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Nothing is going through Jimmy McCool’s head.

If the Syracuse men’s lacrosse goalie is in net during a game or practice, he said he’s “not thinking at all.” Instead, when he’s on the lacrosse field, the same repeated phrases roll through his cerebrum like a broken record.

“Just react, react, react,” McCool said. “And, just thinking about seeing the ball, saving the ball and then clearing it.”

Like a record player, McCool’s mind never stops, touching each groove in the mantras rolling through his head. He always looks toward what’s next, no matter what just happened.

“He does a really good job of moving on to the next one, even when he’s playing well,” said Nick Acquaviva, SU’s assistant coach, who oversees the goalies. “It’s a big thing for goalies. It’s a struggle. You’re always thinking about the next thing, and it’s trying not to harp on the past.”

When McCool encountered a bump this season — a benching at North Carolina on April 4 — he turned to a record player his girlfriend recently gave him for his birthday to “reset” and ground himself, he said. The next week, he posted a then-season high 18 saves in the Orange’s win over Virginia.

“Jimmy’s mentally tough,” SU head coach Gary Gait said. “He’s going to rebound, and he’s shown that last year and again this year. So, we rely on that mental toughness, that he can put himself in a good mindset and have some great games coming up.”

Throughout Syracuse’s high-stakes season — which now enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed — and off the field in recent years, he has a lot of thoughts. He shares many on the social platform X (formerly Twitter). Musings on food, lacrosse culture, music and, of course, his beloved Boston sports, flood his timeline.

“I’ve always just had an opinion on a lot of things and wanted to share them,” McCool said. “And I think sometimes people find it funny. So I don’t know. It’s just a place where I can go let out whatever I’m thinking.”

Peter Radosh | Asst. Digital Editor

McCool’s profile picture and banner reveal his approach. His profile picture shows New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye at a press conference, who looks like he’s been asked to present a group project he didn’t sign up for. He’s slouched over the podium, head tilted, lips pressed in that half-pout.

“Huge Drake Maye fan. Huge Ann Michael Maye fan. I’ve said that before,” McCool said of the Patriots’ quarterback and his wife, who garnered TikTok notoriety for her baking videos.

Peek at McCool’s banner, too. It portrays the climax of the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone, which takes place on a rooftop and reveals the final plot twist. There’s no hiding the city in the background. You guessed. It’s Boston.

“It’s just a scene I like a lot, and I thought the picture was cool,” McCool said of why he chose it.

However, the giant Boston sports fan doesn’t precisely recall why he started his X. His first post appeared on March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. McCool wrote: “The fact this is how (Duke attack) Michael Sowers(’) season ends is actually a joke.”

He also doesn’t remember many other thoughts he released into the ether in the intervening years.

To wit:

Dunkin’ black cold brew is JET FUEL.

Normalize slim Jims in math lectures.

Simply no such thing as too much cream cheese on a bagel.

You should never purposely wear socks to bed but the nights where you fall asleep with your socks on by accident are always the best sleeps ever.

Valentine’s Day is funny because you always just discover one of your friends is in some random relationship that you simply had no idea about.

Or this one from July 5, 2022: I didn’t eat a single hot dog yesterday and not gonna lie that’s making me feel slightly like a communist.

You get it.

“It’s really just whatever’s going on in my mind gets posted sometimes, and it can be some really dumb takes and some stupid thoughts, too,” McCool said of his posting habits. “But I have fun with it.”

McCool said his favorites are reposts of friends’ lacrosse highlights. He also occasionally comments on his teammates’ play. On Aug. 11, the day before Game 7 of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League Finals, he pastiched and extended NBA analyst Charles Barkley’s viral faux pas.

“I got two words for you: Finn Thomson, Joey Spallina, Trey Deere, Jordan Vincent, Jake Spallina, Donny Scott; Game 7 tonight Must-See TV @TheOJLL,” McCool posted, mentioning all his teammates playing in the game.

Earlier this year, he poked fun at Syracuse defender Riley Figueiras, who raced upfield and recorded a hockey assist on a goal against Georgetown.

“Breaking news: Riley Figueiras realized there’s another half of the lacrosse field,” McCool wrote.

“A lot of it’s just jokes we have on the team,” McCool said of the post. “Love Riley. Great player. And I love when he goes down the other side of the field and pushes a little transition, too.”

Even in McCool’s sardonic posting tone, he tackles college lacrosse talking points in meta fashion.

“Burners in lacrosse are such a cowardly move,” he wrote on March 7. “I used to be calling out league commissioners with my full legal (name) in my username. Not all have the guts for it, I guess.”

