As the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament kicked off with some great games this past weekend, Sunday night got us one step closer to college lacrosse’s biggest individual award, The Tewaaraton Trophy.

The five men’s finalists are:

Connor Cannizzaro, Denver – Jr., Attack

Myles Jones, Duke – Sr., Midfield

Matt Landis, Notre Dame – Sr., Defense

Dylan Molloy, Brown – Jr., Attack

Ben Reeves, Yale – Soph., Attack

Now its time to get to know these stud lacrosse players.

Connor Cannizzaro, Denver – Jr., Attack

The Junior out of New York has spent his Jr. season building on last year’s National Championship victory for Denver, the first in program history. Playing under Bill Tierney, Cannizzaro has proven himself a force as this marks his second straight Tewaaraton nomination and should be his second straight First Team All-American nod. Denver losing their first round matchup to Towson will hurt Connor’s odds at the trophy, but he does have a very impressive resumé. Cannizzaro finished his Junior campaign with 44 goals, 23 assists, and 67 points along with being named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year for 2016.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIuUawUfJK4]

Myles Jones, Duke – Sr., Midfield

Myles Jones has been a forced to be reckoned with since he arrived in Durham for his freshman year. He has shown the ability to completely dominate games at any point in time regularly throughout his four years at Duke. This year marks the second consecutive season that the 6’5″, 240 pound midfielder has been named a finalist as one of the five best players in all of college lacrosse. Last year’s Midfielder of the Year and this years reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year had another huge season to add to an already legendary career for the Blue Devils. Jones is arguably the best midfielder to every wear the blue and white, and finished off his final year with 70 points on 33 goals and 37 assists. He finished his career ranked seventh all time in points for the storied program with 231 points and looks to add to his already packed trophy case with a Tewaaraton Trophy to sit next to the National Championship that he won two years ago.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgYmGQ82v9Q]

Matt Landis, Notre Dame – Sr., Defense

Throughout his Notre Dame career, Landis has been a rock for the Irish. This year he led the Fifth ranked defense in the country and is now the reigning, two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year. On top of being ACC Defensive Player of the Year, he is also the reigning National Defensemen of the Year and has the chance to be Notre Dame’s first ever winner of the prestigious award. Landis collected 28 ground balls and forced 17 turnovers this season.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uDxcG8BXZ8]

Dylan Molloy, Brown – Jr., Attack

Molloy is currently leading all players in scoring this season with 106 points and has a real shot to break Lyle Thompson’s scoring record of 128 points in a season if Brown keeps on winning and scoring at will as they have all season. Brown is the Nation’s top offense and it all runs through the Junior stud, Dylan Molloy. With Molloy being one of two finalists who’s teams are still in contention for a National Title (Landis being the other), he has the opportunity to show the voters how deserving he is of the award. Breaking Thompson’s record would lock down the trophy for Molloy and he is the current front runner in my eyes.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfSjSTpWejU]

Ben Reeves, Yale – Soph., Attack

The youngest of the finalists is Sophomore, Ben Reeves. Last year he made quite the impression as Ivy League rookie of the Year and set the Yale Freshman scoring record with 43 points during his first season. He blew those numbers out of the water this year by scoring 73 points on 42 goals and 31 assists, currently third in the nation in points and points per game. While the youngster may not win the award this year, do not be surprised to see him as a finalist the next two years and a very likely winner of the award before his days as a Yale Bulldog are done.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm5MQhRQsJM]

Prediction:

The safe bet to win this years Tewaaraton is the Junior from Brown, Dylan Molly. Molloy has dominated every opponent this season and will looks to carry the momentum through the tournament. Ultimately, I expect Molloy not only to win the award, but also to break Lyle Thompson’s scoring record.

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