Stevenson women’s lacrosse senior Mina Primrose chatted with PressBox about the art of picking up a ground ball, her advice for younger players getting Division III looks in the recruiting process and more. The 5-foot-2 defender picked up 24 ground balls and caused 14 turnovers for the Mustangs in 2025. Primrose is a native of Westminster and graduate of Delone Catholic High School (Pa.).
PressBox: How did you first become interested in lacrosse?
Mina Primrose: I started playing in middle school. My family moved. I did dance and cheer before, and then when we moved there wasn’t really any of that up here. Everyone here seemed to play lacrosse, so my parents were like, “Oh, why don’t you guys just try it?” I started playing in seventh grade and I really liked it, so I stuck with it, played in high school. My high school didn’t have a girls’ team, so I just played club. And then I really liked Stevenson, so I kept playing it and went to Stevenson.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
MP: I would say my parents, [Cathy and Wendell]. They didn’t play lacrosse, but their support all the time — the traveling, the money, all of that. They always just supported me playing, any decision I made, like to keep playing in college. If I did want to keep playing in college, they always had my back, so that was really nice. They were definitely my biggest influence.
PB: What are your favorite memories from playing while growing up in Westminster?
MP: My favorite memories would definitely be all the friends that I made. I feel like a lot of my best friends that I still talk to today are some of the ones I met playing in middle school and in high school and then everyone that I met in college, too — all the relationships that I [made] due to sports.
PB: How did playing volleyball in high school help you in lacrosse?
MP: There definitely were some similarities, I think. It definitely helped me since my high school didn’t have a women’s lacrosse team. Playing volleyball in high school for a high school team I think helped me a lot with my time management skills for school and everything like that. That helped translate when I started playing lacrosse in college a lot. And then also just being in shape and having the schedule of, “OK, you’re going from class to practice,” and having games and all that, I think that helped me [with] playing college lacrosse.
PB: You only played club lacrosse since your high school didn’t have a team. Did you feel like you were behind once you got to Stevenson?
MP: No, I actually didn’t feel behind at all. That’s actually really surprising. I was worried about that a little bit. The team and everyone there made it really easy to adapt and come into college not having ever played in high school in the spring. I feel like I was never behind because of that.
PB: Why did you choose to go to Stevenson?
MP: I’m a nursing major. There’s a great nursing program. And also the school, I just really liked all of the facilities, everything they had for the athletes — the training room, the weight room, the locker room, the stadium, everything. The nursing faculty, all of the coaches for sports, everything. And the team, too — I feel like it had everything that I want at the school. And it’s not in the middle of nowhere. There’s stuff to do pretty much everywhere. It’s not too far from my high school, but it’s also not super close. I can go home if I want to, but I also have my own freedom and independence and stuff at college.
PB: Is there an art to picking up a ground ball in lacrosse?
MP: For me personally, I feel like it’s having your head on a swivel knowing where the ball is first. That’s really important because if you don’t know where the ball is, you don’t know if it’s on the ground. Making that first explosive step, being the first to the ball and boxing out, too, because being first to the ball is important but it doesn’t really matter if you’re there and you’re not boxing out and then someone can come up right behind you and scoop it up. Making sure that you’re getting low, making sure that you have a tight cradle, head up looking to see the next pass. That’s really something that has been emphasized [to] me — get the ball, hustle to it, look up, see the next pass, try to get into a fast break.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Owings Mills?
MP: Probably how there’s so much stuff. There are so many restaurants. There are so many places to go. There’s shopping. There are stores. I feel like every time that I’ve been like, “Oh, I want to go to this,” or, “I want to try this,” there’s somewhere in or around Owings Mills that’s not really far that has it.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
MP: Right now I would say my best friends are going to be three of my roommates: Anna Johnston, Vivi Kaminaris and then Reilly Holstrom. Me and Anna have lived together since sophomore year. Vivi and Reilly just started living with us this year. I feel like on and off the field we just click so well. They know what I’m thinking on and off the field. They really are my best friends. We can go home and not talk about lacrosse at all and have stuff to talk about and have stuff to do. Playing lacrosse with them is an added bonus. I feel like if we didn’t play lacrosse together we still would be as tight as we are.
PB: What player did you look up to when you first got to Stevenson?
MP: When I first got to Stevenson, I really looked up to [Hanna Ash] her senior year, my freshman year. She was one of our captains. She was a defender. I looked up to [Ash and Kara Yarusso] my freshman year so much. And then as the years went on, Kellyann Coccia as well. Those three were always up there. I always looked up to them.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players going through the recruiting process getting Division III looks?
MP: My advice is just to pick where you want to go and not think about the division. I feel like a lot of people get caught up in going D-II, going D-I. “Oh, I’m just going D-III.” Any division you go to [in order] to play a college sport is great. There really aren’t that many people that go play college sports out of high school. So I think that you should just focus [on the school having] your major. They have a good program for that major. You like the culture of the team. You like the coaches. You like the place that the school [is located]. Don’t really focus on the division. I think that going somewhere you want to go is the most important part, where you’re going to be successful in everything you do.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
MP: When I graduate in May, my goal is to take the NCLEX and pass. I want to do either ER nursing or work in an ICU. … [At] Stevenson, we have really good clinical rotations during school, so I’ve gotten a lot of experience through the school. Through my junior year and senior year semesters, [I’ve] been at Johns Hopkins main, Johns Hopkins Bayview, GBMC, Sheppard Pratt and Saint Agnes, so I’ve gotten a lot of experience just through the clinical program through school.
Photo Credit: Craig Chase Photography
Issue 297: February / March 2026
Originally published Feb. 18, 2026