The wait is over, we have white smoke over Arlotta Stadium! Habemus bagpiper!

After the sudden end to the 2025 season in the NCAA quarterfinals, there was considerable emotion and reflection on the conclusion of a difficult and hard-fought Notre Dame lacrosse campaign. But it also necessitated the special selection of a player right then and there in the midst of all that passion.  Who would be chosen to lead the team out on the filed next season with the bagpipes? With the graduation of 2025 season bagpiper Ben Ramsay, we reveal who was chosen as the next leader in this glorious thirty year tradition: senior Ryan Sforzo of Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

Ryan took the time to speak with 18 Stripes about this responsibility!

The Succession

There has been a Notre Dame Lacrosse player-bagpiper leading the team onto the field, every game, for thirty years. Among the many traditions in college lacrosse, the Notre Dame lacrosse player-bagpiper has become among the most recognizable in the sport. This is the written account of their line of succession:

Sean Meehan became the first piper in 1996. He led the team out onto the field after his teammates discovered he played the bagpipes. He continued every game until he graduated and passed the role onto Dan Hickey. After his time, Hickey gave them to Regis McDermott, who then passed the pipes to Colt Power. From Colt they continued on to Ryan Mix, who then chose Eddy Glazener. Eddy passed the role to Will Young, who after his term gave the pipes campus hero Tommy McNamara. Upon his graduation, Tommy then handed the responsibility to Ross Burgmaster.

During Ross’ tenure as the piper, it was discovered that captain and transfer student, Brian Tevlin, also knew how to play the bagpipes. Brian was enlisted to help, leading us to arguably the best moment of this tradition if not college lacrosse history: the dual bagpiper walkout to Notre Dame’s first national championship, first echoing and building from deep in the caverns of Lincoln Financial Field until exploding out into a crowd of 40,000.

credit: Fred Assaf

Ross Burgmaster took initiative to make a change to the tradition (for the better). Instead of passing the bagpipes to an underclassman, he gave them to senior Ben Ramsey so that the weight of the responsibility would be carried by a player with the seasoning to fully embrace the challenge. It also means we now get a new piper each year. Ben continued with this idea and passed the pipes to senior Ryan Sforzo for the 2026 season! 

The Tradition 

Put simply, the team is led onto the field before every game by a teammate playing “Scotland the Brave” (though the song will occasionally change) on the bagpipes. This is the player’s emotional cue that it is time to focus in and get ready to play. The selection of this player is its own tradition. When a piper graduates, he is obligated to select a new piper by simply leaving the pipes in their locker at the immediate end of the season. No warning or asking, one day the pipes are just there. It becomes the duty of this student-athlete to learn the complicated instrument to be ready to lead the following season. This year marks the 30th anniversary of this tradition. 

It’s a tradition that has inspired and motivated others in the lacrosse community.  It is not hard to understand why.  You only have to see it once to understand the intensity that it builds and the comradery it fosters. Out west at MCLA Chapman University, senior goalie Jack Duffy leads his team out on the field to the sound of bagpipes. “I definitely got the idea from Notre Dame. However, I like to use different songs than them. It feels awesome to lead the team out because of how it feels like we multiply each other’s energy.”

Our 18 Stripes Interview of Ryan Sforzo!

It is our pleasure to introduce this year’s piper: Ryan Sforzo! Ryan is a senior midfielder who comes from distant Lakewood Ranch, Florida! He has been an active member of the team and has been a part of both national championships! 

Ryan was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for us: 

Tommy McNamara passed the bagpipes to Ross Burgmaster, who had the pipes for a long time with help from Brian Tevlin, until passing them on to Ben Ramsey. Ben passed them on to you as the 13th team piper. How did you find out the challenge was yours?

Right after our season ended last year in Annapolis in the quarterfinals, Ben came up to me in the locker room as the team was taking time to reflect on everything. He gave me a big hug and simply handed me the bag and told me “The pipes are yours.” I was still processing the loss and too surprised to fully recognize what he was telling me, but we had a great moment together and it became a necessary reminder that I was lucky to have another year to be a part of this program and had more to give. I went to our parents’ tailgate and shared Ben’s decision with my mom, dad, and sister Sydney. It was a raw and emotional moment for all of us and they just told me they were proud of me. From then on, the pipes were mine and I took a couple of weeks before I started to research how exactly they worked. 

Has your learning process been successful and what resources do you have for help? 

Learning the bagpipes has honestly been one of the challenging learning experiences of my life. It has been rewarding to start completely fresh in a field in which I have absolutely zero experience or knowledge. Fortunately, if you want to learn the bagpipes, Notre Dame is the best school to do it. We have a thriving Bagpipe Club and Ben was able to connect me with one of the leaders of the club who is a professional player and has been kind enough to give me lessons twice a week for the entire year so far. I have also stayed in contact with Ben and Ross and text them often for advice and tips when I get stuck. There has been lots of frustrating moments, but they are easily forgettable when you finally get a breakthrough and do something you never thought you had the talent for. It is remarkably entertaining and a great way to add in something new to my daily schedule that requires a completely different skillset from anything else I practice. 

