Harlem Lacrosse Baltimore celebrates largest graduating class, 32 head to college

Long before the college announcements began, Harlem Lacrosse Baltimore had been building the support system that made the moment possible, pairing lacrosse with academic help, mentoring and steady adult guidance for Baltimore students. That work produced 32 graduating seniors headed to college this year, the largest class the program has ever celebrated.

The announcement ceremony was held Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at the Whiting-Turner Conference Center in Baltimore, with arrival set for 4 p.m. and the program starting at 5 p.m. Families, coaches and mentors filled the room, turning the event into a recognition not just of individual students, but of the network that kept them moving toward graduation and postsecondary plans.

Among the seniors, WMAR identified Symphony James, who is headed to UMBC to study biology and play lacrosse. Her path captured the program’s model in a single student story: athletics opened the door, but academics and long-term mentoring helped make the college step real.

Harlem Lacrosse first launched in Baltimore in the fall of 2014 at Commodore John Rodgers School, its first school site outside New York City. The organization now says it serves more than 240 boys and girls at eight programs across the city. In that time, the Baltimore operation has been presented as more than a sports enrichment effort. It has been a pathway program, one that uses lacrosse to keep students connected while pushing them toward school success and college access.

The results have been strong in recent years. Harlem Lacrosse said in a June 18, 2025, Baltimore post that 100% of its Class of 2025 had been accepted to college or a post-secondary pathway. Its 2025 impact report also says 50% of alumni become college athletes, underscoring how often the sport becomes part of a broader educational trajectory rather than an end in itself.

That makes this year’s milestone especially significant for Baltimore, where city youth programs are often judged by whether they do more than keep students busy after school. Harlem Lacrosse Baltimore’s latest class suggests that sustained mentoring, academic support and athletics can add up to measurable college outcomes. With 32 seniors moving on, the program offered another example of what long-term investment in Baltimore youth can produce when school, sport and support systems move in the same direction.