Five rosters later: JC Higginbotham’s unique path to the Cannons
· Yahoo Sports
Moments before the Boston Cannons took on the Utah Archers in Columbus, a change in net caught everyone by surprise. Backup goalie JC Higginbotham was starting in place of Colin Kirst.
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Bellarmine head coach Andy Whitley was just as surprised as anyone. He sat in the stands for the first time this season, excited to see Higginbotham and the California Redwoods’ Dillon Ward – two of his former goalies – on the field.
He didn’t know they’d both be starting.
“I happened to talk to Dillon after the Redwoods game while they were doing the changeover to the second game,” Whitley said. “… And he asked me before he walked away, ‘Is JC going to start?’ And I was like, ‘He didn’t say anything to us. I feel like he would have said something to me if that was the case.’”
Whitley and Higginbotham had spoken on the phone earlier that week.
Higginbotham knew Whitley was coming up from Louisville; he had even helped his former coach get the tickets.
He just left out one small detail: He’d be the one in net.
“I didn’t say anything because I was like, this is just another week,” Higginbotham said. “I was just trying to stay in that mindset of, I prepare every week like I’m gonna play.”
He kept the moment from getting too big, not wanting to make it about anything other than helping his team when his number was called.
And on game day, the result of his preparation was on full display.
First start and @BellarmineLax's JC Higginbotham is LOCKED IN! 🔒 pic.twitter.com/gZmbgxPwcF
— Kevin Brown (@kevbrown89) August 1, 2026
In his first start, Higginbotham stopped 61% of the shots he faced as the Cannons rolled to an 11-7 win over Utah. Since then, he’s remained a steady presence in net, posting save percentages of 50% and 62% in his next two appearances as the Cannons closed out their regular season in Boston and clinched a playoff spot.
It was everything he’d worked for, but the road was anything but direct.
Making it stick
It’s not unusual for professional athletes to bounce around and find opportunities on other rosters, but in a league with just eight teams, Higginbotham’s journey feels even more remarkable.
He’s been on five different rosters – practicing or playing for more than half the league in just two years.
Higginbotham’s career has been a constant cycle of opportunities, roster moves and fresh starts. And through all of it, he never lost the joy of simply getting to play.
Coming off an injury at the end of his college career, Higginbotham went undrafted in 2024. His first opportunity came with the New York Atlas during the 2025 Championship Series.
The following season, he joined the Denver Outlaws for training camp but didn’t make the roster. Later that summer, he spent a few weeks with the Archers before being released.
Then came another trip to the Championship Series this past winter, this time a win with the Carolina Chaos.
Through all the redirection, Higginbotham never viewed the next roster move as a reason to be frustrated. Instead, he kept coming back to the same thing: how fortunate he was to have an opportunity at all.
“There are only 16 goalies that get the opportunity to compete in the Premier Lacrosse League,” Higginbotham said. “It’s so humbling because you know that there are so many great All-Americans and great goalies that are sitting at home. So to even be in the mix and have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot, and then to be on a roster is just, it’s amazing.”
When head coach Brian Holman called this past spring and asked him to attend the Cannons’ training camp, Higginbotham jumped at the chance.
The Cannons brought three goalies to camp: Kirst, Higginbotham and former University of Virginia star Matthew Nunes.
It was a battle for the second spot, with Kirst as the projected starter, but an unexpected opportunity gave Higginbotham more reps than he initially anticipated.
Nunes couldn’t attend the Cannons’ Philadelphia camp, giving Holman a closer look at Higginbotham. Even without a full look at Nunes, Holman knew he couldn’t pass up what he had in front of him.
“There’s no way I’m not giving him a shot,” Holman recalled. “He really stood out to me in our three days up in Philly, and then he played the second half of the Atlas scrimmage, and I thought he was spectacular. … JC’s got incredible hands, but what he showed me there was a really high level of maturity.”
But making the roster and sticking around was only the beginning.
Worth the waitKirst’s track record made him a natural choice in net following training camp. He’s a team captain and a three-time All-Star. But this season had been a different story; Kirst posted a save percentage below 50% in seven of Boston’s first nine games.
With three games left and the Cannons sitting at 4-5, the margin for error was getting smaller as they chased a playoff spot.
From the outside, turning to Higginbotham was a bold choice. He had never started a PLL game and had just four career saves before getting the call against Utah.
But inside the locker room, the Cannons knew what Higginbotham was capable of.
He quickly became one of several under-the-radar players who have become difference-makers this season, joining the likes of Andrew McMeekin, Graydon Hogg and Brian Kelly.
And perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Holman has always had a thing for the underdog.
“I just look at myself a little bit that way, just in my life,” Holman said. “I can go back to my playing days at Hopkins; I wasn’t highly recruited. I was the fifth goalie on the depth chart. Nobody ever thought I would play there, and I did.”
Holman sees himself in the guys who have something to prove, and that willingness to keep pushing, even when the opportunity isn’t guaranteed, is something Whitley has seen in Higginbotham since college.
“He has been relentless in his pursuit of this,” Whitley said. “He’s talked about wanting to play pro lacrosse since he got [to Bellarmine].”
Now that dream is reality. Even as he spent his first few months as a Cannon on the sideline, Higginbotham’s dedication and commitment were centered on supporting his team.
“I was happy with how I prepared because I knew that it was going to be for my teammates,” he said. “… The waiting wasn’t tough because I knew that my teammates had my back and at the same time, I had theirs.”
Regardless of who was in net, his preparation never wavered. When his name was called, he was ready.
“You can’t hesitate when an opportunity like that comes up; you just have to go. It wasn’t an option to be worried or make excuses,” Higginbotham said. “They had given me the nod, and [offensive coordinator Will] Manny always said, ‘Do your job.’”
And he did just that. Three games as the starter and two over 60%. Taking over in cage is a difficult task at any point in the season, let alone this late, with the playoffs just around the corner.
“I give him credit for just responding the way he has when his number got called,” Holman said. “It was, ‘I’m on it,’ and he’s proven that so far.”
After bouncing around to more than half the teams in the league, this season with the Cannons is the longest Higginbotham has been with a single organization. It’s an experience he can only describe as “incredible.”
JC Higginbotham has been great in net for the @PLLCannons. He’s 3-0 as a starter over the last three weeks 🔥
— James Hogan V (@james_hoganv) August 9, 2026
vs Archers: 11 saves, 61%
vs Whipsnakes: 12 saves, 50%
vs Redwoods: 15 saves, 63% pic.twitter.com/8FqkkZ1aD5
Now, the Cannons move into postseason play as they take on the Maryland Whipsnakes on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+).
The last time these two teams met in Boston, the game ended with a dramatic Marcus Holman overtime winner. Higginbotham allowed just two goals in the final 18 minutes, finishing with a 50% save percentage – his lowest mark in three starts.
The rematch offers Higginbotham a chance to build on that performance – and potentially show what he can do when the moment feels a little less new.
As the Cannons prepare to head to Minneapolis for the quarterfinals, Higginbotham isn’t looking at what he’s accomplished as an individual. After everything it took to get here, he’s more focused on the opportunity to be part of something bigger than himself.
“This is for the Cannons and for the team, for my teammates,” he said. “… From the moment I get on the plane to the moment I get to the hotel and every single rep, every single practice and team meal, it’s like I’m just grateful to be there.”