WASHINGTON, D.C. – University at Albany long stick midfielder Jake Piseno has been selected as one of 25 individuals in men's college lacrosse as a Tewaaraton Award Nominee. The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
 
Five individuals will be named as finalists for the award, to be announced May 9 at the conclusion of the regular season.
 
Piseno has been a standout for the Great Danes in 2024, playing all over the field. He sits second in Division I with 2.64 caused turnovers per game, totaling 29 so far this season. The team's captain, he routinely makes highlight after highlight while scoring with the long pole – totaling nine goals in 2024. He also sits eighth in the America East with 50 ground balls, averaging 4.55 per game.  
 
Earlier this year, Piseno was one of 50 men's players named to the season's initial Watch List and was the only America East representative. He is the first Great Dane to earn a spot since Tehoka Nanticoke in 2021.
 
Piseno earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades from Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse Magazine, and the USILA entering the 2024 season. Over the summer, he earned All-World and Best Defender honors at the 2023 World Lacrosse Championship in San Diego while competing for the Haudenosaunee Nationals. In 2023, he was named the America East Defensive Player of the Year.
 
This year, Piseno has twice been named the America East Defensive Player of the Week, twice been named to the USILA Team of the Week, and once been named The Lacrosse Network Player of the Week.
 
The men's Tewaaraton Award Nominees include players from 18 different schools, led by three from Duke and two each from Maryland, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse and Virginia. In all, 12 men's players return from last year's Nominees, including 2023 winner Brennan O'Neill (Duke), 2022 and 2023 finalist Connor Shellenberger (Virginia), 2021 and 2023 finalist Pat Kavanagh (Notre Dame) and CJ Kirst (Cornell), who was a finalist in 2023.
 
25 Men's Nominees:
Matt Brandau, Yale - Sr., Attack
Kenny Brower, Duke - Grad. Student, Defense
Graham Bundy Jr., Georgetown - Grad. Student, Midfield
Emmet Carroll, Penn - Sr., Goalie
Will Coletti, Army West Point - Jr., Face-Off
Liam Entenmann, Notre Dame - Grad. Student, Goalie
Jack Fracyon, Penn State - Jr., Goalie
Chayse Ierlan, Johns Hopkins - Grad. Student, Goalie
Cole Kastner, Virginia - Sr., Defense
Pat Kavanagh, Notre Dame - Grad. Student, Attack
Sam King, Harvard - Jr., Attack
CJ Kirst, Cornell - Sr., Attack
Shane Knobloch, Rutgers - Sr., Midfield
Coulter Mackesy, Princeton - Jr., Attack
TJ Malone, Penn State  - Grad. Student, Attack
Will Mark, Syracuse - Grad. Student, Goalie
Brennan O'Neill, Duke - Sr., Attack
Jake Piseno, UAlbany - Grad. Student, Defense
Connor Shellenberger, Virginia - Grad. Student, Attack
Joey Spallina, Syracuse - Soph., Attack
Alec Stathakis, Denver - Grad. Student, Face-Off
Luke Wierman, Maryland - Grad. Student, Face-Off
Dalton Young, Richmond - Grad. Student, Attack
Ajax Zappitello, Maryland - Sr., Defense
Josh Zawada, Duke - Grad. Student, Attack
 
Stay up to date with UAlbany men's lacrosse by following the team on X (@UAlbanyMLax) and Instagram (@ualbanymlax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.