McLaughlin Award

The Lt. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award — also known as the "Don MacLaughlin Award" — has been given annually since 1973 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) to the NCAA's most outstanding college lacrosse midfielder. The award is presented to the best midfielder in Division I, Division II, and — until recently — Division III.[1] The outstanding midfielder in Division III now receives the new "Fran McCall Award".[2] Also, the new "Long Pole Midfielder of the Year" award is given in Divisions II and III.[2]

The award is named after LTJG Donald Clay MacLaughlin, Jr, USN, United States Naval Academy (USNA), Class of 1963, Catonsville High School, Class of 1959.[3] An All-American midfielder for Navy, who died on a combat mission in South Vietnam in 1966.[4]

MacLaughlin was a leading midfielder and scorer on three consecutive Division 1 National Championship Navy Lacrosse Teams ('61, '62, '63), and First Team All-American. He was also an All-American and Captain of the 1963 Navy Soccer team, leading Navy to its first appearance in the final NCAA Division-1 championship game. As USNA's best athlete, "Mac" was awarded the U.S. Naval Academy's most prestigious, athletic award, "The Sword", presented by the Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA).[5]

  1. ^ USILA Announces Player of the Year Awards for 2007. Lacrosse News webpage. LaxPower. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  2. ^ a b 2009 USILA Awards Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine (box title is "2009 USILA Coaches of the Year Announced") and then scroll down to the lower box, entitled "2009 USILA Special Awards". The first regular award listed is: "Lt. j.g. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award - Outstanding Midfielder". USILA official website. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  3. ^ "A time to remember a life lost". The Baltimore Sun. January 2, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2022. Since 1973, the best college lacrosse midfielder in the country has been presented with the MacLaughlin Award.
  4. ^ "NAVYLAX Fax (Question of the Day 4/20/05)". Navy Lacrosse. April 20, 2005. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2022. Yesterday, we discussed the MacLaughlin Award - awarded to the top Midfielder in Division I each year. The award is named after Navy All American midfielder, Donald MacLaughlin Jr '63. Navy has only had one MacLaughlin Award winner since the award's inception (1973). Which Navy midfielder won the MacLaughlin Award?
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-05-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) InsideLacrosse.com: Lacrosse Positional Awards: Who they're named for