The 2025 men's college lacrosse season kicks off on Feb. 1. Last season, Notre Dame's Pat Kavanagh took home the sport's most prestigious individual accolade — the Tewaaraton Award. Kavanagh has since graduated, leaving the 2025 race wide open.
Here are five guys — in no particular order — that could take home the trophy in 2025:
Chris Kavanagh, Notre Dame
Chris, the younger brother of last year's winner Pat Kavanagh, put together a phenomenal season for the Irish last year as Notre Dame completed its back-to-back title run. Pat was the focal point of the Irish's high-powered offense during both championship seasons, but with his departure, his younger brother should slide right in as the leader of the Notre Dame attack.
Chris already set the program record for points in a season (81) in 2024, and if he can put together a comparable performance, it would be hard not to find him on stage in Washington D.C. come May.
Joey Spallina, Syracuse
Spallina, the No. 1 recruit out of the 2022 class, is entering his third season with the Orange, and he should be in store for another monster year with a top-five Syracuse team. In 2024, Spallina broke the single-season points record for a Syracuse sophomore (88), taking down his head coach, Gary Gait's record.
He has been tearing it as the Orange's X attackman since his freshman season, and he will be the focal point of Gait's offense as Syracuse looks for its 11th national championship.
CJ Kirst, Cornell
Kirst has been a staple in college lacrosse for three years now. He is the only player on this list who has been a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton twice already. However, the trophy has alluded him to this point. He is entering his final season with Cornell, already holding the single-season goal record for the Big Red.
The 6-foot-2 attackman averaged 3.21 goals per game last season, tied for third nationally, and he will lead Cornell's offense as it looks to return to the NCAA tournament after missing out in 2024.
McCabe Millon, Virginia
Millon, the youngest player on this list, had a standout season for the Cavaliers in 2024, leading all freshmen in goals and points. He set Virginia's freshman goal record (41), playing alongside the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 PLL Draft, Connor Shellenberger.
With a year of experience under his belt and the tutelage of Shellenberger, the shifty 5-foot-10 attackman will lead a Virginia team looking to add an eighth title to its shelves.
Coulter Mackesy, Princeton
Macksey, another veteran on this list, is entering his senior season with the Tigers. He holds the record for most single-season goals in program history (55), and he was a Tewaaraton nominee in 2023 and 2024. Mackesy's production can be spotty at times, but when the 5-foot-10 attackman gets hot, there might not be anyone in the country who can stop him. He has two games of eight-plus goals in his career and seven games with five or more goals.
He is a scoring machine, and the Tiger's offense will run through the sniper attackman all season as they pursue their seventh national championship.
Honorable mentions
While the Tewaaraton Award is usually reserved for attackmen (similar to quarterbacks dominating the Heisman), there are two defensive talents to keep an eye on — Shawn Lyght (Notre Dame) and Emmet Carroll (Penn).
Lyght, the freshman phenom who helped anchor the nation's top-scoring defense last year, should be even more dominant after his first collegiate offseason. He was consistently matched up with his opponent's number-one scoring option, holding guys like Spallina to one point and Shellenberger to zero in the ACC championship last season. No one wants this matchup at attack, and Lyght will try to make his case this season as a Tewaaraton finalist.
With Notre Dame's goalie Liam Entenmann graduated, Carroll steps in as the best goalie in the nation. He led the nation in save percentage last season (.594), and as the Irish experienced with Entenmann, an elite goalie opens up endless possibilities for a team. While it is not likely, if Carroll improves upon his ridiculous 2024 season, we could see him on the short finalist card in May.
