WASHINGTON – Shawn Lyght made history on Thursday evening, becoming the first defenseman in history to win the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented to the top college lacrosse player in the country each year.
The junior is just the second Tewaaraton winner in program history, joining Pat Kavanagh who took home the honor in 2024.
The winner was announced in Washington, D.C., at the annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony on Thursday, May 28 at the historic Andrew Mellon Auditorium.
The Irish have now had nine Tewaaraton finalists in program history, as Lyght joins Chris Kavanagh (2025), Liam Entenmann (2024), Pat Kavanagh (2024, 2023 & 2021), Matt Kavanagh (2015), defenseman Matt Landis (2016) and attackman Tom Glatzel (2001).
The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
The four other finalists were Owen Duffy (UNC), Willem Firth (Cornell), Nate Kabiri (Princeton) and Joey Spallina (Syracuse), all attackmen.
Lyght led the Irish to the NCAA national title game, holding Syracuse, Johns Hopkins and Jacksonville to single digits to reach the championship game. The defenseman also helped the Irish win the ACC regular season title, turning in great defensive performances week after week.
Despite being just a junior, Lyght has already established himself as one of the sport’s greatest defenseman. Lyght has earned back-to-back Schmeisser Awards to go along with two-straight ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The junior was a first team All-America selection by the USILA, Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse for the 2026 season.
The defenseman has anchored a defense that allowed just 8.94 goals per game despite playing against the top attacks week in and week out. Lyght consistently covers the opposition’s top offensive threat and erases them from the game plan, as opposing attacks rarely go at the elite defenseman.