👑 BRENNAN O'NEILL WINS TEWAARATON

Brennnan O’Neill is not a bust.

If this comes as breaking news to some, it’s only because O’Neill entered his college career with unprecedented expectations. As a generational recruit who made his first college commitment in eighth grade, he’s been under the spotlight since Day 1.

That light grew a little brighter on Thursday night, as O’Neill took home the 2023 Men’s Tewaaraton Award. The 6-2, 225-pound Duke attackman beat out Notre Dame’s Pat Kavanagh, Virginia’s Connor Shellenberger, Georgetown’s Tucker Dordevic and Cornell’s CJ Kirst for the award.

Although Duke fell short in the National Championship, O’Neill was a dominant individual force this season. He scored 55 goals, cracking the 50-goal mark for the second year in a row, but the area where he really grew in his junior season was his passing. His 42 assists were exactly double the 21 assists he recorded as a sophomore in 2022.

O’Neill led Division I with 97 total points. No one else at the D1 level had more than 90 points.

Critics will say O’Neill had quiet moments in the NCAA Tournament, but he scored in every single game and recorded at least four points in three out of four games. In the quarterfinals against Michigan, he was virtually unstoppable with six goals and an assist.

O’Neill was the focal point of Notre Dame’s defensive game plan in the championship, and he still managed to record both a goal and an assist. That may not have been enough to win the game, but it was sufficient evidence to prove himself as the most imposing player in the country.

Next spring will be interesting, as O’Neill will have a chance to join Lyle Thompson and Mikey Powell as the only men’s players to win the Tewaaraton Award twice.

🧐 Pat Kavanagh Snubbed?

While Brennan O’Neill’s talent is undeniable, many believe Pat Kavanagh was more deserving of this year’s Tewaaraton Award. Kavanagh, alongside his younger brother Chris, led Notre Dame to its first National Championship in program history…on a torn hamstring.

Not only was Kavanagh passed over for Tewaaraton, he was also left off the USILA All-American First Team.

Kavanagh’s goal total this season (25) was less than half of O’Neill’s (55), and he only recorded 10 more assists. But Kavanagh’s case for Tewaaraton was never centered around his statistics. It was more about intangible factors, like his grit playing through injury and his tenacity on the ride.

There are some stats that help tell the story, such as Kavanagh’s 11 caused turnovers and 43 ground balls. Ultimately, those weren’t enough to outweigh what O’Neill accomplished as a pure point producer on offense.

Kavanagh, like O’Neill (and every other Tewaaraton Award finalist not named Tucker Dordevic), will be back for the 2024 season. Will we witness another Revenge Tour?

😼 Izzy Scane Takes Tewaaraton

On the women’s side, the Tewaaraton Award presentation was much less controversial. Northwestern’s Izzy Scane was the clear winner, beating out her teammate Erin Coykendall, Boston College’s Jenn Medjid, JMU’s Isabella Peterson and Syracuse’s Meaghan Tyrell for the award.

Scane missed the entire 2022 season with a torn ACL, but she returned with a vengeance this spring. She broke her own program record, scoring 99 goals en route to a National Championship. She also added 35 assists bringing her total points up to 134 on the season.

Scane and Coykendall both have one more year of eligibility, meaning Northwestern could be entering another period of dominance under head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller. The Wildcats were in an 11-year title drought after winning seven out of eight NCAA Championships from 2005-2012.

Heading into her final year, Scane has 374 career points. With another monster season, she could approach the all-time Division I record held by Stony Brook’s Kylie Ohlmiller (498 points).

🙌  The PLL is BACK

The Premier Lacrosse League returns this weekend, with two games on Saturday and two more on Sunday from Albany, N.Y. Here’s how you can watch all four games:

Saturday, June 3:
1 p.m. ET — Redwoods vs. Atlas (ABC)
3:30 p.m. ET — Cannons vs. Archers (ESPN+)

Sunday, June 4:
1 p.m. ET — Chaos vs. Waterdogs (ABC)
3:30 p.m. ET — Whipsnakes vs. Chrome (ESPN+)

Sunday’s game on ABC is a rematch of last year’s PLL Championship, which the Waterdogs won by a final score of 11-9. The Chaos will be out for revenge this weekend.

The new-look Atlas will be the main draw for the other ABC game on Saturday. First-year head coach Mike Pressler used the first- and third-overall draft picks on defensemen Gavin Adler (Cornell) and Brett Makar (Maryland), after inheriting league MVP Trevor Baptiste at face-off and an offense that features Jeff Teat and Chris Gray at attack.

Other questions that may be answered this weekend: Can the Archers get over the hump after losing Marcus Holman and Will Manny in free agency? Will the Chrome continue their momentum from the Championship Series? Are the Whipsnakes still an elite force? How will the Cannons look without Lyle Thompson?

Tune in this weekend to find out.