UVA MLAX: Cole Kastner Set to Play for the California Redwoods

Originally posted on Virginia Cavaliers on SI
By Aidan Baller | Last updated May 15, 2025 1:27 PM ET

On Wednesday, it was announced that Cole Kastner was added to the California Redwoods training camp roster for the 2025 Premier Lacrosse League season. Kastner, who was drafted last year by the Redwoods, spent last summer preparing to play basketball at Stanford as he utilized his final year of collegiate eligibility to return to his home state and play his old sport.

At Stanford, Kastner served as a reserve player but managed to see minutes against Virginia, where he registered his first collegiate basketball statistic with a rebound late in the game.

In Charlottesville, Kastner was a star on the lacrosse field, garnering two USILA Second Team All-American honors, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022 in addition to a National Championship in 2021 where he started all four postseason games.

The Palo Alto native also put up monster stats at Virginia, utilizing his 6’7 frame to terrorize opposing defenders. Back in 2021, Kastner was a member of the defense that was referred to as velociraptors by Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Warne. Throughout his career, Kastner had 95 caused turnovers and 119 groundballs while adding four goals and two assists.

Long pole goals
Cole Kastner takes it all the way!#GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nXcy4H7wrR
— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) March 2, 2024

Here’s a quote about Cole Kastner, who served as a team captain during his senior season: “Cole is everywhere, “ said Coach Lars Tiffany. “Why is he running extra sprints with a couple of teammates after most practices, or jumping on an assault bike and blasting away on it? We ask so much of him on gameday that he needs to put in extra fitness training to recreate the workload placed on him. Cole is a fantastic in-game communicator, directing slides and rotations that are both according to plan and also improvised, especially with our 10-Man ride schemes.”

For a film breakdown of Kastner:

From a roster standpoint, Kastner joins a close defense group with former Notre Dame defenseman Arden Cohen, Chris Fake, and Chris Conlin. As for former Hoos, Kastner joins LSM Jared Conners, SSDM Chris Merle, and offensive midfielder Charlie Bertrand, who were also a part of the 2021 National Championship-winning team.

As for other PLL news, former UVA midfielder Dox Aitken was added to the holdout list this summer as he’s set to play football for the Ohio Valley Ironmen in the International Football Alliance, according to a report by Dan Arrestia. Griffin Schutz was also added to the holdout list for this summer, meaning he will also not play this year.

Opening day for the California Redwoods is Friday, May 30th, where they will square off against the Denver Outlaws. Opening faceoff is set for 8:30 PM.