Five Schools Earn GLVC Men’s Lacrosse Major Awards

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INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis senior attacker Drew Billig, graduate student short-stick defender Kyle Basch, and junior specialist Caleb Parker, as well as Lewis University junior goalkeeper Riah Rathe, Davenport freshman attacker Jayden Ashley, and head coaches Greg Stocks (Indianapolis), Scott Stark (Maryville University), and Kevin Kelly (Rockhurst University) have all earned major postseason honors for the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Men’s Lacrosse season, the league office announced on Friday.
 
Billig was named Offensive Player of the Year, Basch earned Defensive Player of the Year, Parker was selected as Specialist of the Year, Rathe garnered Goalkeeper of the Year, Ashley was tabbed Freshman of the Year, while Stocks, Stark, and Kelley all tied as Coach of the Year in vote of their peers. In total, 38 student-athletes claimed All-Conference honors, while six were chosen as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honorees for the sport and Rockhurst was the team sportsmanship award winner. 

The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Offensive Player of the Year: Drew Billig, Sr., Attacker, Indianapolis

• Claims first Offensive Player of the Year laurel for UIndy in the first year for the award.
• Led league in total points (72) and assists (45), as well as points (5.54) and assists (3.46) per game.
• Led league in five GLVC games for total assists (15) and assists per game (3.0) and was second in the loop for points (23) and points per game (4.60).
• Had a league-high 13 points and nine assists against Lake Erie on Feb. 4.
• Became UIndy’s all-time points leader on Mar. 5 and now has 252.
• Started all 13 games for UIndy.
• Named GLVC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Mar. 20, and Apr. 10.
• Garnered USILA Team of the Week accolades on Feb. 16 and National Player of the Week on Mar. 21.
• One of five unanimous selections to All-GLVC First Team in his fourth-straight year as an All-Conference honoree.

 
Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Basch, Gr., Short-Stick Defender, Indianapolis

• Wins first-ever Defensive Player of the Year honor in the first year for the award for his third-straight major award, having won Specialty Player of the Year the last two season.
• Ranks third in the league for GLVC-only games with 32 ground balls and 6.40 per game.
• Finished fifth in the league for overall ground balls (61) and ground balls per game (4.69), as well as caused turnovers (21) and caused turnovers per game (1.62).
• Added 10 points on five goals and five assists.
• Played all 13 games for the Greyhounds.
• Named to USILA Team of the Week on Mar. 29.
• One of five unanimous selections to All-GLVC First Team in his third-straight year on the First Team.

 
Specialist of the Year: Caleb Parker, Jr., Face-off/Get-off, Indianapolis

• Secures third-straight Specialist of the Year award for UIndy, as Kyle Basch won the last two.
• Won a league-high 199 face-offs during the season and ranked third in face-off percentage (.570).
• Scooped up the second-most ground balls per game (5.69) and third-most total ground balls (74) overall.
• Topped the league in face-off percentage (.659) and face-off wins (98) for GLVC-only matches, ranking second with 33 ground balls and 6.60 ground balls per game.
• Set single-game program record for face-off wins with 30 in 35 attempts on Apr. 1.
• Played all 13 games for UIndy.
• Named GLVC Defensive Player of the Week on Apr. 3.
• Earns second-straight selection to All-GLVC First Team.

 
Goalkeeper of the Year: Riah Rathe, Jr., Lewis

• Unanimously garners first-ever major award for Lewis in the sport.
• Led league in overall games with a .587 save percentage, was second in saves percentage (13.00), and ranked fifth in goals-against average (9.53).
• Ranked third in Conference games with 61 saves and 12.20 saves per game and fifth in goals-against average (10.20) and saves percentage (.545).
• Started 13 of 14 games for Lewis.
• Named GLVC Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 6 and 13.
• One of five unanimous selections to All-GLVC First Team.

Freshman of the Year: Jayden Ashley, Attacker, Davenport

• Takes home first-ever Freshman of the Year award for Davenport and second major award for the Panthers, as Daniel Milano was named Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021.
• Led Conference in goals per game (3.33) and was second in total goals (40) for overall games, while ranking third for shots per game (8.67) and fourth in points per game (4.25).
• Tied for third in GLVC-only games with 3.00 goals per game and tied for fifth in total goals with 12, adding 3.50 points per game and 7.00 shot per game.
• Started all 12 games played for Davenport.
• Earns spot on All-GLVC Honorable Mention Team.

