In the NCAA, there is an award given out each year to the nation's best player in many sports. In lacrosse, the award to win is the Tewaaraton Award. Just like the Heisman, or the Hobey Baker, the Tewaaraton has become an award given to players that produce crazy numbers offensively.

Last year Charlotte North, one of the greatest women’s lacrosse players of all time, won the women’s Tewaaraton and Logan Wisnauskas won the mens. Both players played attack on the lacrosse field and produced spectacular stats.

This year, I believe the lacrosse world will see much of the same in the 2023 Tewaaraton Award race.

Women’s Favorites

Izzy Scane is my favorite for the Tewaaraton this season. The graduate student from Clarkson, Michigan did not play her senior season due to injury, but when she is on the field she is unstoppable.

A former IWCLA First Team All-American is back and she will be ripping shots based goalies all season. A career high 10 goal performance against Rutgers her junior year only accounts for five percent of her goals in her career.

In her career, Scane has played and started 43 games, in that time she has 189 goals, 51 assists and 240 points. An average of about 5.58 points per game and 4.39 goals per game is phenomenal, but those numbers are destined to rise this season.

Scane will be explosive all season, all teams in the Big Ten will need to watch out when they face off against her.

Meaghan Tyrrell is my second favorite for the Women’s Tewaaraton. Tyrell is also a graduate student, but actually played her senior season. She not only played, but she tore it up all year for the Syracuse Orange.

Career totals of 202 goals, 106 assists and 308 points showcase her talent. Last year she was an IWCLA First Team All-American, and I have no doubt she’ll earn that award if she stays healthy.

Tyrell is a force offensively and the only thing that will be able to stop her this season will be herself.

Men’s Favorites

Matt Brandau may not be the first name you think of in this year's Tewaaraton award watch because of all the talent in men’s lacrosse, but there is something in the air with this particular player. Brandau is coming off a spectacular season, scoring 57 goals and 42 assists, but that isn’t what sets him apart.

Brandau, according to Inside Lacrosse’s Kevin Brown “is in the best shape of his life.” Brandau spent the fall semester shedding fat and gaining muscle, making him even more of a threat on the offensive side of the ball.

With the next three closest scorers to Brandau being freshman last year, the experience those player’s gained can only bolster his offense. Expect Brandau to eclipse his career highs in every single offensive stat, and do not be surprised if you see a headline that says Brandau scored more than his career high of seven goals.

Connor Shellenberger is simply a weapon. Everybody knows that he is good and everybody knows he is going to score. The only thing teams can try and do is contain him, a very difficult task.

Shellenberger is Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 player coming into this season, and it would be no surprise if he won the Tewaaraton.

Last year in his redshirt sophomore season, Shellenberger netted 32 goals while also tallying 44 assists. He led a stacked Virginia roster to an NCAA Semifinal appearance, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Maryland Terrapins.

Shellenberger has had an entire offseason to get stronger and develop his game even more. Coming into this season as a captain for the Cavaliers on an even better and more experienced Virginia squad, watch out. Shellenberger is about to explode.

Hayden Lewis is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email lewis1818hayden@gmail.com.