Four Terps make 2026 initial watchlist for the Tewaaraton Award

John Gugs
4 hours ago
3 min read

With the college lacrosse season two weeks in, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced the initial watchlist for the Tewaaraton award of the 2026 season. This year, four total Terps made the initial watchlist, which is tied for first with Syracuse.

The first Terp to make the list was the Vermont grad transfer Henry Dodge. Dodge finished the 2025 season with the highest face-off percentage in the country going 71% from the dot. Dodge also added 8.5 ground balls per game to his name which was top five in the country for 2025. After Dodge entered the portal, he was widely regarded as the number one face-off man in the portal and landed at Maryland to sure up the face-off room that was losing their number one face-off man in Shea Keethler. Dodge went 12/16 from the dot in the Terps season opener against Loyola while splitting the face-off share with Jonah Carrier which the Terps will look to do most of this season. Dodge was one of four face-off specialists to make the initial watchlist.

Eric Kolar also drew honors as he's coming off a 2025 campaign where he was a second team All-American for USILA. Kolar finished the 2025 season with 13 caused turnovers, ten ground balls, and added a goal to his name as well. Coming into the 2026 season, Kolar has widely been regarded as a top three short stick defensive midfielder in the country with Inside Lacrosse having him as the second ranked SSDM in the country in their preseason top 50 player list. Kolar is one of just three SSDMs to make the initial watchlist.

Will Schaller was the third Terp to show up on the initial watchlist which comes as no surprise after he earned the number two spot on Inside Lacrosse’s preseason top 50 players list. Schaller exploded onto the scene in 2025 in his first season as a full time starter. Schaller earned Big Ten defensive player of the year honors as well as being a first team All-American for USILA. Entering the season, Schaller also was a unanimous first team Inside Lacrosse preseason All-American after he had 23 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls in 2025. Schaller is one of 13 close defenders to make the initial watchlist.

The final Terp to make the initial watchlist was Eric Spanos. Along with Schaller, Spanos making the list comes to no surprise after he was given the honor to wear the #1 jersey for the Terps this season and was in the top 20 of Inside Lacrosse’s top 50 player rankings. Spanos led the Terps in scoring last season with 55 points off of 36 goals and 19 assists. While he led the Terps on the stat sheet, Spanos has also evolved as a leader on and off the field as well which was a big reason for him earning the #1 jersey for 2026. Spanos was one of 13 attackmen to make the initial watchlist.

The Terps are gearing up for a heavyweight clash this week as they head up to Syracuse to take on the Orange in a battle of #1 vs #2. The game is set to face-off this Friday at 6 PM and will air on the ACC Network.

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