(Photo Courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics)

Bryant D/LSM LaJhon Jones and Stony Brook goalie Anthony Palma will be joining Rutgers as grad transfers in 2023. Both players confirmed their decisions to Lacrosse Bucket on Monday afternoon.

Jones has played in 28 games during his time in Smithfield with 15 starts at close. This past spring he made five starts in 15 games and had a team-high 16 caused turnovers while also grabbing 20 ground balls and scoring four goals.

Bryant made the NEC tournament each of the past two seasons with Jones as a leader on defense. During the 2021 campaign, Jones helped lead the Bulldogs to an NEC title and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Jones joins a defense at Rutgers that loses two of its top poles in Jaryd Jean-Felix and Bryant Boswell. LSM Ethan Rall and defenseman Bobby Russo are the top two returners on that end.

Palma served as the primary starter in between the pipes each of the past two seasons for the Seawolves. This past spring, Palma made 128 saves with 51% save percentage in 11 games. That included a 17-save performance against Robert Morris and three 16-save games (vs Rutgers, vs Syracuse, vs Dartmouth).

Palma is the second goalie that Rutgers has grabbed from the transfer portal this cycle, joining former Harvard goalie Kyle Mullin. The two will likely be in a battle for the starting job with the graduation of Colin Kirst.