When asked about that post, which received over 40,000 views, McCool said he knows people behind fake accounts are often college lacrosse players themselves.

“It’s a little weird that they have to go through that route to voice their opinions,” McCool said. “And they could be a lot cooler if guys just said what they wanted to say with their names.”

McCool has, does, and will continue to, he said.

Jimmy McCool reacts to a shot from North Carolina’s Luke Bair in Syracuse’s ACC Tournament loss to the Tar Heels on May 1. McCool’s been a steady presence in net for SU, totaling a 54.6% save percentage. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor

Sometimes those posts can be prophetic. On Dec. 9, 2021, McCool sent a query into the Xverse. “How do record players work?”

In that aforementioned benching against North Carolina, McCool allowed 12 goals on 19 shots. After the game, he received a birthday gift from his girlfriend: a record player. McCool retreated to his room in the basement of the house he shares with teammates Spallina, Michael Leo, Dante Bowen, Thomson and Ryder Ochoa.

McCool turned off the lights and switched on the Crosley record player. Listening to Tame Impala’s new record, “Deadbeat,” kept him grounded and allowed him to refocus, he said.

It wasn’t McCool’s first benching. He‘d taken the ignominious walk to the sideline last season in a home loss to Harvard. It “definitely still sucks,” McCool said of the most recent one. Yet, after his second career benching against the Tar Heels, he can reset better, he said. So, he leaned into the music. McCool headed to Sound Garden in Armory Square and bought Pearl Jam and Jim Croce albums.

“I still don’t understand how it works at all,” McCool said of the record player.

McCool’s father, Steve, laughs about his son’s sudden interest in Croce — an artist he played when they drove to youth lacrosse tournaments. However, the two listening to music postgame was nothing new.

“He’s just that type of kid that just loves lacrosse, and in the immediate time right after the game, he’s going to be ticked off, and he’s going to be put to a good night’s sleep and whatnot,” Steve said. “And he just lets it go. The mind of a goldfish. But I think his personality of just being lowkey and just fun and happy to be there, it’s helpful in those situations.”

In practice the week between the UNC and UVA games, Acquaviva said he focused on maintaining McCool’s feet, stick position and balance. The exercise entails Acquaviva or attacks firing tennis balls instead of lacrosse balls because bodies are “pretty beat up” at this late stage of the season, Acquaviva said.

Virginia, winners of its first two ACC contests, was up next. Gait said McCool’s starting spot was never in doubt despite his benching. Acquaviva sensed McCool’s rebound in the warmup.

But Virginia scored 39 seconds in.

“You would think that you’d get rattled after that,” Steve said.

Yet, McCool wasn’t. It was a wide-open shot that goes in 95% of the time, Steve said. McCool wasn’t thinking about the week before. He wasn’t thinking about the recent goal. He was thinking about the next play.

He made the next four saves, ending with 18 stops on 27 shots.

“He was doing a great job of being patient, playing great positioning, trusting his hands,” Acquaviva said. “I think you saw a couple of those in tight saves where he’s getting doorstep stops, where he’s playing great positioning and staying on his feet until the last second and then exploding to the ball.”

After the win, lighthearted McCool returned, Steve said. He shared his record-playing habits in the postgame press conference. Then, he headed to the concourse to sign autographs.

Jimmy McCool poses for photographs with fans after SU’s victory over Colgate on April 18. McCool’s become a fan favorite for his stellar play at goaltender and his social media personality. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor

Earlier in the day, before the UVA win, McCool’s parents were at a store in Syracuse, and his mother, Tricia, was wearing a team lanyard with her son’s name on it. Steve recalled a little kid asking if she was McCool’s mom. Tricia said yes and told the boy about how McCool started playing lacrosse.

Steve said McCool was a “pudgy” kid, so his parents put him in town-level lacrosse at age 8. But the intention was for McCool to play in the field. However, after playing goalie in street hockey growing up, when the coach asked who wanted to play goalie that week, McCool volunteered.

In his first foray in net, McCool stopped everything, Steve said. The planned weekly goalie platooning ceased. McCool locked down a spot and has stayed there ever since.

Tricia shared this tale with the boy in the shop. When the kid met McCool signing autographs postgame following his 18-save bounce-back performance, he told the SU goalie the story he’d heard.

“‘I met your mom. She said you were a fat little kid,’” Steve recalls from the conversation.

The game was over. McCool’s guard was down. He laughed about the joke at his expense.

“Thanks, mom.”

Published on May 5, 2026 at 12:22 am
Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal