Men's Lacrosse | 3/11/2021 1:04:00 PM
Moon Township, Pa. – Ryan Smith, a graduate attack on the Robert Morris University men's lacrosse team, has been named to the 2021 Tewaaraton Men's Watch List, as announced by the organization Thursday afternoon.
Smith is the first Robert Morris student-athlete to make the Tewaaraton Watch List since former teammate Alex Heger appeared on the 2018 and 2019 versions. RMU Athletic Hall of Fame member Kiel Matisz also made a pair of watch lists in 2011 and 2012, and moved onto the semifinalist round in the latter season.
RELEASE: Tewaaraton Award Announces 2021 Men's and Women's Watch Lists
The Burlington, Ontario product has been outstanding in his final season, ranking fifth nationally in goals (18) and points (29), 10th in assists (11), 15th in goals per game (3.60), 18th in points per game (5.80), and 30th in assists per game (2.20). On Tuesday, he was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) / Dynamic Division I Team of the Week following a program-record 11-point performance in the Colonials' home opener against Bellarmine on March 2. Smith owns four hat tricks in five contests, including a pair of five-goal games versus Colgate and the Knights.
Smith, who also was named one of 20 candidates for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award last Tuesday, could own a whole slew of program records by the time his collegiate career is over. He currently ranks second all-time at RMU in points (175), third in points per game (2.87), fourth in goals (112) and assists (63), fifth in goals per game (1.84) and assists per game (1.03), eighth in starts (51), and ninth in games played (61). Smith is 21 point away from breaking the program record for career points, which was established by Trevor Moore (195; 2008-11), and is 23 goals shy of topping Moore for the number one spot in that statistic.
In Smith's aforementioned 11-point effort against Bellarmine, he also tied the single-game school record for assists with six. That gave him sole possession or a share of the top spot in each scoring category at RMU, as he previously tied the goal standard with eight tallies on Feb. 15, 2020 at Canisius. His current per-game marks for goals and points in 2021 would also be program records, while his 2.20 assists per game is just 0.15 off of Tyson Gibson's 2.35 number established in 2019.
Last September, Smith was selected with the third overall pick by the Rochester Knighthawks in the 2020 National Lacrosse League (NLL) Entry Draft, becoming the seventh player in program history to go in the first round.
The Tewaaraton Award is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Memorial Trophy, and is awarded annually to the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States since 2001, though the organization did not select 2020 recipients following the abrupt end to the season. The Tewaaraton Foundation will trim the Watch List to 25 nominees in April 23, with the five men's and five women's finalists selected in early May.
About The Tewaaraton Foundation
Founded at the University Club of Washington, DC and first presented in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the preeminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and U.S. Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse's centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, please visit www.tewaaraton.com.
Follow The Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Gameday App
