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The University of Utah Athletics
DiPonio, Stines Earn ASUN Player of the Year Honors
4/29/2026 11:00 AM | Lacrosse
Senior among nine Utes to earn All-ASUN selections
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Redshirt senior Ryan Stines was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Year and senior Nikko DiPonio was selected as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, headlining the Utes' nine all-conference selections as announced by the league office Wednesday.
This marks the second Player of the Year honor for both players. Stines was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 after being named Freshman of the Year in 2023, while DiPonio repeats as Defensive Player of the Year after taking home the award last season. The pair have been named to the All-ASUN First Team each of the last three seasons.
Utah has now won seven player of the year awards in its five seasons as a member of the ASUN and the fifth year in a row a Utah Ute has taken a yearly honor
Joining the two seniors of the All-ASUN First Team is junior Cade Faulkner, while seniors Tyler Kloeckl and Colin Lenskold, junior Luca Pivetta, and sophomores Luke McNamara and Kyle Harrison were named to the All-ASUN Second Team. Luke Sheppard is the lone Utah Ute representing head coach Andrew McMinn's squad on the conference's All-Freshman Team.
Utah also had six student-athletes recognized for their academic achievements. Senior Will Overly was named the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was joined by Bryce Madden, Jake Likes, Zachary White, Ben Trask, and Karson Sparks on the Academic All-ASUN Team.
Nikko DiPonio | Defense| #46| Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN
Ryan Stines | Attack | #6 | Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN
Cade Faulkner | Midfield | #23 | First Team All-ASUN
Tyler Kloeckl | Faceoff | #36 | Second Team All-ASUN
Colin Lenskold | Goalkeeper | #2 | Second Team All-ASUN
Luca Pivetta | Defense | #18 | Second Team All-ASUN
Luke McNamara | Attack | #20 | Second Team All-ASUN
Kyle Harrison | SSDM | #37 | Second Team All-ASUN
Luke Sheppard | Attack | #11 | All-Freshman Team
Will Overly | Midfield | #4 | ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year
UP NEXT
Utah will take on the Air Force Academy Falcons at 4 p.m. MT on Friday, May 1, in the semifinal round of the ASUN Tournament in Jacksonville. Live coverage will be provided by ESPN+.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow along on social media (X: @UTAHLacrosse | Instagram: @utahlacrosse), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.
This marks the second Player of the Year honor for both players. Stines was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 after being named Freshman of the Year in 2023, while DiPonio repeats as Defensive Player of the Year after taking home the award last season. The pair have been named to the All-ASUN First Team each of the last three seasons.
Utah has now won seven player of the year awards in its five seasons as a member of the ASUN and the fifth year in a row a Utah Ute has taken a yearly honor
Joining the two seniors of the All-ASUN First Team is junior Cade Faulkner, while seniors Tyler Kloeckl and Colin Lenskold, junior Luca Pivetta, and sophomores Luke McNamara and Kyle Harrison were named to the All-ASUN Second Team. Luke Sheppard is the lone Utah Ute representing head coach Andrew McMinn's squad on the conference's All-Freshman Team.
Utah also had six student-athletes recognized for their academic achievements. Senior Will Overly was named the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was joined by Bryce Madden, Jake Likes, Zachary White, Ben Trask, and Karson Sparks on the Academic All-ASUN Team.
Nikko DiPonio | Defense| #46| Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN
- Drafted 24th overall by the New York Atlas in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft.
- Started all 13 games for Utah, tallying a program-record 36 caused turnovers to go with 79 ground balls.
- Also scored once and added five assists.
- Program record holder in career caused turnovers (107) and ranks second in ground balls (295).
- Ranks second nationally and leads the ASUN with 2.77 caused turnovers per game and ranks 21st in the NCAA and third in the ASUN (leading all position players in both) in ground balls with 6.08 per game.
- Third All-ASUN recognition, also earning First Team honors in 2025 and 2024.
Ryan Stines | Attack | #6 | Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All-ASUN
- Drafted ninth overall by the Utah Archers in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft, becoming the first Utah Ute to be drafted to the professional ranks.
- Started all 13 games for Utah, tying for the team lead with 62 points on 37 goals and 25 assists.
- 62 points are tied for the third most in a season in program history, while his 37 goals rank eighth and 25 assists tie for fifth.
