2023 CACC MLAX All Conference & Major Awards
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Wilmington University junior midfielder T.J. Caton has been named the 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year, CACC Commissioner Dan Mara announced on Monday. Caton, who was also voted onto the All-CACC First Team, earned the honors via a vote of the league’s eight head coaches in the sport.
Caton is the second consecutive Wildcat to be selected as the CACC Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year. He follows teammate Giovanni Marino, the 2022 winner.
In addition to Caton, several other standouts earned major awards from the CACC on Monday. Brett Bridges of Georgian Court University was named Rookie of the Year, Wilmington’s Nick Bruhn was picked as Defensive Player of the Year, and Chestnut Hill College’s Austin Jones is the Goalkeeper of the Year. Georgian Court’s Mickey Hover was chosen Coach of the Year by the conference’s sports information directors, while Felician University is the winner of the annual Team Sportsmanship Award.
Caton has enjoyed a strong all-around season in helping Wilmington (6-6, 5-2) to the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CACC Championship tournament. He ranks in the top five in the CACC in goals (T-5th, 34), man-up goals (T-4th, 6), shots (3rd, 108), ground balls (4th, 57) and caused turnovers (4th, 12). He turned in season highs of seven goals and eight points during a Apr. 22 win at Felician, and had nine ground balls to go along with four points during an Apr. 26 home victory over Post University.
Bridges, also a first-team All-CACC attackman, has collected 34 goals, 22 assists and 30 ground balls for Georgian Court (11-5, 7-0), the CACC’s top seed. He sits fourth in the conference with 56 points. He tallied six goals and five assists during an Apr. 22 Lion victory at the University of Bridgeport, one of a pair of five-assist games on the season.
Bruhn, a graduate student, leads the league with 24 caused turnovers from his longstick midfield spot, while also being elected to the All-CACC First Team. His 48 ground balls are fifth overall and second to Caton among non-faceoff men.
Jones enters the postseason leading NCAA Division II in save percentage (.618) and ranking second nationally in goals against average (7.37). Chestnut Hill (9-4, 5-2) is the No. 2 seed for the CACC playoffs.
Hover is the CACC Coach of the Year for the second time, having captured the conference’s inaugural award in 2018. This season, he guided Georgian Court to an undefeated record in conference play. The Lions received votes in the most recent USILA national coaches’ poll. Hover, in his eighth season, is the only head coach in GCU men’s lacrosse history.
Felician, led by sixth-year head coach Brendan Bonacum, was chosen by the league’s head coaches as the team that best demonstrated outstanding character and class during the regular season. The Golden Falcons claim the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award in men’s lacrosse for the first time.
The league’s coaches also voted on the All-CACC First and Second Teams, which are listed below. Chestnut Hill, Georgian Court and Wilmington each received seven overall selections.
The CACC Championship tournament begins today when No. 5 seed Dominican University New York travels to No. 4 seed Post for a 2 p.m. faceoff. Post will also host the semifinals and finals on Friday and Sunday, respectively, on its Waterbury, Conn., campus. More information is available at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/Championship/2022-23/MLAX
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TJ Caton (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Brett Bridges (Georgian Court University)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Bruhn (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Austin Jones (Chestnut Hill College)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE COACH OF THE YEAR
Mickey Hover (Georgian Court University)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Felician University
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
A Brett Bridges (Georgian Court University)
A Dylan Heald (Post University)
A Logan Stinson (Wilmington University)
M Daniel Burnham (Georgian Court University)
M TJ Caton (Wilmington University)
M Braedan Lockyer (Post University)
D Dan Grubb (Chestnut Hill College)
D Jaeden Henson (Wilmington University)
D Joe Murphy (Georgian Court University)
G Austin Jones (Chestnut Hill College)
LSDM Nick Bruhn (Wilmington University)
SSDM Garret Ciccia (Caldwell University)
SSDM Jack Clyne (Chestnut Hill College)
Specialist Zach Schultz (Chestnut Hill College)
2023 CACC MEN’S LACROSSE ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
A Daniel Carson (Dominican University)
A Noah Hammon (Chestnut Hill College)
A Giovanni Marino (Wilmington University)
M Jacob Herman (Wilmington University)
M Tallen Smith (Georgian Court University)
M Michael Ventresca (Georgian Court University)
D Brian Barker (Dominican University)
D Peter Naboka (Post University)
D RJ Rybicki (Chestnut Hill College)
G Vincent Burkhart (Georgian Court University)
LSDM Chase Snyder (Chestnut Hill College)
SSDM Brendan Kelleher (Post University)
SSDM Matt Kracyla (Wilmington University)
Specialist Justin Iannarone (Georgian Court University)
ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 13 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Alliance University, Bloomfield College, University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican (N.Y.) University, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.