The University of Richmond men’s lacrosse team received significant recognition in the Atlantic 10 postseason awards, according to an April 29 announcement. Eleven players were honored, including a conference-high seven First Team selections and three Second Team honorees. Richmond also claimed five of the league’s six major awards.
Attackman Aidan O’Neil was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Close defenseman Hunter Smith repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, while midfielder Joe Sheridan earned Midfielder of the Year honors. Faceoff specialist Vincent Gaylord was selected as Rookie of the Year, becoming Richmond’s first recipient since O’Neil in 2023. Head coach Dan Chemotti was named Coach of the Year for a second straight season.
Richmond’s seven First Team selections led all programs in the conference, with High Point, UMass, and Saint Joseph’s each having two players on that list. The Spiders’ First Team honorees included midfielder Gavin Creo, attackman Lucas Littlejohn, long-stick midfielder Brayden Penafeather-Stevenson, short-stick defensive midfielder Jack Pilling, along with Sheridan, Smith, and O’Neil.
Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selections were Gaylord (who also made All-Rookie), defenseman Michael Farrell, and goalkeeper Connor Knight. Additionally, Creo, Penafeather-Stevenson, and Sheridan were named to the All-Academic Team.
Chemotti’s Coach of the Year award followed a program-best regular season record at 12-1. The Spiders completed an undefeated Atlantic 10 schedule for a second year running and achieved their first-ever No.1 national ranking during this campaign.
Entering postseason play ranked No.3 nationally, Richmond leads Division I in points per game (25.69), scoring offense (16.38), shot percentage (35.5%), scoring margin (+8.08), and winning percentage (92.3%). The team is also among national leaders in assists per game (second), caused turnovers per game (fourth), scoring defense (fourth), clearing percentage (fifth), and ground balls per game (seventh).
O’Neil started every game this season with career highs in goals and assists; Smith played key minutes on defense; Sheridan contributed significantly from midfield; Pilling led non-pole players nationally in caused turnovers; Penafeather-Stevenson excelled at long-stick midfield; Littlejohn led both his team and conference in goals per game; Creo topped shooting percentages regionally; Gaylord stood out as faceoff specialist among freshmen; Farrell anchored defensive efforts throughout his starts; Knight posted strong numbers between goalposts.