Coach of the Year: Greg Stocks, Indianapolis

• Secures second Coach of the Year honor for UIndy, winning for the first time in 2019.
• In his third season, led UIndy to an 11-2 overall record and 5-0 mark in GLVC action, earning the Regular Season Championship and top seed and hosting duties in the GLVC Tournament.
• Managed team to league-best numbers in all primary offensive categories for the entire season, including points per game (22.85), goals per game (15.23), assists per game (7.62), shots per game (54.00), and shots on goal per game (33.31), while also topping the Conference defensively in ground balls per game (34.92), caused turnovers per game (10.62), and turnovers per game (11.92).
• Led team to best GLVC-only numbers in points per game (25.40), goals per game (16.40), assists per game (9.00), shots per game (56.00), shots on goal per game (34.80), ground balls per game (37.20), turnovers per game (11.40), and face-off percentage (.699).
• Ranked third in USILA Poll.
• Guided Billig, Basch, and Parker to major awards, as well as 10 players to All-GLVC recognition, including six on the First Team with graduate student defender Josh Jackson also being selected unanimously.

 
Coach of the Year: Scott Stark, Maryville

• Secures second Coach of the Year honor for Maryville, winning for the first time 2021.
• In his third season, led Maryville to an 8-5 overall record and 3-2 mark in GLVC action, earning the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Tournament.
• Managed team to league-best goals-against average (7.94), caused turnovers per game (11.00), and shots percentage (.250) in GLVC games, as well as face-off percentage (.596) in all games.
• Receiving votes in USILA Poll.
• Guided five players to All-GLVC recognition, including unanimous sophomore midfielder Reid Usrey, sophomore attacker Clayton Cerett, and junior defender Garrett Rivers on the First Team.

 
Coach of the Year: Kevin Kelley, Rockhurst

• Secures first-ever Coach of the Year honor for Rockhurst.
• In his 10th season, led Rockhurst to an 8-5 overall record and 3-2 mark in GLVC action, earning the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament.
• Managed team to league-best man-up percentage overall (.471) and in GLVC games (.409), as well as a GLVC-only saves percentage of .573.
• Guided seven players to All-GLVC recognition, including long-stick senior midfielder Luke Goetz on the First Team.

 
UIndy led all league programs with six first-team choices and 10 overall. Maryville garnered three first-team nods and Lewis saw two players land on the list. The last three spots on the First Team were filled by a single representative from Rockhurst and Quincy University.
 
The league also recognized Rockhurst as its GLVC Men’s Lacrosse James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as six student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
 
A complete list of the 2023 All-GLVC teams and postseason honorees can be found below.

GLVC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Drew Billig, Sr., Att., Indianapolis
GLVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kyle Basch, Gr., SS-Def, Indianapolis
GLVC SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Caleb Parker, Jr., Specialist, Indianapolis
GLVC GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR: Riah Rathe, Jr., Lewis #
GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jayden Ashley, Fr., Att., Davenport
GLVC TRI-COACHES OF THE YEAR: Greg Stocks, Indianapolis; Scott Stark, Maryville; Kevin Kelley, Rockhurst
 

FIRST TEAM Wyatt Auyer, Jr., Att., UINDY Kyle Basch, Gr., SS Def., UINDY # Drew Billig, Sr., Att., UINDY # Josh Jackson, Gr., Def., UINDY # Caleb Parker, Jr., Spec., UINDY Evan Soucy, Sr., Def., UINDY Riah Rathe, Jr., GK, LEWIS # Jack Speers, Gr., MF, LEWIS Clayton Cerett, So., Att., MU Garrett Rivers, Jr., Def., MU Reid Usrey, So., MF, MU # Donald Griffith, R-Fr., MF, QU Luke Goetz, Sr., LS MF, RU   # Unanimous Selection

SECOND TEAM James Johnston, Sr., Att., DAV Dougie Crawford, Jr., Def., UINDY Ben Foster, Sr., MF, UINDY Nick Randgaard, Jr., MF, UINDY Baden Boyenko, Sr., Att., LEWIS Evan Clement, Sr., Att., LEWIS Kai George, Jr., SS Def., LEWIS Sam Kern, Sr., LS MF, LEWIS Zack Merwin, Jr., Def., LEWIS Eskander Ben Aissa, So., LS MF, MU Shea Raeburn, Fr., Spec., MU Matt Buckley, Gr., Def., RU Grant Brunsvold, Sr., MF, RU Hayden Harris, Gr., GK, RU * Extra member due to tie

HONORABLE MENTION Jayden Ashley, Fr., Att., DAV Triston Schaffer, So., Att., UINDY Kevin Blaz, Jr., MF, LEWIS Domenic Tarello, So., Spec., LEWIS Soren Thrawl, Sr., Def., LEWIS Jayme Brain, Jr., Att., QU Connor Nock, So., Def., QU Ryan Riggs, Jr., GK, QU Matt Campion, Jr., LS MF, RU Jake Fisher, Sr., Att., RU Lars Yarkosky, Fr., MF, RU

 
 
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Keagan King, DAV
Josh Jackson, UINDY
Kevin Blaz, LEWIS
Andrew Skifstad, MU
Grayson Kuan, QU
Matt Buckley, RU
 
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Rockhurst