NEW YORK – On the eve of the 2018 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep, the league announced the regular season major award winners and All-BIG EAST First and Second teams.
Denver sophomore
Ethan Walker was voted Attack Player of the Year; while teammate
Trevor Baptiste won his fourth-consecutive Midfielder of the Year award, holding the title since starting his collegiate career. Defensive Player of the Year accolades also went to the Pioneers as junior
Dylan Gaines earned the title. Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to Georgetown senior
Nick Marrocco; while Freshman of the Year was awarded to Villanova’s
Keegan Khan. For the second time in four years, Coaching Staff of the Year honors went to
Georgetown’s staff, headed by Kevin Warne.
Baptiste, Kahn and Warne’s coaching staff were unanimous selections by the coaches, who could not cast votes for their own players.
BIG EAST regular season champion Denver boasted a league-best seven on the all-conference teams with five on the first team and two on the second team. No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 3 seed Villanova had the second most with six.
Fourteen players were voted to the All-Conference First Team, 10 of those players were unanimous selections, including Walker, Gaines and Baptiste.
Walker was the top scorer for Denver this year with 42 goals and 21 assists. In league games, Walker led the BIG EAST in points with 23 (4.60 per game) and tied for the league leader in assists with nine (1.80 per game). The sophomore lefty attacker was second in goals with 14 (2.80 per game). Walker, the 2017 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and the league’s coaches preseason pick for Offensive Player of the Year, is a member of the 2018 USILA Player of the Year Watch List and is a nominee for the 2018 Tewaaraton Award. Walker became the fastest Pioneer to 100 career points, reaching the century mark in just 23 career games, six games faster than the next Pioneer. The Peterborough native had two games with eight or more points this season, including a career-high nine on eight goals and one assist in Denver’s victory at then-No. 7 Villanova. Walker is second in the country in goals per game (3.23) and seventh in shooting percentage (0.525). Walker is Denver’s fourth-straight winner of the BIG EAST’s Attack Player of the Year Award, the award was briefly named Offensive Player of the Year in 2016.
A BIG EAST major award winner since joining the Pioneer ranks in 2014, Baptiste is the only player in BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse history to win a major award four times. Baptiste was named a Tewaaraton Award nominee for the fourth time last week. A three-time USILA First Team All-America selection, Baptiste is also one of the players on the 2018 USILA Player of the Year Watch List and is a Senior CLASS Award finalist. The Denville, N.J., native is 14 faceoffs shy of setting an NCAA Division I career faceoff wins record, currently held by Kevin Mass of Bryant since 2014. Baptiste is 225-289 (.779) from the faceoff dot in 2018, picking up 128 ground balls to go with seven goals and two assists on the season. Through five conference games this year, he is 86-104 (.827) and leads the conference in faceoff win percentage by more than .200. He was named to the USILA Team of the Week three times this season.
Denver has held Midfielder of the Year since joining the league in 2014. Jeremy Noble won the award unanimously that year.
Gaines has marked the opposition’s top attackman for a defense that leads the country in scoring defense at 7.46 goals per game. Gaines has picked up 32 ground balls in 13 games, while causing 15 turnovers. The junior, a Baltimore, Md., native, has led a defense that held all five BIG EAST opponents to six goals or less during the regular season, a combined 27 goals which is Denver’s lowest goals allowed in a five-game stretch since 1970. The stretch also marks the first time in Denver history that it has allowed six goals or less to five consecutive opponents. Gaines was a three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2018. He is also on the USILA Player of the Year Watch List.
Khan, who was also voted as an All-BIG EAST Second Team attacker, is the first Villanova BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Khan scored 28 goals and dished out 13 assists for a total of 41 points, second most on the team. In five league games, Khan scored 13 goals, tied for third in the conference statistical rankings. Khan also ranked fourth in points with 17 (3.40 per game). The Chatham, N.J. native netted seven goals against Marquette in Villanova’s BIG EAST opener. Khan was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and Attack Player of the Week twice this season.
Marrocco, Georgetown’s senior leader between the pipes, bookends his career as an All-BIG EAST First Team performer after collecting the honor as a freshman in 2015. Marrocco is the first Hoya to be named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. The Duxbury, Mass. native owns an 8.06 goals-against average, which tops the BIG EAST overall stat rankings for primary starting goalies, to go with 119 saves and a .527 save percentage. Marrocco posted five games with double-digit saves, including a season-high 15 in a win at then-No. 13 Villanova. The senior goal minder was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week four times this season. In league games, Marrocco ranked third in save percentage (.581) and third in saves per game (10.00).
Warne and the Hoya coaching staff earned the annual award for the second time in four years, having won the award in 2015. Georgetown, nationally ranked for six weeks this season, returned to the championship field for the first time since 2015. Under Warne and his staff, the Hoyas posted a 10-win season after combing for six total wins the two years prior. The Hoyas finished 3-2 in league play en route to a No. 2 seed. As a team, Georgetown led the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game (8.00) and clearing percentage (.914). The Hoyas ranked second in eight other statistical categories, including points per game (18.29), assists per game (7.00), scoring defense (8.21), scoring offense (11.29), scoring margin (3.07) and ground balls per game (27.79). Of those, Georgetown also ranked top 10 nationally in clearing percentage (fifth), scoring margin (eighth) and scoring defense (10th).
