Syracuse men's lacrosse senior attackman Joey Spallina, a multi-year All-American who will lead the Orange into the Final Four on Saturday, is one of five finalists for the sport's top annual honor, the Tewaaraton Award.
The winner of the 2026 Tewaaraton Award will be announced on Thursday, May 28, in Washington, D.C. This week, in a radio interview, SU alum and ESPN play-by-play announcer Anish Shroff, who will call the national semifinals on Saturday and the championship contest on Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day), says that at this juncture, he believes Spallina "has pulled away from the pack" for this season's Tewaaraton Award.
Awesome.
The Tewaaraton Trophy is the Heisman Trophy of lacrosse.
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) May 21, 2026
I got to sit down with three of the FINALISTS that are playing in the Final Four this weekend to hear how they feel about being up for the award:
Syracuse's Joey Spallina
Notre Dame's Shawn Lyght
Princeton's Nate Kabiri pic.twitter.com/SpGe3FfESY
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Spallina, a native of Mount Sinai, N.Y., is winning all kinds of honors for his tremendous 2026 campaign. On Thursday, he was named a first-team All-American and the national attackman of the year by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
Syracuse is eyeing a championship game appearance for the first time since 2013.
That being said, Spallina, the Atlantic Coast Conference offensive player of the year in 2026 and SU's all-time career points leader, isn't the only All-American on Syracuse's roster. Not in the least. To that end, let's give a shout-out to other SU All-Americans such as Luke Rhoa, Riley Figueiras, Billy Dwan III, Michael Leo, John Mullen and Jimmy McCool.
Orange All-Americans#HHH x #LikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/OLrpk6jUix
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) May 21, 2026
The Orange's loaded line-up, guided by Syracuse legendary player and head coach Gary Gait, has compiled a 13-5 overall record this season, and the 'Cuse is headed toward a rematch with fellow ACC school Notre Dame in the Final Four.
Syracuse, the No. 6 seed, and Notre Dame (12-2 overall), the NCAA Tournament's No. 2 seed, will go toe to toe beginning at 2:30 pm EST on Saturday, May 23, at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. If you're tuning in on television, this Final Four bout will air on ESPN2. The other national semifinal, set to start at 12:00 pm EST on Saturday, pits No. 1 seed Princeton against Duke.
The Tour Continues.#HHH x #LikeNoOther pic.twitter.com/67eOW9TY9E
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) May 17, 2026
The Orange and the Fighting Irish have already played once this year. On April 25, Notre Dame, at home, defeated Syracuse men's lacrosse by a final score of 16-11. In their all-time series together, the programs are tied at 12 wins each.
I'm rooting for Spallina and the other seniors, in particular. They're trying to bring a national title to the 'Cuse for the first occasion dating back to 2009. Syracuse men's lacrosse has made the Final Four for an incredible 29th time, including the second consecutive campaign.
Let's grab that chip.
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