Buffalo Bandits Sign Ryan Sharkey

The Buffalo Bandits signed Ryan Sharkey to a one-year deal, the team announced Wednesday.

The 6-foot, 180-pound defenseman was originally drafted by Buffalo in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft at 73rd overall.

The Yonkers, NY native spent four seasons playing collegiately at Canisius College (now a university) and managed 70 loose-ball recoveries and caused 29 turnovers in 39 games. He was named First-Team All Conference in 2022 and Second-Team All Conference in 2021. In his senior campaign (2022), Sharkey was one of five players to start all 14 games and posted a season-high three caused turnovers against Monmouth. He was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

His last year of collegiate ball was in 2023 with UMASS, where he totaled 12 loose-ball recoveries and caused 11 turnovers in 14 matches.

Additionally, he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League. Sharkey played for the Rapids, a team sponsored by the Bandits and the Rochester Knighthawks, another NLL team. He has a combined six points in two seasons.