- Ranks ninth nationally in points per game (4.77), 12th in goals per game (2.85) and 22nd in assists per game(1.92).
- Holds the program record in career points (241) and ranks second in goals (146) and assists (95).
- Third All-ASUN recognition, also earning First Team honors in 2025 and 2024.
Cade Faulkner | Midfield | #23 | First Team All-ASUN
- Started the first 11 games of the year, scoring 17 goals to go with nine assists for 26 points.
- 33 of his 58 shots were on goal.
- Also tallied career highs in ground balls (17) and caused turnovers (4).
- Ranks 10th in program history with 64 total points and sits ninth with 46 career goals.
- Second All-ASUN recognition, also being named to the Second Team in 2025.
Tyler Kloeckl | Faceoff | #36 | Second Team All-ASUN
- Has played in all 13 games so far, going 141-for-245 on faceoff tries.
- His 141 faceoff wins are the third most in a single season in program history, while his 77 ground balls rank sixth.
- His 22 faceoff wins against Bellarmine were the fourth most in a single game in program history, and his .867 win percentage (13-of-15) against Iona was the third highest.
- His .576 win percentage this season ranks second in program history and just .002% off the record.
- Ranks second in program history with 410 career faceoff wins and second with a .523 win percentage.
- Earned All-ASUN Second Team honors in 2025.
Colin Lenskold | Goalkeeper | #2 | Second Team All-ASUN
- Started all 13 games in the cage, going 9-4 while making 116 saves and nabbing a career-high 32 ground balls.
- Posted a career-low 10.13 goals against average and tied his personal best with a .496% save percentage.
- Held eight opponents to 10 goals or fewer, including Utah's first-ever shutout victory over Queens, and made 10 or more saves six times.
- Program record holder in single-game (20), single-season (185) and career saves (641).
- 2025 All-ASUN Second Team and 2023 All-Freshman Team selection.
Luca Pivetta | Defense | #18 | Second Team All-ASUN
- Started all 13 games on defense, logging 25 ground balls and causing 18 turnovers.
- Also scored a goal and added two assists for a career-high three points.
- Ranked seventh in the ASUN with 1.38 caused turnovers per game, logging five games with multiple CTs.
- Sits fourth in program history career caused turnovers (59) and just outside the top 10 with 79 career ground balls.
- 2025 All-ASUN Second Team selection and 2024 All-Freshman honoree.
Luke McNamara | Attack | #20 | Second Team All-ASUN
- Leads the nation with 4.38 goals per game, scoring 57 in 13 games to go with five assists for a career-high and team-best 62 points.
- Has scored 90 career goals in 27 games, leading all active players with a career 3.33 goals per game.
- Tallied 10 games with three-plus goals, including a 10-goal game against Iona, becoming the first player in Division I since 2020 to score 10 or more in a game.
- Already ranks fourth in program history in scoring, sixth in points, and leads all Utes in man-up goals.
- ASUN All-Freshman Team selection in 2025.
Kyle Harrison | SSDM | #37 | Second Team All-ASUN
- Appeared in all 13 games, causing six turnovers and recording seven ground balls.
- Also scored twice after not recording a point in three games as a freshman.
- Net the game-winner in the Utes' 9-8 win over Jacksonville for his first collegiate goal.
Luke Sheppard | Attack | #11 | All-Freshman Team
- Appeared in nine games, scoring three goals on six shots to go with a ground balls.
- All three goals came in Utah's 32-4 win over Iona.
- Scored on all three of his shots on goal.
Will Overly | Midfield | #4 | ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Majoring in Health and Kinesiology and will graduate with a 3.965 GPA.
- Started all 13 games for the Utes, scoring 11 goals and adding nine assists for 20 points.
- Added three ground balls.
- Scored multiple goals in a game twice, including a four-score outing against Virginia, and tallied multiple assists twice, led by five helpers in the ASUN opener against Bellarmine.
- Team captain alongside DiPonio and Stines.
UP NEXT
Utah will take on the Air Force Academy Falcons at 4 p.m. MT on Friday, May 1, in the semifinal round of the ASUN Tournament in Jacksonville. Live coverage will be provided by ESPN+.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can follow along on social media (X: @UTAHLacrosse | Instagram: @utahlacrosse), and the official mobile app of Utah Athletics, Utah360 -- download here.
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