Ryan also would like to thank Sebastian Benedetto who has been helping him out with his learning process! 

The piper gets a lot of attention on the game broadcasts (and often a lot of grief!). Are you nervous to bring the team out on the field for the first time? 

I am certainly excited and will be full of adrenaline when we walk out on the field the first time and any time thereafter. I am sure I will be nervous when that moment comes, but I know I will also be full of pride and gratitude that will allow me to take it all in before it flashes by. I think having that honor to walk us out means too much for me and the people I care about to get caught up in the perfections of the actual song itself. Regardless, I know I will go over the things I get wrong an infinite number of times so I can try to correct them for the next time, and it will bother me until I do. 

The team pipers seem to be a close group. How have the older bagpipers embraced you into their ranks? 

I don’t think I can be officially sworn into the brotherhood until I have graduated Notre Dame or at least played the pipes for a complete season, but I still have felt the love and support of that group. Obviously, I grew up watching the tradition and was able to see it firsthand with Ross, Tevlin, and Ben the past few years. The one thing that I love about the group is that they are so passionate about the tradition and are ecstatic to see me carry it on this year. It’s also an interesting fraternity because it adds a new layer to the previous relationships you have with those teammates as you can talk to them about this skill that no else in the locker room has any understanding for. It has certainly built my appreciation and respect for all those who have been a part of the tradition, especially those who started it and made it into what it is today. 

Your family has deep ties to Notre Dame, and you’ve probably known the University and its traditions all your life. Did it ever cross your mind as a kid visiting campus or as a young lacrosse player that you might be called upon to personally carry on one of Irish sports’ and lacrosse’s cherished traditions? 

Honestly, no it did not. I, like every other Notre Dame Lacrosse fan, was mesmerized by the bagpipes and pulled in by the unique tradition, but it never occurred to me that I would be capable of playing any instrument that well, let alone the bagpipes. Ironically, it has become something that will always define my time and contribution at Notre Dame and on the team. I could not be more thankful that Ben thought of me for it and it will be one of the best memories of my life. 

Your father, Chris, also played lacrosse at Notre Dame for Coach Corrigan. What does it feel like to share the Irish playing experience with your dad? 

It is a little crazy to be hearing the same lectures from Coach Corrigan that my dad tells me he heard thirty years ago, as I know Will Gallagher has had the same experience. Ultimately though, it has given me a deeper relationship with Coach and allowed me to see the bigger picture in the day-to-day process of being a member of his program. Even the players who did not have a previous family relationship with Coach share an appreciation and affection for what he has done for us, Notre Dame, and the sport of lacrosse. He is without a doubt one of the greatest coaches of all time in all collegiate sports, and I could not imagine myself ever playing for anyone else. He represents the culture of our team and the University of Notre Dame in a way that the rest of us can only try to match and be disciplined enough to adhere to each day. 

As you are a Floridian, we have to add your vote to an important question: what is harder, an abysmally hot southern summer lacrosse tournament, or a cold northern morning practice? 

I’d much rather have an abysmally hot southern summer lacrosse tournament than a cold northern morning practice. The heat can be draining but at least you can still feel your hands and feet and your body still works. 

The Notre Dame roster is very deep and talented, so not every player gets attention on the game broadcasts. Which teammate do you think fans of the Fighting Irish lacrosse should learn more about and why?

One of the best things about our team is that there is a long list of guys I could pick that inspire me every day with the way they work at their craft without notice. If I had to pick one teammate who has embodied that role better than anyone since I got to campus my freshman year, I would pick one of my best friends and roommates Christian Gallaher. Christian has always been one of the hardest workers and the last one to leave the locker room after a long day and night. He is also the leader of our team Bible Study that meets weekly and is consistently in the run for “Teammate of Week” because of the character he brings with him on and off the field. He cares more about the overall success of the team than he does about himself, and he has earned the opportunity to make an impact on the field this year and I am excited to watch him go to work. He is also an Irishman and his whole family bleeds gold and blue like mine, which has made us close friends. 

Lastly, what recommendations do you have for aspiring young lacrosse players on how to realize their potential? 

For me, I know I spent too much time early on in my career analyzing my ability and play every time I stepped onto the field. I wasted too much energy beating myself up over plays that always seemed worse in my head than in reality. The biggest lesson I’ve learned in college is that love is the most powerful emotion and motivator. If you love lacrosse on a foundational level, focus on that feeling and let it drive you to take chances and not be afraid to make mistakes. Love the setbacks because they are opportunities to get better, soak in the successes, and remain humble enough to acknowledge your vulnerabilities without being your own worst enemy. If you stay the course and get back up, you will always have hope. My last piece of advice, and possibly most important of all, is to always be yourself. 

Thanks so much to Ryan for taking the time to talk with us, and for imparting some wisdom as well! It is clear why Ben Ramsay chose him.

Ryan and the rest of the 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team will open up the season in a few weeks with a road trip to Marquette on February 14th! 

#GoIrish

Luke Burgar

ND-ATL 2.0