By: Christian Rodriguez
Staff Reporter
Junior lacrosse midfielder Max Tuttle, has been selected to the first round of the 2018 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. This award is given annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
Tuttle is one of eight selected male athletes in the running for the preeminent award. Five men’s finalists will be announced on May 10 and will be invited to the award ceremony in Washington on May 31.
Tuttle has 36 goals and 14 assists in 11 games played this season. He is having a great season and his consistency has been shown since his freshman year. Five games into his junior season, he eclipsed the 100-point mark.
“It’s not just this year, it’s a culmination of two and a half years of very hard work,” said head coach Jon Basti. “He’s probably number one in every other teams’ scouting reports.”
Tuttle knows that this award is a recognition for his hard work throughout the season, but he credits his teammates for his watch list selection.
“It’s a really exciting honor for myself, but at the same time it’s obviously a personal award,” said Tuttle. “My teammates put me in the right position to get that recognition and I’m grateful for them.”
Basti recognizes Tuttle’s hard work and that the program has benefited a lot in having him on the team. His teammates know to find him on the field.
“He has definitely improved in so many different ways. He makes everybody else on the field better, whether it’s him making plays for other people or creating space,” said Basti. “He instills a lot of confidence in his teammates because of how he plays. They know he’s going to give everything he’s got, so they also have to do the same.”
The praise Tuttle has for his teammates also goes off the field as they’ve made his transition from Castle Rock, Colo. to Sacred Heart easier. Prior to Sacred Heart, Tuttle attended Castle View High School, where he earned multiple awards including being named All-American by U.S. Lacrosse, twice.
“The transition was easy because of the great guys on the team. I meshed really well with the guys and there’s a couple other Colorado kids on the team that I know back from home,” said Tuttle.
Aside from scoring goals and recording assists, he has memorable moments that have stood out in his two and a half years at Sacred Heart.
“The Providence overtime goal, (on March 3, 2018), was one that stands out. That moment was very memorable, as well as my first career goal scoring against Lafayette (on Feb. 12, 2016),” said Tuttle.
With the season coming to an end this month, Sacred Heart is looking to make a push for the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship beginning on May 3 and the final is scheduled for May 5.
“I just hope we can win the conference, that’s the goal. If we do win the conference then we make the NCAA tournament, and anything can happen from there,” said Tuttle.
The men’s lacrosse team’s next game is against Wagner on April 14 at Campus Field, as they will look to make a push for the postseason.
