Spallina Named USA Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year
1/22/2026 10:03:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
SPARKS, Md. – Syracuse University senior attackman Joey Spallina has been named USA Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year as announced Thursday morning.
Additionally, Spallina was selected as the USA Lacrosse Preseason Attackman of the Year.
Spallina begins his senior season tied for ninth all-time at Syracuse with 246 points (108g, 138a) and is within striking distance of the program's all-time points record of 307 (Mike Powell 2001-04). The Mount Sinai, New Yorker was also named USA Lacrosse Preseason First Team All-America after he led Syracuse last spring as a Second Team All-American with a career-best 90 points on 35 goals and a team-best 55 assists en route to Tewaaraton Nominee status.
USA Lacrosse also announced its Positional Players of the Year on Wednesday: Attackman - Joey Spallina
Midfielder - Chad Palumbo (Princeton)
Defenseman - Shawn Lyght (Notre Dame)
Specialist - Aidan Maguire (Duke)
Goalie - Caleb Fyock (Ohio State)
Boasting one of the strongest schedules across Division I, Syracuse will face three of the four positional Players of the Year at some point this season. The Orange will take on 10 teams ranked on USA Lacrosse's Preseason Top 20 list: No. 1 Maryland, No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 Georgetown, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Duke, No. 12 Harvard, No. 13 Virginia, No. 16 Boston University, No. 17 Johns Hopkins, in addition to Denver, which was considered for ranking.
The 'Cuse, ranked second by USA Lacrosse and third by Inside Lacrosse, open the 2026 season on Sunday, Feb. 1 with a 1 p.m. start against Boston University, which was slotted 17th on Inside Lacrosse's Preseason Media Poll as well. Season, single-game, and Anytime Ticket Packages are available at Cuse.com/lacrosse-tickets.
Additionally, Spallina was selected as the USA Lacrosse Preseason Attackman of the Year.
Spallina begins his senior season tied for ninth all-time at Syracuse with 246 points (108g, 138a) and is within striking distance of the program's all-time points record of 307 (Mike Powell 2001-04). The Mount Sinai, New Yorker was also named USA Lacrosse Preseason First Team All-America after he led Syracuse last spring as a Second Team All-American with a career-best 90 points on 35 goals and a team-best 55 assists en route to Tewaaraton Nominee status.
USA Lacrosse also announced its Positional Players of the Year on Wednesday: Attackman - Joey Spallina
Midfielder - Chad Palumbo (Princeton)
Defenseman - Shawn Lyght (Notre Dame)
Specialist - Aidan Maguire (Duke)
Goalie - Caleb Fyock (Ohio State)
Boasting one of the strongest schedules across Division I, Syracuse will face three of the four positional Players of the Year at some point this season. The Orange will take on 10 teams ranked on USA Lacrosse's Preseason Top 20 list: No. 1 Maryland, No. 3 Princeton, No. 4 Georgetown, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Duke, No. 12 Harvard, No. 13 Virginia, No. 16 Boston University, No. 17 Johns Hopkins, in addition to Denver, which was considered for ranking.
The 'Cuse, ranked second by USA Lacrosse and third by Inside Lacrosse, open the 2026 season on Sunday, Feb. 1 with a 1 p.m. start against Boston University, which was slotted 17th on Inside Lacrosse's Preseason Media Poll as well. Season, single-game, and Anytime Ticket Packages are available at Cuse.com/lacrosse-tickets.
Players Mentioned
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