California has added defender Emma Garro to its lacrosse roster head coach Jennifer Wong announced on Wednesday.

"We're thrilled to welcome Emma back to California," Cal head lacrosse coach Jennifer Wong said. "We recruited her out of high school, so having the opportunity to bring her home is really exciting for our program. The familiarity and relationship we already built with Emma made this a very natural fit, and we're confident in the person and competitor we're adding to our team. She brings tremendous speed and athleticism, and she will strengthen us on the defensive end."

"Coming home to California means more than just playing closer to home," Garro added. "It means representing the state that shaped me as a person, a competitor and a lacrosse player. I had the opportunity to grow with the game in California and see how far it has come. Now, to compete for the California Golden Bears in one of the nation's most competitive conferences is a challenge I do not take lightly. The team has already made Cal feel like home, and I'm grateful to coach Wong for giving me the opportunity to play for Cal and chase my goals at the highest level. I'm ready to contribute and proud to represent California."

Garro spent the 2026 lacrosse season at Loyola University Maryland after enjoying a standout prep career at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego. Garro earned All-American and Academic honors from USA Lacrosse as both a 2024 junior and 2025 senior, adding All-American recognition from Adrenaline and All-West Region honors from USA Lacrosse in her final prep campaign when she tallied 43 ground balls and caused 27 turnovers in 21 contests, as well as an All-American spot from New Balance as a 2023 sophomore when her team was 19-5 overall and won the Western League with a perfect 9-0 conference record before finishing the season No. 8 in the final MaXpreps state rankings. Garro started all 84 games possible in her prep career and was an All-Section performer in each of her four varsity campaigns.

Garro played club lacrosse with Mad Dog West Elite while playing in the same prep and club lacrosse circles as current Golden Bears and fellow San Diego-area natives Alina Hsu, Dahlen Vilbrandt and Isabella Wenstrand. Garro comes from an athletic family. Her father, Michael, is a former soccer player at USC; while her mother, Andrea, played lacrosse at Arizona, and her twin brother, Max, is currently on the men's lacrosse team at Connecticut College.