BALTIMORE, Md.—The Tewaaraton Foundation announced its initial Watch List for the 2023 Tewaaraton Award on Friday evening and Villanova graduate student Matt Campbell (Madison, N.J.) is among the 50 candidates for the nation's top collegiate lacrosse honor. The Watch List includes the top players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse and highlight the early contenders for this year's Tewaaraton Award.
 
The season's first edition of the Watch List has been highly anticipated after Campbell was a consensus preseason All-American in the run-up to the 2023 campaign. This is the third straight season that he has been chosen for the Watch List, and in addition to the preseason All-America recognition Campbell was a unanimous pick on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team announced last month.
 
The selection committee for The Tewaaraton Award is comprised of premier collegiate coaches who are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. On two occasions during the season (March 7 and March 28) the selection committee will consider additions to the Watch List, which will later be pared down to 25 nominees for the trophy on April 18.
 
The 25 nominees can be players from the Watch List or not from the Watch List, effectively allowing for a third round of additions. The committee will then meet to name five finalists in early May and they will each be invited to The Tewaaraton Award Ceremony following the season's conclusion.
 
"These student-athletes represent the very best at the collegiate level and have honored the Creator's game with their past play," said Andy Phillips, president of the Tewaaraton Foundation. "We look forward to watching them achieve new heights this season for both themselves and their teammates."
 
One of the top returning players in Division I lacrosse this season, Campbell was ranked No. 25 by Inside Lacrosse on its "Top 50 Men's Players for 2023" list. He begins the season ranked sixth in career goals and seventh in career points among active Division I players, while he ranks fifth and sixth in each of those categories in the Villanova career record book. Campbell's career stats include 117 goals, 51 assists and 168 points in 49 games. He is a three-time All-BIG EAST selection and was selected as Villanova's male Senior Student-Athlete of the Year last Spring.
 
As a senior last year Campbell led the Wildcats with 45 goals and 67 points in 15 games played. He ranked second on the team with 22 assists and was named a first team All-America selection by USA Lacrosse Magazine in addition to being a second team selection by USILA and Inside Lacrosse. Villanova went 9-6 a year ago and reached the BIG EAST Championship final for the first time in eight years.
 
The original castings for The Tewaaraton Award trophy are part of the permanent collection and are currently on display at the University Club of Washington, D.C. and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Baltimore, Md. Bronze replications of the magnificent trophy are awarded annually to the most outstanding male and female varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States.
 
For more information on the Tewaaraton Foundation, visit www.tewaaraton.com. Like and follow the foundation at facebook.com/tewaaraton, twitter.com/tewaaraton and instagram.com/tewaaraton.
 
About The Tewaaraton Foundation

Founded at the University Club of Washington, DC and first presented in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the preeminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and U.S. Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse's centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, please visit www.tewaaraton.com.