The Tewaaraton Foundation has whittled down its Tewaaraton Trophy watch list from 64 players to a list of 25 nominees.
The Syracuse Orange had four players named to the watch list with Ben Williams being a late addition just a few weeks ago. On Thursday, all four SU players found a place on the final list of 2015 nominees. Williams joins Kevin Rice, Dylan Donahue, and Brandon Mullins. Considering that no defenseman has ever been presented with the Trophy in its 14-year history, Mullins has to be considered a long shot. The same goes for Williams, as no true FOGO has ever received the Award either. Dylan Donahue and Kevin Rice should certainly be considered on the short list to win the Tewaaraton. Rice sits fourth in assists per game while Donahue is fifth in goals per game. The duo is actually tied for eighth in points per game in the country.
If an SU player were to win the 2015 Award, it would be the fourth time in which it has gone to the Orange. Only the Virginia Cavaliers have had as many recipients as Syracuse.
Some other notable names on the list include: Jimmy Bitter (A, North Carolina Tar Heels), Lyle Thompson (A, Albany Great Danes) (2014 Co-Winner of the Tewaaraton Trophy), Wesley Berg (A, Denver Pioneers), Joey Sankey (A, UNC), Sergio Perkovic (M, Notre Dame Fighting Irish), Dylan Molloy (A, Brown Bears), Matt Landis (D, Notre Dame), and Matt Kavanagh (A, Notre Dame).
Seven SU opponents from 2015 are represented on the list (Duke Blue Devils, UNC, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Army, Albany, and Notre Dame). While Syracuse has the most nominees of any program, Notre Dame, UNC, and Denver all have three players on the list. The ACC leads all conferences with twelve players named to the 25-man list, including three from UNC, two from Duke, and three from Notre Dame.
Five finalists will be announced on May 7 and the award will be handed out on May 28 in Washington DC.
The Orange will take on UNC on Friday at 8:00 pm at PPL Park. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on WKRL 100.9 FM. Of course you can also follow me @Orangelax for updates throughout the game.