhasset and now plays at the Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, had committed to UNC prior to Daniello’s commitment. The nation’s No. 20-ranked senior, Boys Latin’s Pat Foster, and No. 13-ranked junior, Joe Sankey of Penn Charter, Pa., also committed to Carolina.
There is now quite a contingent of current Section 1 stars heading to Hopkins. In addition to Daniello, senior attackman Kevin Interlicchio of Yorktown, senior defenseman Jameson Pickel of John Jay and junior defender Eddie Schurr of Somers have committed to the Blue Jays.
"I’m very excited to be teaming up again with Jameson, as he is one of my best friends at John Jay," Daniello said. "I’ve played against Eddie and Kevin in summer tournaments and games, and I’m looking forward to being teammates with them at Hopkins. All three of them are great players, and hopefully we can help bring another national championship to John Hopkins."
Joe Lombardi, who has been a fixture on the lacrosse scene during the sport’s rapid growth in the New York metropolitan area, produces editorial and video content for LaxLessons.com. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.
