A Wahconah High School dynamo, Billy O’Neill garnered interest from several Division 1 and NESCAC schools in 2021.
The shifty box-lacrosse-styled attackman rang up goals with alarming consistency for western Massachusetts D-3 sectional champ Wahconah all spring, knowing that his path was uncertain, until he visited the school that would one day become home: Nazareth.
But that wasn’t always the plan. Growing up in western Massachusetts, O’Neill was raised on the bully-ball stylings of UMass. Games at Garber Field became a family tradition for Billy and his father. He dreamed of one day being a Minuteman.
“It was always the dream to play in college,” said O’Neill. “I started going to the UMass games when I was little and watched them on TV whenever I could. It was always my goal to play in college.”