Notre Dame defenseman makes history as Syracuse lacrosse's Joey Spallina misses out on Tewaaraton

Syracuse men's lacrosse senior attackman Joey Spallina, thought by some to be the favorite for the 2026 Tewaaraton Award, missed out on the prestigious honor, as a defenseman at a fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school, Shawn Lyght, made history.

The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Spallina, a native of Mount Sinai, N.Y., was one of five finalists for the top annual award in men's lacrosse. A ceremony was held on Thursday evening at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

The five finalists were Spallina, North Carolina junior attackman Owen Duffy, Cornell junior attackman Willem Firth, Princeton junior attackman Nate Kabiri and Lyght, a junior defenseman at Notre Dame. Lyght became the first defender in men's college lacrosse to win the Tewaaraton. A huge congrats to Shawn!

Spallina was the first Syracuse men's lacrosse player to be a Tewaaraton Award finalist since Kevin Rice in 2015. Dating back to when the Tewaaraton Award was first revealed in 2001, SU has possessed three Tewaaraton winners: Michael Powell in 2002 and 2004, and Mike Leveille in 2008.

Spallina, the No. 1 national recruit in the 2022 class, had a historic career on the Hill. He finished his 'Cuse tenure with 333 total points, a program record, while securing way too many awards and honors for me to list here.

Syracuse's Joey Spallina is amazing on the field, but he's an even better person in life.

As a senior in the 2026 season, Spallina helped lead Syracuse to a 13-6 overall record and a second straight trip to the men's Final Four. In the national semifinals, the No. 6 seed Orange fell to No. 2 seed Notre Dame, 15-7. No. 1 seed Princeton, though, claimed the national title, beating the Fighting Irish in the championship game, 16-9.

In the recently completed campaign, Spallina finished with 35 goals, 52 assists and 87 total points. Nationally, he was tied for No. 10 in points per game this past term and No. 4 in assists per contest.

Spallina, in 2026, was a first-team All-American, the national attackman of the year and the ACC's offensive player of the year, among other accolades. The season before Spallina arrived in Central New York, head coach Gary Gait's program went just 4–10.

While Spallina and the other 'Cuse seniors didn't win an NCAA championship at Syracuse, they returned the team to national relevancy, and we thank them for that.

Spallina was selected No. 3 overall in the recent 2026 Premier Lacrosse League ("PLL") college draft by the Maryland Whipsnakes, a pro team that plays in Baltimore. He has signed a three-year rookie agreement and is expected to make his Whipsnakes debut this weekend.

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