HADLEY, Mass. – The NESCAC announced its year-end awards for men's lacrosse today. Bowdoin senior Will Byrne was selected as the Player of the Year while Hamilton goalie Jack Fried was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Amherst newcomer Brendan Reilly was voted as the Rookie of the Year and the Wesleyan staff was selected as the Coaching Staff of the Year by its peers.
Byrne bookends his career with the Player of the Year honor after garnering the Rookie of the Year accolade in 2022. A three-time All-NESCAC performer, Byrne leads the NESCAC in points (92) and assists (51) to go along with 41 goals this season. Byrne, who is the second Polar Bear in three years to earn NESCAC Player of the Year Honors, enters the NESCAC Semifinals with 276 career points on 154 goals and 122 assists at Bowdoin. The Polar Bears (11-4) are the No. 3 seed in the NESCAC Championship and face No. 4 Middlebury in the semifinals on Saturday, May 4 at Wesleyan University.
Fried has the honor of earning the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year honor in the NESCAC, as the award was established this season. The junior leads all NESCAC goalies with a .597 save percentage, making 175 stops heading into the NESCAC Semifinals. Fried, who also earned a spot on the All-NESCAC First Team, helped the Continentals earn their first NESCAC postseason victory with an upset of top-seeded Tufts in the quarterfinal round. The netminder made 18 stops against the Jumbos, including seven in the fourth quarter, as Hamilton became just the second No. 8 seed to advance to the semifinals in NESCAC Tournament history. The Continentals take on No. 2 Wesleyan in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday, May 4.
Reilly is the second consecutive Mammoth to earn Rookie of the Year honors, joining teammate Bob Gross, and is the fifth Amherst player since 2001 to be selected for the honor. Reilly ranked second on the team in scoring with 52 points on a team-high 41 goals and 11 assists. The newcomer also tallied 33 ground balls in his first season at Amherst.
The Wesleyan University coaching staff led by John Raba with assistant coaches Kevin Witchey, Torrey Martone, Will Parker, Ed Moran, and Rick McCarthy were recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year. The 2024 season marks the fourth time Wesleyan coaches have been recognized by their peers. Raba, who is in his 28th season at the helm of the Cardinals, has 318 career victories. Wesleyan stands at 13-3 entering its NESCAC Semifinal contest versus Hamilton. The Cardinals will host the remaining rounds of the NESCAC Tournament at Jackson Field on May 4-5.
2024 NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Awards
Player of the Year: Will Byrne, Bowdoin
Defensive Player of the Year: Jack Fried, Hamilton
Rookie of the Year: Brendan Reilly, Amherst
Coaching Staff of the Year: Wesleyan University
| All-NESCAC First Team |
| Pos-Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| A - Will Byrne |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Darien, Conn. |
2023 1st Team,2022 ROY, 2022 2nd Team |
| A - Jason Lach |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Washington, D.C. |
|
| A - Jack Raba |
Wesleyan |
Gr. |
Cheshire, Conn. |
|
| A - Jack Regnery |
Tufts |
So. |
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. |
|
| M - Oliver Bernstein |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Brookline, Mass. |
|
| M - DJ Dixon |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Troy, Mich. |
2023 1st Team |
| M - CK Giancola |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Canton, Conn. |
|
| M - Charlie Tagliaferri |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Danville, Calif. |
2023 1st Team |
| D - Patrick Gaul |
Williams |
Sr. |
Potomac, Md. |
|
| D - Jed Hoggard |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Acton, Mass. |
|
| D - Lawson Laverty |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Round Hill, Va. |
2023 2nd Team |
| D - Joey Waldbaum |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Denver, Colo. |
2023 1st Team |
| FOM - Ethan Barnard |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Boxford, Mass. |
2023 2nd Team, 2022 1st Team |
| LSM - Thompson Lau |
Amherst |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
|
| SSM - Zach Goorno |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Concord, Mass. |
2023 1st Team, 2022 1st Team |
| G - Jack Fried |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team |
| Pos-Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| A - Ben Burns |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Suffern, N.Y. |
|
| A - Calvin Caputo |
Williams |
Sr. |
Pennington, N.J. |
|
| A - Bob Gross |
Amherst |
So. |
Potomac, Md. |
2023 ROY |
| A - Thomas Healy |
Hamilton |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa. |
|
| M - Alex Giacobbe |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Manhasset, N.Y. |
|
| M - Will Heher |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Essex, Conn. |
|
| M - Garrett Kelly |
Tufts |
So. |
Atlanta, Ga. |
|
| M - Justin Pearl |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Westport, Conn. |
|
| D - Louie Adams |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Boca Raton, Fla. |
|
| D - Benjamin Kondner |
Bates |
Fy. |
Owings Mills, Md. |
|
| D - Nate Ryan |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
San Diego, Calif. |
|
| D - Henry Tarr |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Kennett Square, Pa. |
|
| FOM - Nicholas Kopp |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Damascus, Md. |
2022 2nd Team |
| LSM - John Cowdrick |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Lexington, Mass. |
|
| SSM - Matthew Sheinberg |
Amherst |
So. |
New Canaan, Conn. |
|
| G - Robert Hobbs |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Wayne, Pa. |
2022 2nd Team |
| G - Jordan Opdahl |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Rockville, Md. |
|
