Landon Johnson is a standout midfielder from the ADVNC NDP 2026 team going to Cornell University next Fall.
Johnson started playing lacrosse because his older brother, Luke (who is six years older) was playing. “I was always around him and his friends starting when I was about seven years old,” Johnson said. “They would always be playing 3x in our front yard, and they often needed another player, and would throw me in. I had no clue what I was doing. But I fell in love with lacrosse, and would always be playing with older kids. That helped me get better quickly.”
Landon and Luke's parents did not play lacrosse growing up, however, his mom, Lori Bauer, grew up in Maryland and loved the game. She made sure her two sons were introduced to the game, growing up in Seattle. Johnson credits his mom for helping him throughout his journey. “I go to the field with her almost every day and she’s actually the one passing to me while I’m shooting. She’s been instrumental in my process. I really don’t know what I would do without her. Also, my brother has helped me a lot too. Not only did he get me into the game, but he’s always pushed me to get better.”
“Sharing time on the field together in the late afternoons or early mornings has been very special,” said Bauer. “I am grateful for the opportunity I had to support Landon while he chased a big dream. The lessons he has learned through the experience are what I think most parents hope for. He developed a strong work ethic, resilience and learned the importance of teamwork.”
Johnson started playing on a local rec league team after being introduced to it by his brother and his older friends. He was hooked on lacrosse. “There’s just so many things you can do on a lacrosse field,” Johnson said. “There’s so many scenarios that can happen. It’s never just one thing every time. There’s so many things you can learn and there’s a lot of little nuances of the game that I think made me really fall in love with it. You can be so creative on the field. I learned I could create my own style of play.”
After a couple of years of playing at the rec league level, Johnson joined one of the very first Seattle Starz teams. He played with Aidan Santini on the Seattle Starz U9 team, coached by Santini’s dad, Chris. Santini and Johnson have played together all the way, through High School with Eastlake HS, Seattle Starz and ADVNC NDP.
Johnson joined one of the very first NDP teams in 6th grade. “ADVNC NDP has been instrumental in my development,” Johnson said. “Getting to play with the best kids from Oregon and California and teaming up with those players at national tournaments, playing against the best competition we could, has been really huge for me. Also, forming relationships with those players and my coaches has been really beneficial to my development.”
“ADVNC NDP provided Landon with the opportunity to compete and play with the best players,” said Bauer. “The level of talent at tryouts and wanting to earn a spot on the team, was a huge motivator for him. He knew that he had to work hard and continue developing. The ADVNC coaches worked a lot with Landon, including film breakdown. They developed relationships with Landon and he has grown as a player and person from their input.”
Johnson said his NDP coaches, Tim O’Brien, Josh Peck and Chris Rotelli have all been integral in his development and seeing the game the right way.
Johnson recalled going to the East Coast and playing Crabfeast and Naptown for the first time in 6th grade with ADVNC NDP. “It was really eye opening. I had not been exposed to playing against kids from the East Coast at that point. It was awesome realizing that we could compete at the highest level. Being from the West Coast, I don’t think the other teams really expected us to be any good. We went there and shocked some teams. That was big for our confidence going forward knowing that we can really do this and that we were going to be really good going forward.”
The other part of the ADVNC NDP experience that Johnson values is the fact that he was surrounded by players who were like minded. “We were all really committed to lacrosse, and getting better. It was also really beneficial to see players like that of my age, because there were things in their games that I could take and try to add to my game. We kind of worked off each other in that way, and it was very competitive in practices and games. The offense would push the defense, and we would all push each other to improve. All of that was really helpful in us getting better as individuals and as a team, and it helped us as we prepared to get recruited for college.”
Johnson said he really got interested in playing college lacrosse during COVID.
“I didn’t take lacrosse too seriously up until that point. But when the pandemic hit, there was really nothing else for me to do. So I remember that my family and I would sit outside and I would shoot on our goal in the backyard for hours on end. Then we would all have little competitions. I remember having a push-up competition with my mom! So I was putting all my energy into lacrosse during that time, and I started to see progress. I was like, wow, if I really keep working hard, then maybe I can get somewhere with it. That’s when I started to think about playing in college.”
Johnson with NDP coaches Josh Peck (left) & Tim O’Brien (right).
When Johnson’s recruiting summer drew near, he relied on his ADVNC coaches for guidance. “I talked with Coach O’Brien, Coach Peck and Coach Rotelli. I knew they were going to have my back with recruiting. I knew I just had to go out there and play my hardest and put out a good product for the college coaches to see. I knew they were going to smooth out the process for me. So it gave me a ton of confidence knowing I had coaches who had my back and were going to be helping me in every way that they can.”
“ADVNC was a really important part of Landon's recruiting process,” said Bauer. “ADVNC puts players at tournaments where the kids compete against the best teams in the country and where college coaches come to watch. ADVNC guided us on showcases and helped us navigate the right schedule during the recruiting cycle. Having advice on how much to play and where to play was really helpful.”
When September 1st came around, Johnson was a highly sought after recruit. He said that the first day was filled with calls talking to college coaches. He narrowed his list of colleges down to five, and took visits. Cornell was the last school he visited.
“I wanted a high academic school,” Johnson said. “Cornell was the last school I visited that was on my list. When I walked on the campus, I just had a really good feeling right on the spot. It just seemed like it was going to be the place for me. Then, I met the staff and players and it just felt like home. I got a great vibe. So I ultimately decided that Cornell was the place that I wanted to be. I committed to the coaches at the end of the visit and I couldn’t be happier to have made that decision.”
Johnson said he is a huge fan of watching live lacrosse games, going to games and watching past games on YouTube. Over the years, there are two midfielders he has watched more than any others. Former Princeton and current PLL player Coulter Mackesy and former Syracuse and Georgetown standout Tucker Dordevic. “I’ve always loved the way that Coulter shot the ball. I try to emulate that within my game. And with Tucker, I always thought his dodging style and overall skill was really cool, and I’ve tried to take some of that and add it to my game. But I try to watch as much lacrosse as I can. I feel like I’ve seen probably every single highlight reel out there. So if I see something that someone does that I think could be beneficial, I try to take that, go outside and rep it on the field, and make it my own.”
With Landon’s journey to college nearly behind him, he has this advice for young players who aspire to follow in his footsteps. “Surround yourself with as much lacrosse as possible. Whether that’s watching on TV or in person. Just be around the game. There’s so much that you can learn. The second thing is to just fall in love with the process of working hard. Going to the field every day to get shots in. Working hard every day makes the process easier because it helps you fall in love with that process. It’s not a grind anymore because you are just used to doing it.”