via JU press release/website, by Alex Kerstetter, photo by Katie Denson

ATLANTA – Nine Dolphins were recognized on the ASUN’s annual postseason awards list. Troy Hettinger headlined the plethora of recognition by taking home the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year while five others landed on a respected All-ASUN team, and three on the All-Academic team.

Hettinger has been as consistent on the defensive front as anyone in the conference. The Ellicott City, Maryland native has appeared in all 15 JU contests and was the ASUN’s Defensive Player of the Week on March 7th. Starting the year off against tough opponents in Johns Hopkins and Duke, Hettinger surrendered just one point between Duke’s Brennan O’Neill and Andrew McAdorey. The graduate student recorded four ground balls in the comeback win over the Blue Devils. Hettinger also leads the team in ground-balls for non-faceoff players and has caused a turnover in 13 games. Troy was a mid-season addition to the Tewaaraton Award watch list, which is annually given to the nation’s best lacrosse player.

“I have been banging on the table for four years, and I am so thankful that Troy is finally getting his flowers,” said head coach John Galloway. “He is the anchor of not only our defense, but our team. He embodies who we want to be. He switched positions this summer based on need of the team, and he did it with a smile on his face. Troy has reset our standards on the defensive end, and I couldn’t be happier that he is finally being recognized with the Defensive Player of the Year award. No one is more deserving.”

Joining Hettinger on the ASUN’s First Team were Luke Millican and Brandon Galloway. Jack Heed and Dylan Watson were given Second Team honors while Aaron Toguri was named to the All-Freshman team. Also earning conference honors on the ASUN’s All-Academic team were Jacob Greiner, Jack Heed and Nathan Kapp.

Millican has been in the top 10 nationally most of the season in a variety of goalkeeping stats and has led all goalies in the ASUN in goals-against average and save percentage. Luke was the conference’s defensive player of the week on February 21st. The Southlake, Texas, native has made at least 10 saves in eight games and had a season high 18 saves at Utah.

Brandon Galloway in his first season with the Dolphins had a standout season that included a team best four hat-tricks. He opened his account this season with back-to-back hat tricks against Johns Hopkins and Duke and closed out the season in similar fashion against Air Force and Bellarmine. The Grasonville, Maryland, senior is third on the team in points and fourth in points from conference play.

“Luke Millican continues to prove he is one of the best goalies in the nation statistically,” said coach Galloway. “He will be a key piece if we want to make a run in May. Brandon Galloway only continues to get better, and his positive infectious personality is helping our offense when we need it the most.”

Jack Heed has been ranked in the top 10 nationally in caused turnovers all season and has consistently led the conference in the same category. The graduate student has caused a turnover in 14 games with multiple caused turnovers coming in 10 of those 14. He had a season high six ground balls against Robert Morris and a season best five caused turnovers against UMass Lowell. 

Dylan Watson has solidified himself as one of the more dangerous attack-men in the ASUN with 36 goals and nine assists in the regular season. Watson was the ASUN player of the week on March 18th after a dominant performance against Robert Morris saw him record six goals and three assists on the day. He is tied with teammate Galloway for the team lead in hat-tricks with four and has had 11 multi-goal games. The Guelph, Ontario, native was apart of the initial watch list for the Tewaaraton Award set before the season.

“Jack Heed has had a career season this year, ranking in the top 10 in national stats as a key leader of our defense,” said coach Galloway. “Dylan Watson continues to find ways to fill up the net while working his tail off in the ride as of late.”

Aaron Toguri was the lone freshman on the conference’s All-Freshman team for the Dolphins. He’s appeared in all 15 JU contests and leads JU freshman in caused turnovers and groundballs. The Toronto native had a season high five groundballs at St. John’s on March 11th and he’s recorded at least two ground balls in four contests. His lone assist on the season came against Mercer on March 25th.

“Aaron Toguri graduated a year earlier than expected, and has provided us with stability and toughness at the LSM position. We asked a lot of him as a freshmen, and he handled it admirably.”

Landing on the All-Academic team was Jacob Greiner, Jack Heed and Nathan Kapp.

Greiner, a finance major with a 3.95 GPA, was named a Davis College of Business top 25 Student for the 2022 year. This is his fourth academic Conference honor, with the previous three times him landing on the SoCon Academic Honor Roll. This season, Greiner has 26 goals and 13 assists and tied the single game record for points in a game with 11 against Queens.

Jack Heed, a member of the ASUN Second-Team, also landed on the All-Academic team. Heed is in the JU MBA program and has a 3.92 GPA.

Kapp, the program leader in ground balls and faceoff wins, has a 3.93 GPA in exercise science. The Middleton, Wisconsin, native was a lso on the SoCon Academic Honor Roll his previous three years, and leads the conference in ground-balls per game with an 8.31 average. 

“In this new conference with ten talented teams,” said coach Galloway. “Receiving any type of recognition is a testament to the hard work and sacrifice of our group. While many are deserving, I am very proud of our group that was recognized by our peers.”

The Dolphins are in the first round of the playoffs this afternoon at Robert Morris. The game can be caught on ESPN+ and is slated for a 4 PM start time.