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Bust. A word that can only be used in two athletic contexts: the first, and most obvious, an insult ascribed to those who don’t live up to the lofty expectations placed upon them as prospects; the second, a noun referring to statues sculpted to immortalize the greatest in their respective sports — e.g., “he’ll be getting a bust in Canton.”

There are two games, at most, left in Finn Thomson’s Syracuse career, and it’s safe to say he doesn’t fit in either category. He exists in a purgatory between the two — not an all-time great, but far from a guy who never put it all together.

“Obviously you wish you could play better every year,” Thomson told The Daily Orange in April. “But it comes with hard work. And it’s a tough league, right?”

Thomson has had isolated moments of brilliance. A five-goal showing against Harvard last year. A hat trick against Duke this season, powering Syracuse to a 16-15 win. A four-goal performance against Colgate, where he ripped so many behind-the-back efforts one would think it was a backyard trickshot challenge.

And yet, despite having three straight playoff hat tricks and entering Championship Weekend with a team-leading 41 goals, it seems no one has a firm grasp on exactly how good he is. Of Syracuse’s three attacks, Thomson is the only one who’s never made an All-American team. He was also the only one not selected in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League Draft. But if SU had an unsung hero, it would undoubtedly be him.

“He’s definitely underrated,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said on Tuesday’s pre-Final Four conference call. “Every time there’s awards to be handed out, they seem to forget about Finn Thomson, which is OK.”

It’s bizarre, because the public perception around Thomson simply doesn’t match the playstyle. After beating Colgate, Michael Leo said Thomson’s creativity blows him away. Joey Spallina was similarly effusive in his praise, calling Thomson one of the craftiest players he’s ever seen.

“I think Finn is one of the best inside players in the country,” Spallina said. “If not the best.”

It’s nice Spallina thinks so. The rest of the lacrosse world seemingly hasn’t caught on.

SU senior Finn Thomson signs autographs following a 12-8 rivalry win over Johns Hopkins on March 7. He scored two goals, which he’s done in 14 games this season. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor

For a time, they did, back when Thomson was at St. Michael’s College High School and Everest Academy in Canada. He was Inside Lacrosse’s No. 5-ranked recruit in the 2022 class, and IL graded his stick skills a gaudy 4.75 stars out of five. The electrifying playstyle was already there, the one Leo says teaches him something new every day.

He picked up that creativity in his youth — playing box lacrosse and backyard games with his three older brothers — and with it, a whole lot of attention from colleges. Michigan was first to the punch, but Syracuse and Gait swooped in during Thomson’s gap year. What self-respecting Ontario native could possibly resist playing for one of the greatest Canadian lacrosse players ever?

“I didn’t really bat an eye,” Thomson said of his decision to flip.

But that’s when Thomson’s pedigree peaked. The acclaim hasn’t been nearly the same since then, largely due to factors out of his control.

“Maybe I haven’t performed as well as I wanted to in the past couple of years,” Thomson said. “But it doesn’t really matter.”

He was a Day 1 starter at Syracuse, but not in his preferred position of attack. That role belonged to Spallina, Owen Hiltz and Alex Simmons, forcing Thomson to play midfielder for his first two seasons at SU. He combined for a solid 71 points in those campaigns, even earning a USA Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention nod after his 38-point 2024 season.

But he played attack at St. Michael’s. It’s where he earned his prospect pedigree and where he always felt he belonged.

So, once he moved up top as a junior, Thomson seemed poised to finally display his All-American potential. There was the three-point season debut against Jacksonville, then a hat trick against Towson two games later, then the aforementioned five-goal outburst against the Crimson.

He finally looked comfortable. Posts on X read “Finn Thomson is a HIGHLIGHT MACHINE,” after his goals, and at the time, it didn’t seem like an overexaggeration.

SU attack Finn Thomson coasts toward the goal against a Johns Hopkins defender during a 12-8 win on March 7. The senior showcased his versatility with four points. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor

Then came a matchup with Utah on March 1, 2025, when he broke his left arm, sidelining him for six weeks. During his recovery, Thomson sought guidance in the book, “The Obstacle Is The Way” by Ryan Holiday. It helped him remain even-keeled amid the greatest setback in his lacrosse career, allowing him to return before SU’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament-winning run.

Entering last year’s Final Four, Gait said Thomson was 100% healthy, and he was excited to see the attack back in SU’s lineup at full strength. But it was just a bluff. Thomson’s words and performances — despite occasional highlight-worthy flashes against North Carolina and Duke — proved that twice over.

“I’d say, last year, I was never really 100%,” Thomson said. “I came back because I wanted to help the boys win, and I thought we could get it done.”

Thomson didn’t score a hat trick in 2025 after that Feb. 22 performance against Harvard, and he finished the season with a career-low 30 points. Three years in, he hadn’t consistently looked like a star. Gait could say the Canadian was healthy all he wanted, but now, almost a year removed from that campaign, it’s not hard to spot the difference.

He’s at nine hat tricks now, a figure that towers over last season’s tally of two. His 54 points exceed his previous career-high by 16. Not to mention his 41 goals, which exceed his previous career-high by 17. It’s his first 30-goal season, his first 40-point season, his first 50-point season. This, right here, is indisputably the best lacrosse of Thomson’s career.

“Having confidence in myself, I think the goals take care of themselves,” Thomson said.

But confidence wasn’t enough to secure an All-American nod, nor was it enough to secure his place in the PLL. Heading into the draft, Thomson said he both “was and wasn’t” having conversations with teams and prepared for the worst before he went undrafted.

“At the end of the day, you can’t control that stuff,” Thomson said of his PLL snub. “You gotta keep going. And that’s not gonna affect the way I play, anyway.”

Oh, well. Just another slight for Syracuse’s leading scorer to carry into Scott Stadium this weekend.

Sitting in the lobby of the John A. Lally Athletics Complex on an April afternoon, Thomson was asked what he feels he has to prove during this final stretch of his Syracuse career.

“It’s a good question,” he began, before not answering it. “I’ve got a lot of people to prove. Myself, whether it’s coaches, leagues, whatever it is.”

Thomson didn’t elaborate much further on what it is, exactly, that he’s proving. He sat in an orange plastic chair and said he knew what he had to do. He said he would continue doing it. He said he would keep playing the way that he plays, and everything would be fine. He’s had 64 games to make those words sound pretty, to prove that “playing the way that he plays” is truly just enough to make everything fine.

The two that matter most still remain.

Published on May 20, 2026 at 10:01 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO