BALTIMORE – The Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse team was named a recipient of the 2023 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Team Academic Award this week, and six student-athletes on the team received Scholar All-America honors from the organization.
 
Matt Hughes, Evan James, Scott Middleton, Adam Poitras, Freeman Whitaker and Cam Wyers were honored individually for their work in the classroom and on the field.
 
Hughes earned his M.B.A. from Loyola and was a member of the Academic All-Patriot League Team this year and was an All-Patriot League Second Team honoree. He was a steady presence on the Greyhounds' close defense this year as in the past three and was a starter on close since 2021. He continued to be amongst the Greyhounds' leaders in caused turnovers and ground balls, leading non-faceoff players on the team with 47 ground balls while pacing the team with 24 cause turnovers to wrap up his Loyola career with 117 and 66.
 
James, who graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in business marketing and will return next season to pursue a master's degree, ramped up his scoring output after a move from midfield to attack late in the season. He scored 18 goals and had five assists in the Greyhounds' last six games of the year as he started on attack. He scored four goals in the home regular-season finale against Colgate before breaking out further in the Patriot League Championships. He set a tournament single-game record with six goals at Navy in the quarterfinal round, and he then went for four goals and three assists in a semifinal win at top-seeded Boston University. Overall, James had five hat tricks and eight games with two or more goals during the season.
 
Middleton completed an undergraduate bachelor's degree in 2022 and finished his M.B.A. as a fifth-year player this season and was the Greyhounds top long-stick midfielder throughout the year. He tallied a career-high 31 ground balls and nine caused turnovers this season and finished his career with 82 and 25 over the course of 68 games since 2019.
 
Poitras, who was also a member of the Academic All-Patriot League Team, graduated with his bachelor's degree in biology last month and will return to Loyola as a graduate student to play next season. He led the Greyhounds with 34 goals and tied for the team-lead with 49 points in 2023, finishing the year with seven hat tricks and nine games with two or more goals scored. Over the course of Loyola's last five games, Poitras moved from the midfield to attack, and he scored 16 goals with six assists. He had four-goal games against Colgate and at both Lehigh and Boston University during the run. He also was named to the All-Patriot League First Team as a midfielder.
 
Whitaker was a key returner for the Greyhounds as a graduate student who completed his M.B.A. this year after receiving his bachelor's degree in finance in 2022. He played in nine games as a goalkeeper for Loyola, making two starts between the pipes. He totaled 41 saves over the nine games and finished his career with 58 during 20 games total.
 
Wyers earned USILA All-America honors for the third year in a row, and the close defender tied for the team-lead with 22 caused turnovers this year in the Greyhounds' 17 games, finishing with 79 in his career, a mark that is good for fifth all-time at the school. He started all 69 games that he played for the Greyhounds and started each of those contests at close defense. Wyers picked up 157 ground balls in his time with the Greyhounds, 31 this season.