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One text transported Brett Bucktooth Jr. back to his childhood.

Growing up, Brett always watched his father Brett Bucktooth Sr. — a former All-American and NCAA champion at Syracuse — play lacrosse in the then-Carrier Dome. After each game, Brett embarked on an adventure. With the help of his mother, Nicole, Brett would soar above the first-level railing into the awaiting arms of Bucktooth Sr. so he could be held by his idol. Those tender moments were Brett’s first glimpses of the iconic lacrosse venue.

So when SU head coach Gary Gait messaged Brett with an offer to join Syracuse’s 2024 recruiting class, he accepted. For the Bucktooths, it was the epitome of a full-circle moment.

“There was a lot of emotion,” Brett said of when he told his family he’d be following his father’s path. “I was at a loss of words when the first text came through, and I was just very proud of myself.”

Now a freshman at SU, Brett is continuing his family’s lineage at the program. It began with his late grandfather Freeman in 1972 before extending to his uncle Drew (2002-03) and his father (2003-06). From backyard shooting sessions with Bucktooth Sr. to going on road trips to watch him play professionally, Brett was engrossed in lacrosse throughout his childhood on the Onondaga Nation Reservation.

Brett and Bucktooth Sr. are two peas in a pod. They’re mild-mannered. They’re family-oriented. They love to fish and hunt together. And they both dominated the central New York high-school lacrosse scene. Make no mistake, though, Brett isn’t merely looking to mimic Bucktooth Sr.’s Syracuse career. He’s striving to make a name for himself among other Indigenous greats.

“I want to create my own legacy and not be in their shadows,” Brett said.

Bucktooth Sr.’s SU tenure, where he tallied 111 points and helped the Orange win the 2004 national title, is tough to match. Not to mention his 12-year professional career in Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League.

But Brett said he never felt pressured to follow his father’s footsteps. Like most Haudenosaunee men, his adoration for lacrosse developed independently, Bucktooth Sr. said.

A young Brett Bucktooth Jr. poses with his father, Brett Bucktooth Sr., at the Syracuse Alumni Game circa 2012 in the then-Carrier Dome. After watching his dad compete at the historic lacrosse venue, Brett Bucktooth Jr. now calls the Dome turf home. Courtesy of Brett Bucktooth Sr.

Brett lived up to his father’s prowess, though. He earned All-CNY Small Schools First-Team honors with LaFayette High School and starred for a season at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts, where he shattered the program’s single-game points record by dropping 12 on April 13, 2024.

Brett earned the credentials to compete at Syracuse, but significant playing time for freshmen under Gait is rare — as seen with SU attack Trey Deere, who logged just five appearances in 2024. Though Brett has yet to make his debut, he’ll inevitably get the chance to succeed his father down the line.

“I think having that familiarity made him feel a lot more at ease,” Bucktooth Sr. said of Brett’s SU commitment. “There’s comfort in him knowing that I had a great, great experience. And now that he’s there, I can share that a bit more.”

Brett has witnessed Bucktooth Sr.’s unwavering commitment to lacrosse his entire life, Nicole said, which sparked his emulation of his father. Dedication comes at a cost, however.

Bucktooth Sr. missed Brett’s birth in 2005 because he was playing in the President’s Cup box lacrosse tournament in Canada, Nicole said. But Bucktooth Sr. made up for his absence, bringing his son with him on road trips during his professional career. Bucktooth Sr. will never forget the day during the 2006 World Games in London, Ontario, when Brett took his first steps in the dormitory that the Haudenosaunee lacrosse team stayed in.

Some of Brett and Bucktooth Sr.’s favorite memories together are the conversations they have while traveling in the car, from talking ball to riffing about life. Those moments remained consistent when Bucktooth Sr. retired, instead traveling around the country for Brett’s games.

It’s how Brett learned what it’s like to center one’s day-to-day life around sport. Though for Haudenosaunee, lacrosse and family go hand-in-hand, so it was easy for the two to bond.

“He’s seen the sacrifices that he’s made, how he’s made (lacrosse) a priority to show his dedication,” Nicole said of Brett’s relationship with Bucktooth Sr. “He’s taken that from his dad.”

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For Haudenosaunee people, lacrosse possesses a deeper meaning for those who carry themselves the right way in all aspects of life and use the game to heal both their mind and their community, Bucktooth Sr. said.

That was Bucktooth Sr.’s key teaching to his son throughout his childhood. Brett basked in his father’s advice and ran with it.

Bucktooth Sr.’s teachings of The Creator’s Game carried over to the grass. He and his son spent countless hours ripping shots at their backyard net, something Brett said will stick with him for the rest of his life. In their shooting sessions, Bucktooth Sr. helped Brett develop his touch and precision while adding flare to his skillset, such as backhanded behind-the-back shots and one-handed releases.

Bucktooth Sr. said Brett forged a vast offensive arsenal during his youth playing days and figured out how to beat each specific goalie with certain moves, whether standard or spectacular.

“Even to this day, my father is always giving me tips on how to get better,” Brett said. “He’s taught me everything I know.”

It carried over to Brett’s stellar high-school career. He put up gaudy numbers in his two seasons as a starter at LaFayette. A 48-goal, 19-assist sophomore year, in which Brett led the Lancers to a Section III Class D state title victory, was followed by a 38-goal, 15-assist campaign in 2023. As Brett grew into his 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame and paired it with smooth finishing skills, programs like Syracuse took interest in his services.

To prepare for the Division I level, Brett transferred from LaFayette to Wilbraham & Monson for his senior year. He was named a First-Team All-League player in his lone season with the academy.

Despite comparisons to his father, who formerly won three sectional titles at LaFayette, Brett remains steadfast in carving out his place in the history of Haudenosaunee lacrosse players, which Bucktooth Sr. takes immense pride in.

“It’s a community affair. It’s a family affair and a legacy,” Bucktooth Sr. said. “Brett and the likes of Trey Deere, Greg Elijah-Brown, these Haudenosaunee young men, they’re the new role models for the next generation.”

Upon Brett’s Syracuse commitment, Bucktooth Sr. reminisced on when his son was younger. Brett would wear an orange sweatshirt while attending SU games with his father, who even went as far as to introduce his son to legendary Syracuse head coach Roy Simmons Jr.

At times, it seemed as if Brett was always plotting how he’d hold his stick on the Dome turf one day.

Bucktooth Sr. said he got a wooden stick for Brett as soon as he could walk. He wasn’t even 1 year old, but with Bucktooth Sr. being a right-hander, he was excited to see his son hold a stick the same way he did. So, he placed it in Brett’s hand and gave him a righty shooter’s grip.

Once Brett snared the stick, Bucktooth Sr. said, he stared up at his father and switched to a left-handed shooter’s form.

“‘No way, that’s not right,’” Bucktooth Sr. said with shock at the time. “I hit the reset button after a few minutes, and went back to Brett and put the stick again in his right hand. And this time, he looked at me, he shook his head, and he put it in his left hand with the appropriate hand positioning. And I was like, ‘OK, you’re a lefty.’”

It all worked out for the best. The two were perfect partners in the backyard, Bucktooth Sr. said, because they could stand at opposite sides of the cage and simultaneously fire scorching shots into the netting.

Brett and Bucktooth Sr. were mirror images of each other back then. They still are; the roles are just reversed. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Published on March 3, 2025 at 11:53 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews