Tewaaraton Stock Watch: Duke Goes as O'Neill Goes

Some familiar names from past postseasons and award circuits remain firmly in contention for college lacrosse’s top individual honor.

There’s last year’s Tewaaraton Award winner and two other finalists. There’s a former most outstanding player of an NCAA tournament. And there are four attackmen who have led their team to the final weekend of the season (and three who have played on Memorial Day).

All are having fine seasons. And so is sophomore Joey Spallina, whose play has helped fuel dreams of a Syracuse restoration atop the sport.

The Orange haven’t won a national title since 2009. Their Tewaaraton drought is actually a dozen months longer, stretching back to Mike Leveille’s starring role in Syracuse’s 2008 championship run. Perhaps both waits could end this season. At the very least, both Spallina and the Orange warrant some attention given their work since the start of February.

A look at a midseason top five in the race for the Tewaaraton.

1. Brennan O’Neill, A, Duke (33 G, 20 A)

The reigning Tewaaraton winner didn’t have his best day last week against Syracuse (nor did anyone else on the Blue Devils’ offense, for that matter). But he responded to a one-goal, one-assist performance by dropping three goals on Denver in an 11-7 victory on Sunday.

Duke is 9-0 this season when O’Neill scores multiple goals and 0-2 when he doesn’t. And if that seems coincidental, the Blue Devils were 14-1 in O’Neill’s multi-goal games last year and were 2-2 when he was held to one. As its best player goes, so goes Duke. And it usually goes quite well.

2. Connor Shellenberger, A, Virginia (18 G, 28 A)

Since the Cavaliers took their lone loss on March 2 against Johns Hopkins, Shellenberger has been even more of a table setter than usual. In the last five games, he’s scored eight goals — and done so on just 17 shots, serving as an effective offensive conduit while Virginia has dropped at least 14 goals in each game.

As a point of comparison, Shellenberger had 14 goals and 34 assists through nine games last year. Then he missed a game because of injury and wasn’t really himself again until late April. A Tewaaraton finalist last year, he’s well on his way to matching that accomplishment in 2024.

3. TJ Malone, A, Penn State (17 G, 25 A)

The central cog in the Nittany Lions’ offense is good for a little bit of everything pretty much every time he takes the field. Malone has multiple goals and multiple assists in all four of Penn State’s games this month, and he’s already within eight assists of matching his career high in a season.

Malone’s play is going to go a long way to keeping Penn State on track to finish the regular season as a top-five team. As long as that happens, there’s a good chance he’ll end up among the Tewaaraton finalists.

4. Joey Spallina, A, Syracuse (24 G, 38 A)

The sophomore leads Division I in assists and points, and he’s an important part of the Orange’s surge into the top five nationally. Like Shellenberger, he’s adjusted well to substantial attention, even if his scoring hasn’t remained at the same level; he’s shot 3 of 23 over the last four games (all Syracuse wins), but also averaged three assists in that span.

Spallina has already surpassed his assists total from last season (32) and is closing in on his points total from his rookie year (68). If the Orange keep winning, there’s a good chance he’ll be on the invite list for the Tewaaraton ceremony.

5. CJ Kirst, A, Cornell (23 G, 10 A)

Saturday’s four-goal, four-assist effort was a fine bounceback for the Big Red’s star. Kirst had combined for three goals and two assists (while shooting 15 percent) over the previous two weekends against Penn State and Princeton.

There’s a case for several players to fill the last spot, including national points-per-game leader Matt Brandau of Yale; 2023 Tewaaraton finalist Pat Kavanagh of Notre Dame; and the nation’s top two goal-scorers, Michigan’s Justin Tiernan and Virginia’s Payton Cormier.

Also in the mix: Matt Brandau, A, Yale (19 G, 27 A); Payton Cormier, A, Virginia (36 G, 9 A); Pat Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame (7 G, 22 A); Sam King, A, Harvard (24 G, 26 A); Michael Long, A, Cornell (15 G, 21 A); Justin Tiernan, A, Michigan (37 G, 3 A)