Dwan’s game blossomed impressively in year two. It ultimately produced third-team All-American recognition by USA Lacrosse, USILA and Inside Lacrosse. He also garnered All-ACC honors.
Dwan started at close defense in all 18 games in 2024. He caused 18 turnovers, including five games with multiple forced miscues. He logged 34 ground balls. He held his own covering some of the game’s top attackmen, such as former Duke superstar Brennan O’Neill, who managed one goal and one assist in a 10-4 victory by the Orange.
And Dwan flashed more of his offensive flair by igniting fast breaks and by finishing with some memorable scores, part of an eight-goal year that ranks third in a single season by a long stick in the program’s history.
Dwan’s back-to-the-goal scoop of a loose ball and flip over his shoulder sparked a game-ending, 2-0 run with under two minutes left that gave the Orange an 18-17 victory against visiting Virginia. During an 18-17, double-overtime loss to Cornell, Dwan got open above the crease, received a pass with his back to the Big Red goal and bounced a seven-yard strike between his legs for a score.
“Coach Gait is never going to tell us not to push the ball in transition. The up-tempo, run-and-gun style makes for a lot of fun. We [defensemen] hunt for fast-break shots or a feed to another scorer,” Dwan said. “Even if you turn the ball over, you’re not going to be told, ‘Don’t do that.’ It’s more organized chaos than anything. The players have the freedom here.”
It came as no surprise to Syracuse coaches or players that Dwan was voted as team captain in his junior year. The reasoning goes beyond his obvious skills on the field.
Dwan is known to make Manley Field House his second home for many extra hours, sometimes to get another night workout in, sometimes to work on fundamentals or schemes with a few teammates or just to hone his footwork or his shot alone. He is a voracious watcher of game tape. And he has been invested in helping his teammates whenever and however he can since he arrived on the Syracuse campus.
“There is a huge level of trust in Billy to make the right decision on the field,” said junior long-stick midfielder Dylan Sagater, who roomed with Dwan as a freshman and calls Dwan his best friend.
“Off the field, he is always making sure everybody does what they’re supposed to do — act the right way in public, get to classes and lifting on time, make sure everyone is held accountable for keeping the locker room clean,” Sagater said. “He’s so competitive; he inspires us to work harder. There’s always a stick in his hand. He doesn’t yell at [the defense] in the heat of battle. It’s more like he’s having a conversation with us.”
“The biggest thing about Billy at first impression was how much he really cares about the guys. He’s always doing people favors, like offering rides or some other way to help,” senior defensemen Nick Caccamo said. “He’s one of those guys, like Joey Spallina, who is out on the practice field multiple times a day. What separates him from other great defenders in this sport is how he sees the game three steps ahead. He is a phenomenal leader.”
“Billy does not take a day off or a play off. He is fiercely competitive with a unique work ethic, super well-respected by his teammates, an easy guy to get behind,” said second-year assistant coach/defensive coordinator John Odierna, who was blown away by Dwan’s knowledge of the game as a sophomore. “He speaks up the most when we’re watching film. Sometimes I’ll say that Billy Dwan is not allowed to answer questions. It’s no accident he’s a junior captain. Billy sees the game through a coach’s lense.”
Billy Dwan III is, at his core, a coach’s son.
His father, Bill Dwan, Jr., graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1991 as a three-time All-American defensemen. Ten years later, he returned to Hopkins as an assistant coach under Dave Pietramala, considered the greatest college defenseman ever. The pair played together for two seasons, then coached the Blue Jays for 20 seasons, highlighted by NCAA titles in 2005 and 2007. Pietramala led Hopkins to a championship as a player in 1987.
Billy Dwan III grew up around Hopkins lacrosse, attending summer camps back as far as his pre-school days. Meanwhile, his uncle, Matt Dwan, a three-time All-American long-stick midfielder (1992-95) at the future Loyola University a mile away from Homewood, was coaching defense at Loyola, where he is in his 18th season with the Greyhounds under head coach Charley Toomey.
As a youngster, Billy Dwan III loved the game of lacrosse and was fascinated by watching tape of the college games his dad would study while scouting Hopkins opponents.
“Billy still loves playing and watching lacrosse. He’s always been enamored with the X’s and O’s of the game,” Bill Dwan, Jr. said. “He’d be watching games with me on my laptop. We’d look at the same play like 17 times, trying to figure out what the other team was doing. He got to watch so many great players and great guys at Hopkins.”
As a teenager, it was a foregone conclusion that the youngest Dwan would attend Johns Hopkins and play for his father. Then, in April 2020, near the end of Billy Dwan’s sophomore year at Loyola Blakefield and as the pandemic was shutting down college sports across America, the Hopkins administration and men’s lacrosse staff agreed to part ways.
“I was all set to go to Hopkins. That all changed. Obviously, life doesn’t work out sometimes,” said Billy Dwan, who, in late September 2020, was intrigued enough to want to go away to college. He chose to commit to Syracuse. He had no idea then that he would end up being reunited there for a year with Pietramala as defensive coordinator. Pietramala now has the same job at North Carolina.
Denying Loyola was tough for the kid.
“I have a great relationship with my uncle. That was one of the harder phone calls I’ve had to make. But he was super cool about [my decision],” Dwan III said. “Honestly, Syracuse is the best thing that’s happened to me, even if it was a negative thing that I turned into a positive.”
