PLAYER PROFILE – Dyson Williams is an Oshawa native who grew up on February 14, 2000. He has lacrosse in his blood, as he played minor lacrosse in Whitby and attended The Hill School for high school.
Dyson Williams: Key Oshawa FireWolves Player
Childhood
Williams came from a lacrosse family. His father, Shawn Williams, was a 17-year veteran in the NLL, playing 10 of his seasons with the Rochester Knighthawks. This is what Dyson said about his father and what he has meant to him personally and professionally, according to the Albany FireWolves (now Oshawa FireWolves) YouTube Account on December 30, 2024:
There was also some tragedy in Williams life as he lost his brother, Tucker Williams, who died from Burkitt’s Lymphoma at the age of eight.
As a result, as a professional lacrosse player, he wears the number “51,” the same number his brother used to play when playing youth lacrosse. Williams also talks about “honouring him.”
Lacrosse is a sport very dear to his family; his sister, Dylana Williams, also plays lacrosse. She plays the field lacrosse version with the UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse team.
They also have the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup. This is the second annual tournament in the NLL for this type of competition and the first for Oshawa (the first time this tournament took place, the FireWolves were in Albany). There are three games for this competition, with one game coming up (the one left remaining is the one between the FireWolves and the Buffalo Bandits on April 18), according to the Oshawa FireWolves website.
The Bandits defeated the Desert Dogs by a score of 15-13 on January 3. Then, on January 31, the Desert Dogs defeated the FireWolves by a score of 16-13.
Duke University (2020-24, Field Lacrosse)
Williams came to Duke University with a lot of hype as he was ranked as the third incoming freshman in 2019. He started all eight games on attack for the Blue Devils, where he had 30 points, which included dishing out four assists and scoring 26 goals.
Then, in 2021, he played both in the attack and in the midfield. Then, in 2022, he had 43 goals and nine assists, for 52 points.
For 2023, he played all 19 games on attack. In this season, he scored at least one goal in all nineteen games. In total, he scored 60 goals that year. Finally, in 2024, he played all the games on attack and led all Duke scorers with 61 goals and was third on the team in points with 65.
His honours include getting USILA All-America honorable mention (2023, 2024), USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America honorable mention (2023), Inside Lacrosse All-America honorable mention (2023), All-ACC (2023), All-ACC Academic Team (2022, 2023, 2024), and theACC Academic Honor Roll (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
Source: Duke University
This was a big reason why Williams was selected by the Albany FireWolves first overall in the 2024 NLL Draft, according to the Albany FireWolves website:
“Dyson has had incredible success at every level: junior, NCAA and internationally with Canada,” said Albany FireWolves Head Coach and General Manager Glenn Clark. “We know he’ll be an exceptional pro player, and we look forward to watching him grow and learn with his teammates. Dyson can play any style of offence, can create with and without the ball, and plays at a pace that will create an even more dynamic look for our group.”
It was also a dream come true for Williams as he said this when he got drafted by Albany back in the NLL draft:
“I’ve been around lacrosse and the NLL my entire life, and it was a dream of mine to play in this league since I can remember,” said Dyson, the #1 Overall Pick in the 2023 NLL Draft by the Albany FireWolves.
Utah Archers (2024-Present, Field Lacrosse)
Williams has played two seasons with the Utah Archers. In his first season, he had four goals in ten games. He took a step up in 2025, when he scored 12 goals and dished out one assist for a total of 13 points in ten games played.
Williams scored a big goal in the third quarter of the final. He played a role in the team winning its second straight PLL championship.
Albany FireWolves (2023-25, Box Lacrosse)
The first city Williams played for professionally was in the capital of New York State. While Albany did not make the playoffs in Williams’s lone season in Albany, he still made his mark.
He was the NLL’s Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 NLL season. This is what Albany Firewolves general manager and head coach, Glenn Clark, said about this, according to Mark Singelais of the Times Union:
“It’s great for him, and it is well-deserved,” FireWolves general manager and head coach Glenn Clark said.
“I don’t know if there’s been a rookie that’s come in the last number of years that’s kind of had the pressure he’s had, in terms of everybody sort of acknowledged him as the No. 1 pick and marquee rookie in the league, so he’s had that moniker that put pressure on him.”
Oshawa FireWolves (2025-Present, Box Lacrosse)
Williams talks about playing in Oshawa and his excitement, as he said this, according to Anna Huk’s Instagram Account:
Williams is looking for the team to regroup after failing to make the playoffs in the last year the FireWolves played in Albany, according to the Oshawa FireWolves website:
“After falling short of the playoffs this year, we have a hungry group of guys that are already fired up for next year,” said Dyson. “I’m excited to come back and take all the experiences we had from this season to come back better. Our team has a young core with veteran leaders to show us the way.”
Dyson is having a stellar season, scoring seven goals and dishing out 15 assists to get a total of 22 points with eight games played. However, his team, the FireWolves, has a record of 2-7 and is currently thirteenth in the NLL standings.
Games Coming Up For the Oshawa FireWolves
The FireWolves have two games coming up. The first one will be on February 7, at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, to face their Golden Horseshoe rivals, the Toronto Rock, at 7:00 pm EST. This is while the FireWolves will then host the San Diego Seals on February 14 at the Tribute Communities Centre at 7:00 pm EST.
Both games will be shown live on TSN+, and the game against the Rock will also be shown on TSN. This is all according to TSN.
Photo Credit: R. Lee on November 28, 2025.
Excellent article. This article highlights hardships of our sports personalities, and how they overcome it just like us.