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Big Ten Announces Men's Lacrosse Postseason Honors
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference released its individual award winners, All-Big Ten teams and Sportsmanship Award recipients for men's lacrosse on Wednesday.
Penn State's TJ Malone was named Offensive Player of the Year and Maryland's Ajax Zappitello tabbed Defensive Player of the Year. Goalkeepers Jack Fracyon of Penn State and Cardin Stoller of Rutgers were selected as Specialist of the Year and Freshman of the Year respectively. Peter Milliman of Johns Hopkins was a unanimous selection as Coach of the Year.
Penn State produced a conference-high five All-Big Ten selections while Johns Hopkins and Maryland had four players honored. The 10-member first and second teams, along with the individual awards, were voted on by conference head coaches.
A graduate student, Malone becomes the first two-time winner of the Offensive Player Award having been recognized last season. Malone scored a league-best 17 goals and shared scoring honors with 23 points in five conference games. On the season, the attacker leads all Big Ten players with 61 points (32 goals, 29 assists) and ranks third nationally in points per game (5.55).
A close defenseman, Zappitello is completing his fourth season with the Terrapins. The senior was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 20 and twice was selected to the Team of the Week by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. His 18 caused turnovers ranks fourth-best among Big Ten players. With Zappitello's selection, Maryland has now won the Defensive Player Award four-straight years and six times overall.
Fracyon receives the Specialist Award for the second year in a row. The junior ranks sixth in the NCAA in saves per game (13.5) and save percentage (.589). He was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week on two occasions and is now a two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree. Fracyon, along with Malone and Zappitello, is a nominee for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the best player in college lacrosse.
Stoller claimed four Big Ten Freshman of the Week Awards and one Specialist of the Week honor en route to making 13 starts in net for the Scarlet Knights. His 19 saves against Massachusetts and Michigan matched a Big Ten single-game high. Stoller was named USA Lacrosse Magazine Division I National Player of the Week on March 19.
Milliman led Johns Hopkins to its first-ever outright Big Ten Championship and the school's third Big Ten title overall. The Blue Jays went 5-0 during the conference campaign and are ranked third nationally by USILA.
The Big Ten also recognized six Sportsmanship Award honorees. The students chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These students must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The Big Ten Tournament begins Saturday with quarterfinal matches at Michigan and Penn State. The semifinals and championship game will be played May 2 and May 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
2024 BIG TEN MEN'S LACROSSE AWARDSOFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
TJ Malone, Gr., A, Penn State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Ajax Zappitello, Sr. D, Maryland
SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR:
Jack Fracyon, Jr. G, Penn State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Cardin Stoller, Fr., G, Rutgers
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Peter Milliman, Johns Hopkins +
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
| Name | School | Yr. | Position | Hometown |
| Garrett Degnon | Johns Hopkins | Gr. | Attack | Harwood, Md. |
| Chayse Ierlan | Johns Hopkins | Gr. | Goalie | Victor, N.Y. |
| Scott Smith | Johns Hopkins | Sr. | Defense | Berwyn, Pa. |
| Ajax Zappitello | Maryland | Sr. | Defense | Portland, Ore. |
| Justin Wietfeldt | Michigan | Sr. | Faceoff | New Canaan, Conn. |
| Marcus Hudgins | Ohio State | Sr. | Defense | Syracuse, N.Y. |
| Jack Fracyon | Penn State | Jr. | Goalie | Annapolis, Md. |
| TJ Malone | Penn State | Gr. | Attack | West Chester, Pa. |
| Shane Knobloch | Rutgers | Sr. | Midfield | Moorestown, N.J. |
| Ross Scott | Rutgers | Gr. | Attack | West Linn, Ore. |
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
| Name | School | Yr. | Position | Hometown |
| Jacob Angelus | Johns Hopkins | Gr. | Attack | Chantilly, Va. |
| Eric Spanos | Maryland | Jr. | Midfield | Pottstown, Pa. |
| Luke Wierman | Maryland | Gr. | Faceoff | West Chester, Pa. |
| Michael Boehm | Michigan | Sr. | Attack | Rocky River, Ohio |
| Beau Pederson | Michigan | Gr. | SS Def. Midfield | Park City, Utah |
| Justin Tiernan | Michigan | Gr. | Attack | Huntington, N.Y. |
| Eli Fisher | Ohio State | Gr. | Def. Midfield | Allentown, Pa. |
| Grant Haus | Penn State | Gr. | SS Def. Midfield | Palmyra, Pa. |
| Alex Ross | Penn State | So. | Defense | Davidsonville, Md. |
| Matt Traynor | Penn State | Jr. | Attack | Downingtown, Pa. |
BIG TEN SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
| Name | School | Yr. | Position | Hometown |
| Johnathan Peshko | Johns Hopkins | Sr. | Midfield | Etobicoke, Ontario |
| Gabe Goforth | Maryland | Sr. | Midfield | Chester Springs, Pa. |
| Ryan Schriber | Michigan | Gr. | LS Midfield | Wilton, Conn. |
| Jacob Snyder | Ohio State | Gr. | Defense | Fallston, Md. |
| Jake Morin | Penn State | Sr. | Midfield | Garnet Valley, Pa. |
| Tommy Mendyke | Rutgers | Jr. | Defense | Eden Prairie, Minn. |