EDISON, NJ (Apr. 26, 2024) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2024 Men's Lacrosse All-MAAC teams and Major Award winners. All awards were voted on by the leagues 10 head coaches.
The duo of Manhattan’s Kyle Gucwa and Sacred Heart’s Morgan O'Reilly were selected as the Co-Offensive Player of the Years and both unanimously picked for the All-MAAC First Team at the attack position. Gucwa, who was also the 2024 Preseason Player of the Year ahead of the season, compiled 59 points, 33 goals, and 26 assists this year, in 14 games. He ranked second in the MAAC in points and points average (4.21), fourth in assists and assists per game (1.86), and fifth in goals, while ranking sixth in goals per game (2.36). Additionally, he attempted the fifth-most shots (112) and shots per contest (8.00) in league. O'Reilly posted stat lines of 49 goals, 13 assists, and 62 total points. He led the nation in total goals and ranked fifth nationally in goals per game (3.27). O'Reilly’s points per game average was fourth on the MAAC leaderboard, while he was second in man-up goals with eight and ninth in shot percentage.
Mason Oak of Quinnipiac was honored as 2024 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. One of the best goalkeepers in the country, Oak owned the best saves and saves per game averages in all of the NCAA, making 205 total saves and 15.77 stops per outing. He was the only player in all of the NCAA with over 200 saves entering this week. Oak’s 0.598 save percentage led the MAAC and ranked second in the country, while his 10.56 goals-against average was third in the MAAC and 25
th in the nation.
2024 MAAC Face-off Specialist of the Year was Canisius’ Micah Hanson. Hanson won 184 face-offs, the ninth most on the NCAA statistical leaderboard, and recorded a face-off winning percentage of .515, which ranked fifth in the MAAC. He was the conference leader and ranked second in the nation in total ground balls (120) and was atop the MAAC and eighth in the country in ground balls per game (8.00). Hanson added four goals, three assists, seven points, and five caused turnovers.
Sacred Heart’s Zach Buffington was chosen as the 2024 MAAC Long Stick Midfielder of the Year. In 15 games, Buffington collected 43 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. He was top-20 in the league in both ground balls per game with 2.87 and caused turnovers per game with 0.80. Buffington also added two points, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
Caden Olmstead from Siena was voted as the 2024 MAAC Rookie of the Year. Olmstead recorded 37, 10 assists, and 47 points this season for the Saints. His total goals were fourth in the MAAC and his 2.64 goals per game ranked third. Olmstead sat at sixth in points, points per game (3.36), and shots per game. Additionally, he was fifth in total shots (108) and 15
th in shot percentage (0.343).
2024 Coach of the Year recognition went to Sacred Heart’s Jonathan Basti. Basti led the Pioneers to the 2024 MAAC Regular Season title, the first in program history, going a perfect 9-0 in MAAC play and a program record, 11-4 overall record. Sacred Heart ended the season on a nine game winning streak, also a program record for the longest win streak.
The full list of All-MAAC Teams and major awards winners are below.
| 2024 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Major Awards |
| Award |
Name |
School |
| Co-Offensive Player of the Year |
Kyle Gucwa |
Manhattan |
| Co-Offensive Player of the Year |
Morgan O'Reilly |
Sacred Heart |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Mason Oak |
Quinnipiac |
| Face-off Specialist of the Year |
Micah Hanson |
Canisius |
| Long Stick Midfielder of the Year |
Zach Buffington |
Sacred Heart |
| Rookie of the Year |
Caden Olmstead |
Siena |
| Coach of the Year |
Jonathan Basti |
Sacred Heart |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Kyle Gucwa* |
Gr. |
Attack |
Manhattan |
| Morgan O'Reilly* |
Sr. |
Attack |
Sacred Heart |
| Luke Rusterucci |
Jr. |
Attack |
VMI |
| Joshua Balcarcel |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Marist |
| Steven Germain |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Carson Spooner |
Gr. |
Midfield |
Sacred Heart |
| Micah Hanson |
So. |
Face-off Specialist |
Canisius |
| Zach Buffington |
Sr. |
Long Stick Midfielder |
Sacred Heart |
| Tommy Ramsey |
Sr. |
Short Stick Midfielder |
LIU |
| Karl LaCalandra |
Gr. |
Defense |
LIU |
| Mitchell Dunham |
Sr. |
Defense |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Brian Mack |
Sr. |
Defense |
Siena |
| Mason Oak |
Jr. |
Goalkeeper |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Ryan Donnery |
Sr. |
Attack |
Quinnipiac |
| Jake Ward |
Jr. |
Attack |
Sacred Heart |
| Caden Olmstead |
Fr. |
Attack |
Siena |
| Kelly DuPree |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Tom Von Bargen |
Sr. |
Midfield |
LIU |
| Sean Boll |
Gr. |
Midfield |
LIU |
| Luke Romanek |
Jr. |
Face-off Specialist |
Sacred Heart |
| Nick Kasica |
Jr. |
Long Stick Midfielder |
LIU |
| Michael Cassano |
Fr. |
Long Stick Midfielder |
Marist |
| Alex Baber |
Jr. |
Long Stick Midfielder |
VMI |
| Matt Scully |
Gr. |
Short Stick Midfielder |
Manhattan |
| Damien Blando |
Jr. |
Defense |
Manhattan |
| Aiden McCaffrey |
Jr. |
Defense |
Marist |
| Jack Ramsay |
Jr. |
Defense |
Sacred Heart |
| Trevor Marsala |
Sr. |
Defense |
Siena |
| Alex Pazienza |
Sr. |
Goalkeeper |
Sacred Heart |
| MAAC All-Rookie Team |
|
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Mason Wolford |
Fr. |
Attack |
Canisius |
| Aiden Zuhoski |
Fr. |
Attack |
LIU |
| Sean Shelko |
Fr. |
Attack |
Manhattan |
| Michael Cassano |
Fr. |
Long Stick Midfielder |
Marist |
| Sean Mullan* |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Marist |
| Collin Patrick |
Fr. |
Attack |
Marist |
| Brody Atkinson* |
Fr. |
Attack |
Mount St. Mary’s |
| James Moran |
FY. |
Midfield |
Sacred Heart |
| Caden Olmstead* |
Fr. |
Attack |
Siena |
| Patrick Radomski |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Siena |
| Ty Yonas |
Fr. |
Attack/ Midfield |
VMI |
*Denotes unanimous selection
The 2024 MAAC Men's Lacrosse Championship will take place between April 27 and May 4, 2024. The six-team, single-elimination tournament will open on Saturday, April 27 with the opening round hosted by the higher seed of each matchup. The semifinals and championship final will be hosted by the highest MAAC full member school in the field and will be played on Thursday, May 2 and Saturday, May 4. For all information regarding the 2024 MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/mlax.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
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