2023 #ASUNMLAX All-Conference Teams & Postseason Honors Announced
2023 #ASUNMLAX All-Conference Teams & Postseason Honors Announced
2023 ASUN Conference Men's Lacrosse Postseason Honors & Awards
ATLANTA – The 2023 ASUN Conference Men's Lacrosse Postseason Honors and Awards were announced Tuesday by the league office as Air Force's Brandon Dodd and Bellarmine's Kyle Playsted shared the league's top honor as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. Dodd and Playsted both earned ASUN Player of the Year recognition and were joined by Cleveland State's Gannon Matthews (Midfielder of the Year), Jacksonville's Troy Hettinger (Defensive Player of the Year), the Utes Ryan Stines (Freshman of the Year) and Andrew McMinn (Coach of the Year) to earn the superlative honors to highlight the postseason All-Conference Teams.
Dodd registered 68 points on 38 goals and 30 assists to lead the Falcons' team in all three categories this season. The Logan, Utah native was third in the league in goals scored and second in assists and points. The Air Force attackman tallied a league-high 10 points on six goals and four assists in a win over Detroit Mercy and scored a season-high seven goals against Lindenwood. Dodd recorded six hat-tricks and led the league with 51 points (27 goals, 24 assists) in ASUN contests to lead the Falcons to the #2 seed in the ASUN Championship.
Playsted was one of the most consistent scorers in the league this season, shattering the previous single-season league record for points (73) and is tied for the league record in assists (36) this season. Playsted became the Knights' all-time leader in career points, assists and second in career goals at the conclusion of the regular season. The junior attackman finished fourth in the league in goals scored while leading the conference in assists and points. Playsted produced a hat-trick in five consecutive games from April 1 to April 22 and had a total of eight such games this season.
Matthews continues to rack up the ASUN accolades as the 2022 ASUN Freshman of the Year developed into the 2023 Midfielder of the Year. The Eagle, Idaho native led the Vikings with 46 points on 22 goals and 24 assists this season as his assist numbers were good for third-best in the league. Matthews posted a season-best seven points in the Vikings' first win against Canisius after scoring four goals and three assists. He would produce three hat-trick performances against No. 11 Ohio State, Canisius and Queens while tallying three assists in four contests this season.
Hettinger has been a reliable wall on the best defensive unit in the country this season to earn Defensive Player of the Year recognition. The Jacksonville senior is third on the team with 21 caused turnovers while locking down top scorers from the opposing team all season. Hettinger has scooped up 40 loose balls this season while also tallying two goals. He has caused at least one turnover in 13 of the team's 15 games and earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 7 after recording a season-best six ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Stines emerged as one of the best scorers around the league in his redshirt freshman campaign highlighted by a four-goal game against Rutgers and producing five goals against Jacksonville this season. The ASUN Freshman of the Year tallied six hat-trick performances on the season and had a season-high eight points against Mercer (4 goals, 4 assists). His 33 goals set a new program record and are the third-most goals scored by a freshman in the nation this season.
McMinn earned his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor after another undefeated ASUN record (9-0) and guiding the Utes to an overall 10-4 mark this season. Utah ranks within the nation's top five in six different categories during the 2023 campaign. The Utes are second in assists (9.29), scoring offense (17.07) and points (26.36), third in ground balls (38.0), fourth in scoring margin (+4.86) and fifth in clearing percentage (0.907) as the team rose to the No. 19 team in the InsideLacrosse national poll. McMinn has guided two student-athletes to superlative honors and 10 postseason award winners overall as Tyler Bradbury earned his second ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor and Ryan Stines was named Freshman of the Year.
Players of the Year: Brandon Dodd, Air Force & Kyle Playsted, Bellarmine
Midfielder of the Year: Gannon Matthews, Cleveland State
Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Hettinger, Jacksonville
Freshman of the Year: Ryan Stines, Utah
Coach of the Year: Andrew McMinn, Utah
ASUN First Team All-Conference
GK - Luke Millican, Jacksonville, Sr., Southlake, Texas
D - Chris Bardak, Air Force, Jr., Smithtown, N.Y.
D - Troy Hettinger, Jacksonville, Sr., Ellicott City, Md.
D - Joey Boylston, Utah, Jr., Charleston, S.C.
D - Samuel Cambere#, Utah, Sr., Flower Mound, Texas
MF - Gannon Matthews#, Cleveland State, R-So., Eagle, Idaho
MF - Brandon Galloway, Jacksonville, Sr., Grasonville, Md.,
MF - Ashton Wood, Mercer, Gr., Saint Augustine, Fla.
MF - Aidan Tolen, Air Force, Jr., Annapolis, Md.
A - Brandon Dodd#, Air Force, Sr., Logan, Utah
A - *Kyle Playsted#, Bellarmine, Jr., Calgary, Alberta
A - Tyler Bradbury#, Utah, Jr., Oak Park, Calif.
A - Jordan Hyde, Utah, Jr., Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
*A tie in voting resulted in a 13-man All-Conference First Team
* - Denotes unanimous selection to the First Team
ASUN Second Team All-Conference
GK - Jason Rose#, Air Force, Sr., Garnet Valley, Pa.
D - Jacob Berggren, Bellarmine, Gr., Tualatin, Ore.
D - Jack Heed, Jacksonville, Sr., Bellevue, Wash.
D - Wesley Chairs, Mercer, Sr., Ellicott City, Md.
D - Owen Down#, Robert Morris, Sr., Scarborough, Ontario
D - Colby Plotts, Utah, So., Sparta, N.J.
MF - Ryan Birney, Detroit Mercy, Sr., Plymouth, Mich.
MF - Jared Andreala, Utah, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.
MF - Cole Brams#, Utah, Sr., Portsmouth, N.H.
MF - Koa Todd, Utah, Jr., Clemente, Calif.
A - Benny O'Rourk#, Bellarmine, Sr., Hilton Head Island, S.C.
A - Dylan Watson, Jacksonville, Sr., Guelph, Ontario
A - Taggart Clark#, Robert Morris, Sr., Stouffville, Ontario
*A tie in voting resulted in a 13-man All-Conference Second Team
# - Denotes a two-time selection to the All-Conference Team
ASUN All-Freshman Team
A - *Ryan Stines, Utah, Cary, N.C.
FO - *Grant Guthrie, Bellarmine, Folsom, Calif.
MF - *Drew Kessenich, Detroit Mercy, Madison, Wisc.
A - *Wesley Scurci, Lindenwood, Mars Area, Pa.
A - *Michael Frederick, Mercer, Rehoboth Beach, Del.
D - *Nikko DiPonio, Utah, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
MF - Luke Vrsansky, Air Force, Liberty Township, Ohio
A - Xander Johnson, Cleveland State, Lancaster, Pa.
D - Aaron Toguri, Jacksonville, Toronto, Ontario
A - Flint Thielen, Lindenwood, Aurora, Colo.
MF - Brendan Nace, Queens, Norristown, Pa.
GK - Colin Lenskold, Utah, Wilton, Conn.
* - Denotes a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team
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