WATERVILLE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy fifth-year senior Jayden Wilson was tabbed for Player of the Year honors, SUNY Delhi junior long stick midfielder Sean Dalton earned the Defensive Player of the Year award, and first year attackman Jagger Beachak was named the Rookie of the Year, when the North Atlantic Conference’s men’s lacrosse major award honorees were unveiled Wednesday.

SUNY Cobleskill’s Kerry Blackwood earned the NAC’s Senior Scholar Athlete award in men’s lacrosse. Husson’s Mike O’Neill and SUNY Cobleskill’s Mike Valachovic were voted the conference’s Co-Coaches of the Year in voting among their conference coaching peers.

Wilson leads the NAC in points (6.75) and goals (4.25) per game in conference games, and ranks second in assists per game (2.50). A three-time NAC Player of the Week, Wilson has tallied 34 goals against NAC rivals, including six man-up goals, one man-down goal, 20 assists, 27 ground balls and five caused turnovers. Eighteen of Wilson’s 34 goals, and eight of his 20 assists, came against NAC foes finishing in the top half of the conference standings.

Among NCAA Division III statistical leaders, Wilson is fourth in points per game, 16th in goals per game, and 32nd in assists. He set new MMA single-season records for goals (57) and points (94), became only the fourth Mariner men’s lacrosse player to surpass the 200 career points, and became the program’s fifth 100-career-goal scorer. He will leave Castine as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 251 points.

Dalton charted 14 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls in conference games in 2023, with totals of 21 caused turnovers and 28 ground balls over the course of all 14 regular season contests. Seven of his ground balls and seven of his caused turnovers were collected against NAC tournament qualifiers. Dalton finished the season with three goals and two assists for five points in NAC contests, including two goals against regular season champion Maine Maritime.

In his first season of collegiate men’s lacrosse, Beachak led SUNY Delhi in overall scoring with 16 goals and 10 assists for 26 points, including 13 goals and five assists and 18 points against NAC opponents. He closed out the 2023 regular season with a hat trick in each of the Broncos’ final three games against Northern Vermont-Lyndon, Thomas College, and SUNY Poly, and he notched a pair of goals against defending NAC champion Maine Maritime. Beachak completed his conference stat line with 15 ground balls and one caused turnover versus NAC rivals, including five GBs against both NVU-Lyndon and Thomas. After starting the season on SUNY Delhi’s top midfield unit, he wrapped up his rookie campaign as the Broncos’ top attackman.

SUNY Cobleskill’s Underwood finished the 2023 season third on the team in scoring with 26 goals and 11 assists for 37 points, including 13 goals and six assists for 19 points versus conference foes. The attackman from Johnstown, New York, also picked up 21 ground balls with five caused turnovers to his credit. Over three seasons in Orange and Black, Underwood amassed 45 goals and 22 assists for 67 points. Off the field, Underwood has posted a 3.70 GPA while studying in Cobleskill’s challenging Fisheries and Aquaculture program in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Science.

Mike O’Neill from Husson and Greg Valachovic from SUNY Cobleskill will share the NAC Men’s Lacrosse Coach of the Year honor. O’Neill guided Husson to a 9-7 overall record and a 4-4 record in conference play, improving on the squad’s 6-11/3-5 NAC mark from 2022. Valachovic, who is guiding the SUNY Cobleskill program on an interim basis, led the Fighting Tigers to an 8-5 overall record and the program’s first winning record. Cobleskill posted a 3-5 mark versus NAC opponents, the squad’s best league record in three years in the conference.

In addition to the top conference awards, 30 student-athletes were named to the All-Conference teams, and nine were named to the NAC Men's Lacrosse Sportsmanship Team. The Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who distinguish themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees have positively affected the sport’s culture and game environment by clearly demonstrating sportsmanship and integrity beyond playing rules and etiquette.

The full list of men’s lacrosse honorees is below:

Player of the Year – Jayden Wilson, Maine Maritime
Defensive Player of the Year – Sean Dalton, SUNY Delhi
Rookie of the Year – Jaggar Beachak, SUNY Delhi
Senior Scholar Athlete – Kerry Blackwood, SUNY Cobleskill
Co-Coaches of the Year – Mike O’Neill, Husson / Greg Valachovic, SUNY Cobleskill

First Team
A - Lyle Beeman, SUNY Poly
A - Sean D’Amaro, SUNY Cobleskill
A - Nate Haley, MCLA
A - Jayden Wilson, Maine Maritime
M – Jacob Belanger, Maine Maritime
M – Gunner McAllister, Husson
M – Sam Nichol, Maine Maritime
M – Luke Taylor, SUNY Poly
D – Joseph Carr, SUNY Delhi
D – Donavon Johnson Moline, SUNY Delhi
D – Zachary Seebach, SUNY Delhi
D – Ryan Sparacino, SUNY Poly
LSM – Sean Dalton, SUNY Delhi
G – Samuel Steng, SUNY Delhi
FO – Jacob Larochelle, Husson

Second Team
A – Matt Boynton, Husson
A – Boden Dock, MCLA
A – Andrew Maycock, SUNY Poly
A – Austin Mesler, SUNY Canton
M – Kerry Blackwood, SUNY Cobleskill
M – William Bockhaus, SUNY Cobleskill
M – Bryce DeRonda, Husson
M – Brendan Reddington, Maine Maritime
D – Dominic DeSimone, Thomas College
D – Gus Eisenmann, Husson
D – Brandon Gagne, Maine Maritime
D – Elias Libby, NVU-Lyndon
LSM – Steven Sullivan, SUNY Poly
G – Joseph VanZandt, SUNY Poly
FO – Anthony Ferrato, SUNY Delhi

Sportsmanship Team
SUNY Canton – Kyle Fingar
SUNY Cobleskill – Aaron Brooks
SUNY Delhi – Brett Fischer
Husson – Tristan Swan
Northern Vermont-Lyndon – Alex Reed
Maine Maritime – Andrew King
MCLA – Matt Wallace
SUNY Poly – Michael Baker
Thomas College – Max Irons