Shawn Lyght made history Thursday as the first defenseman in men's lacrosse history to win the Tewaaraton Award, which he received during a ceremony at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C..
Rachael (Becker) DeCecco won the award in 2003 and is the only defender in women's lacrosse history to win it. Pat Kavanagh (2024) is the only other Notre Dame player to win a Tewaaraton Award.
Lyght is the top eraser in the college game. His numbers are modest — 26 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers — but few players impact the game quite like he does. Offenses often avoid his side of the field entirely because of how he can take away the best offensive player on the field.
Lyght, one of two college players from the 2026 season invited to next month's U.S. Men's National Team training camp, led the Irish to the national championship game on the strength of a defense that finished sixth nationally with 8.94 goals allowed per game.
The other finalists for the 2026 Tewaaraton Award were Joey Spallina (Syracuse), Nate Kabiri (Princeton), Owen Duffy (North Carolina) and Willem Firth (Cornell).
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