WASHINGTON, D.C. — University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse junior Shawn Lyght has been selected as one of the five finalists for the 2026 Tewaaraton Award, as announced Tuesday by The Tewaaraton Foundation.
The Irish now have had nine Tewaaraton finalists in program history, as Shawn Lyght joins attackman Chris Kavanagh (2025), attackman Pat Kavanagh (2024, 2023 & 2021), goalie Liam Entenmann (2024), attackman Matt Kavanagh (2015), defenseman Matt Landis (2016) and attackman Tom Glatzel (2001).
Lyght is the first defenseman to be named a finalist since fellow Notre Dame legend Matt Landis earned the honor in 2016. The junior becomes the seventh defenseman to ever be named a finalist for the most prestigious individual award in college lacrosse.
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 winner will be announced in Washington, D.C., at the annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony on May 28 at the historic Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C..
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The four other finalists are Owen Duffy (UNC), Willem Firth (Cornell), Nate Kabiri (Princeton) and Joey Spallina (Syracuse), all attackmen.
Lyght has already established himself as a Notre Dame great. The defenseman has earned back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was the recipient of the Schmeisser Award following the 2025 season which is presented to the top defenseman in the country.
The defenseman has anchored a defense that is allowing just 8.83 goals per game despite playing seven of 12 games against attacks ranked in the top 20 in the country. Lyght consistently covers the opposition’s top offensive threat.
Lyght and the Irish open up the NCAA Championships with a first round matchup against the winner of Jacksonville and Robert Morris at Alumni Stadium at noon ET on Sunday, May 10. The game will air on ESPNU.
— ND —