The Tewaaraton Award: Lacrosse's Top Honor

The Tewaaraton Award is the top individual honor in American college lacrosse, presented every year since 2001 to the most outstanding male and female players in the NCAA. Because there is a winner in each of the men’s and women’s games, two Tewaaraton Awards are handed out annually, and it is commonly called the “Heisman of lacrosse.”

What sets the award apart from other player-of-the-year trophies is its name and meaning, which tie directly to the sport’s Indigenous origins. Here is what the Tewaaraton Award is, where its name comes from, how it is decided, and the players who have defined it.

What the name means

The award is named after “Tewaaraton,” a Mohawk (Haudenosaunee) word for the traditional game that became lacrosse. That choice is deliberate: it honors the Native nations who created the sport centuries before European contact. The award’s trophy fittingly depicts a Native American lacrosse player, and the whole presentation is designed as a tribute to the game’s heritage as well as a celebration of its best current players. The link runs deep, because the very word “lacrosse” was a later French name, while “Tewaaraton” reaches back to the sport’s true roots, a history our explainer on who invented lacrosse covers in full.

How the award works

The Tewaaraton Award is administered by the Tewaaraton Foundation and presented at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C., each spring, after the college season ends. The process runs through the year: a watch list is issued early, a group of finalists (typically five in each of the men’s and women’s games) is named as the season closes, and the two winners are revealed at the ceremony, usually in late May or early June.

Selection is handled by a voting body that weighs on-field performance across the season. Only NCAA players are eligible, which is why the award functions as the definitive individual prize in the U.S. college game.

The players who have defined it

Since 2001 the award has charted the sport’s brightest stars, and a handful have won it more than once, a genuinely difficult feat given how quickly college rosters turn over. The table below highlights the most notable multiple winners.

Player	School	Wins	Years
Taylor Cummings	Maryland	3	2014, 2015, 2016
Charlotte North	Boston College	2	2021, 2022
Lyle Thompson	Albany	2	2014, 2015

Taylor Cummings stands alone as the only three-time Tewaaraton winner, an achievement that may never be matched. Charlotte North’s two wins made her one of the most recognizable figures in women’s lacrosse, while Lyle Thompson, of Haudenosaunee heritage himself, became a symbol of the game’s Indigenous lineage as he dominated the men’s college scene.

Why it matters beyond college

For many recipients the Tewaaraton is a launching pad. Winning it marks a player as the best in the college game, and the top men’s and women’s stars frequently go on to professional careers, where our look at PLL salaries shows what the pro game now pays its leading players. The award’s growing profile, spiking every May around the ceremony, has helped lift lacrosse’s visibility nationally, drawing attention to a sport still expanding its footprint.

The short version: the Tewaaraton Award is college lacrosse’s top individual honor, given since 2001 to the best male and female NCAA players, named after a Mohawk word for the game to honor its Indigenous origins. Taylor Cummings is its only three-time winner, with Charlotte North and Lyle Thompson among the notable two-time recipients, and current-year winners are announced each spring in Washington, D.C.