PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's lacrosse program announced its 2022 individual award winners this past weekend at the team's annual banquet. The banquet was held on homecoming weekend, with alumni returning to campus for a weekend that featured a tailgate at the RU football victory over Indiana as well as an alumni game on Sunday morning. Members of the senior class from 2022 were recognized after helping the program reach the Final Four last season for the first time in program history.

The team's prestigious William Miller Trophy is awarded to the team member who, by his own example, has constituted an inspiration to his teammates and made the greatest contribution to the team in the season's play. This year's recipient was Colin Kirst. One of the top goalkeepers in the nation, Kirst was named Second Team All-America by the USILA. The Bernardsville, N.J. native was named Scholar All-American, All-ECAC and to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. The team captain made 19 starts with a 11.08 goals-against-average and .540 save percentage, stopping 199 shots, including 16 games of double-digit saves. Kirst was drafted in the third round by the PLL's Cannons franchise and made his pro debut this summer.
 
The Robert Collett Trophy is awarded to the member of the Rutgers varsity lacrosse team, who displays the best mental and physical spirit. This year's recipient was Brennan Kamish. A short-stick defensive midfielder, Kamish was a Second Team All-American via the USILA. The Wixom, Mich. native was also named a Scholar All-American and was All-ECAC after a season where he posted a career-best 21 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers, also scoring four goals with three assists. Following the season, Kamish signed and competed last summer in the PLL with the Whipsnakes.  
 
The Knight Cup is awarded to the player who has played the game of lacrosse to the best of his ability, who has, by example, inspired or led by his teammates both on and off the field and who, above all, has consistently demonstrated the qualities of unselfishness and loyalty to his team and Rutgers University. This year's recipient was Ryan Gallagher, who also collected the award in 2020. Gallagher was a team captain in 2022 and a Scholar All-American. Marking his fifth season as a starter, the midfielder was second on the team with 20 assists. The Atlanta, Ga. native added 11 goals for 31 points with 12 ground balls.
 
The Frederick Fitch Trophy is bestowed up the letterwinner who, through personal effort to develop his lacrosse ability, has shown the greatest improvement during the season. The award fittingly was presented to Ross Scott. After making just five starts and scoring 14 goals over the course of his first two seasons at RU, the West Linn, Ore. native moved into a full-time starting role at attack and put forth one of the top offensive seasons in program history. Scott scored 50 goals and added 25 assists, tying Tom Sweeney's 1978 campaign for the most goals in a season in RU history, and his 75 points represented the second most in a single season in program history. Scott was named Third Team All-American, to the NCAA Tournament and Big Ten All-Tournament teams, Second Team All-Big Ten and All-ECAC.
 
The team's assist leader is the winner of The Alfred Sasser Trophy, and Scott collected that award as well after leading the team with his 25 helpers.
 
The Doc Peterson Award is awarded to the team member who displays a balance of both academics and athletics and has put the success of the program and his teammates ahead of himself. This award represents the individual who was the unsung hero of the season in all aspects. The recipient of this year's Doc Peterson Award is Brian Ward. A native of Pittsburgh, Ward joined the Scarlet Knights originally in 2021 as a transfer from Yale but suffered two serious knee injuries that looked to knock him out of consecutive seasons. Ward diligently worked his way back into action, and was able to make his debut in a Scarlet Knight uniform against Penn State on Senior Night this past season.
 
Head coach Brian Brecht also introduced a new award this season to honor the memory of former Rutgers head coach Tom Hayes. Unlike the other awards, which are given to student-athletes in honor of one season's performance, the Tom Hayes Award is awarded to the graduating senior player who has made a significant and lasting impact over his entire career on the Rutgers lacrosse program
 
The co-winners of the inaugural award were Tommy Coyne and Zackary Franckowiak. Each made a deep impact on the program over their time as a Scarlet Knight.
 
Coyne originally joined the program ahead of the 2018 season, graduating high school early to enroll at RU ahead of the season. In 2018, he started 13 games on attack, and was fifth on the team with 16 goals and eight assists for 24 points. The next season, he moved into a starting role at midfield, finishing fourth on the team with 16 goals, including a career-high six goal game at No. 1 Penn State. Then in 2021, he moved into his third different role, becoming a valued presence at short-stick defensive midfield. Over the course of his career, the Naperville, Illinois native played in 68 games, totaling 69 points (42 goals and 27 assists) and collecting 58 ground balls over five seasons at RU. Majoring in Communication, he was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and three-time Academic All-Big Ten Selection (2020, 2021 and 2022).
 
Franckowiak was the elder statesman of the team, originally joining RU ahead of the 2016 season. As a true freshman, he was plugged into a short-stick defensive midfield role, and excelled, highlighted by two goals in a Big Ten Tournament Semifinals win over Johns Hopkins that saw him be named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. The Draper, Utah native then left the program for two seasons to complete an LDS mission in St. Petersburg, Russia. Franckowiak returned in 2019 and played four more seasons as a Scarlet Knight. Over the course of his career, he played in 61 games with 11 goals, 12 assists, 114 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers. An Exercise Science major, he was named a USILA Scholar All-American, three-time Academic All-Big Ten Selection and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. He is currently enrolled in Dental School at Creighton University.
 
The Al Twitchell Award is awarded to the freshman seen as the most valuable to the team.
 
This year's recipient of the award was Remington Reynolds. The Baltimore, Md. native played in all 19 games at long-stick midfield. The product of The Gillman School posted 15 ground balls and seven caused turnovers with one ground ball. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after scoring a goal and having two ground balls and a caused turnover in the win over Hofstra.

The Collins Award is given to the member of the team with the greatest increase in GPA. 

This year's recipient of the award was Dante Kulas, a sophomore attackman from Courtice, Ontario.
 
The Campbell Sode Scholar Athlete Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA.
 
This year's recipient of the award was Justin Lawler, a sophomore midfielder from Randolph, N.J.


 
 
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