Joining Walker, Baptiste and Gaines on the All-BIG EAST First Team from Denver were Colton Jackson and Dylan Johnson. Jackson, one of the 10 unanimous first team honorees, led the Denver midfield offensively with 16 goals and 11 assists. Jackson is making his second appearance on the first team. Johnson plays alongside Gaines on close defense. He has forced 13 turnovers, including six in conference play, and picked up 17 ground balls.
Second-seeded Georgetown added two unanimous selections to the first team to accompany Marrocco, junior attacker Daniel Bucaro and senior midfielder Craig Berge. Bucaro made his second-straight appearance on the first team and third all-conference designation. He scored 10 goals in league action and added five assists. Overall, the junior was second on the team in scoring with 55 points (34 goals, 21 assists). Berge makes his first appearance on the first team after being voted to the second team in 2015 and 2017. Berge accounted for 34 points on 16 goals and 18 assists to go along with 20 ground balls.
No. 3 seed Villanova’s duo of senior attacker Christian Cuccinello and sophomore midfielder Connor Kirst were unanimous picks from the Wildcats to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Cuccinello, a Tewaaraton Award nominee, makes his second consecutive appearance as a member of the first team. In five league games played, the senior had nine assists, a BIG EAST best. Cuccinello led Villanova in scoring with 50 points (30 goals, 20 assists). Kirst, a two-time BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week, tallied 31 points on 23 goals and eight assists to go along with 28 ground balls.
Marquette, the No. 4 seed, also had two players on the All-BIG EAST First Team with unanimous selection Noah Richard and John Wagner. Richard, a junior long-stick midfielder, picked up 44 ground balls, 24 in conference play to rank third. Wagner was a clutch attacker for the Golden Eagles this season scoring five game-winning goals, four coming in overtime. Wagner led Marquette in points with 35 (27 goals, eight assists).
Providence finished fifth in the conference and placed two on the first team. Friar senior defender James Barclay was a unanimous selection, as he picked up 18 ground balls and helped a Providence defense allow just 9.80 goals per game, limiting opponents to a .274 shot percentage. Junior goalie Tate Boyce makes his third consecutive first team appearance. Boyce posted a 9.65 goals-against average and a .529 save percentage with 162 saves.
Making up the All-BIG EAST Second team were Denver junior attacker Austin French and senior midfielder Joe Reid; Georgetown senior short stick Ryan Hursey, freshman defender Gibson Smith and junior midfielder Lucas Wittenberg; Marquette sophomore defender Nick Grill and senior faceoff specialist Zachary Melillo; Providence freshman midfielder Evan McGreen; St. John’s senior goalie Matt Hanley, sophomore attacker Joe Madsen and junior defender Aidan Marron; and Villanova junior defensive midfielder TJ Comizio, Khan, freshman defender Owen Prybylski and senior attacker Danny Seibel.
2018 Men’s Lacrosse All-BIG EAST Teams and Regular Season Awards
Attack Players of the Year
Ethan Walker, Denver, So., A
Midfielder of the Year
Trevor Baptiste, Denver, Sr., FOS ^ #
Defensive Player of the Year
Dylan Gaines, Denver, Jr., D
Goalkeeper of the Year
Nick Marrocco, Georgetown, Sr., G
Freshman of the Year
Keegan Khan, Villanova, Fr., A ^
Coaching Staff of the Year
Georgetown ^
(Kevin Warne, Head Coach) ^
All-BIG EAST First Team %
Daniel Bucaro, Georgetown, Jr., A ^
Christian Cuccinello, Villanova, Sr., A ^
John Wagner, Marquette, Jr., A
Ethan Walker, Denver, So., A ^
Craig Berge, Georgetown, Sr., M ^
Colton Jackson, Denver, Jr., M ^
Connor Kirst, Villanova, So., M ^
James Barclay, Providence, Sr., D ^
Dylan Gaines, Denver, Jr., D ^
Dylan Johnson, Denver, Jr., D
Noah Richard, Marquette, Jr., LSM ^
Trevor Baptiste, Denver, Sr., FOS ^
Nick Marrocco, Georgetown, Sr., G
Tate Boyce, Providence, Jr., G
All-BIG EAST Second Team @
(listed alphabetically)
TJ Comizio, Villanova, Jr., SSDM
Austin French, Denver, Jr., A
Nick Grill, Marquette, So., D
Matt Hanley, St. John’s, Sr., G
Ryan Hursey, Georgetown, Sr., SSDM
Joe Madsen, St. John’s, So., A
Aidan Marron, St. John’s, Jr., D
Evan McGreen, Providence, Fr., M
Zachary Melillo, Marquette, Sr., FOS
Keegan Khan, Villanova, Fr., A
Owen Prybylski, Villanova, Fr., D
Joe Reid, Denver, Sr., M
Danny Seibel, Villanova, Sr., A
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, Fr., D
Lucas Wittenberg, Georgetown, Jr., M
^ - denotes unanimous selection
# - Midfielder of the Year in 2015, 2016 and 2017
% - due to a tie in voting, there are two goalies on the all-conference first team
@ - due to a tie in voting, there are 15 players on the all-conference second team