For
Graham Houser and the rest of the Houser family,
their lives would be incomplete without one simple game: lacrosse.
The sport is a staple in their household and runs deep. It is not only a pastime for their family, but a game that has brought them closer together, especially for the two Houser boys.
The Junior Attackman and Hillard, Ohio native, has been playing lacrosse ever since he was in elementary school. His height led him to believe that he had a passion for basketball, but that quickly changed when his older brother Ben chose a different sport. He didn't know much about the game of lacrosse when he was that young, but he looked up to that one person in his family, who he knew could teach him everything.
Growing up, the two brothers had the typical older brother/younger brother relationship. "I've kind of always been known as Ben's younger brother," said Graham. "We get compared a lot, but he's always just kind of the person who pushed me when we were younger. My mom and dad … leaned on him to make sure I was doing good."
However, while Graham was learning the game, the two Houser brothers began to develop a more of a player-coach type of relationship. "Neither of our parents played the sport, and so my brother was a coaching figure all my life," said Houser. "He would show up to my games, and he would never kind of yell at me or be like that parent who would correct me, but he would always be in the stands and I could look up to him."
As the two got older, though, the pair became closer and closer. Especially once Graham's college recruitment started during the time of COVID. Also, during that time, Ben was playing college lacrosse at Illinois Wesleyan University and knew all about the highs and lows of college athletics and its recruitment process.
Graham's recruitment was anything but normal due to COVID. However, along with that, there were other trials and tribulations that emerged from attending a high school with prestigious, dominant programs.
"I came from a really prominent school in Columbus, and COVID had struck down my sophomore season, and then my junior year, we had 20 seniors, so I was kind of at the ladder of the bench," Houser said. "[I] never got a lot of playing time because there were a lot of kids that went to play college in front of me, um, but we made a giant run and that kind of got exposure".
From having worked his way into a starting role in his senior year, Graham knew that he wanted to play at a university where he could make an immediate impact. He had confidence in himself and his abilities and knew that his dedication would get him on the field.
"I stepped up into a starting role, and throughout the summer circuit, is when Coach McGinnis reached out to me," said Houser. "I think the deciding factor was how much I could play and what I could really do to impact the team. I didn't wanna go and sit on a bench and be part of an already established thing where I just had to fit in. I wanted to be myself, and I thought that was the best opportunity."
During his time at Thomas More, Houser has scored over 40 goals and over 50 points and has been named a team captain. However, none of the accolades top the feeling of being able to play against his brother during his junior year season.
During the 2025 season, the Saints scrimmaged against Capital University, where Ben is now an assistant coach. Graham ultimately got the last laugh as the Saints won, but he says that it was something that the brothers had never gotten to do before.
"We talked some smack, and obviously it felt really good beating him," said Graham. "But seeing the person that I grew up with coaching against me, I was almost like using what he taught [me] against him. I never got the opportunity to play against him because he's older than me, but after the game, talking with him and seeing my family happy that we got to compete was kind of like a dream come true."
Although no one can take credit for his success, Houser credits all of his success to his older brother. He plans on coaching after he graduates from Thomas More because of his brother and the impact that it made on him growing up.
Going into his senior year, Graham hopes to one day make an impact on others' lives in the same way that his brother made an impact on him
