NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Tewaaraton Foundation announced the first round of additions to the 2019 Tewaaraton Watch List on Thursday afternoon and Penn State men's lacrosse junior Mac O'Keefe has found himself on the list among some of the nation's most elite lacrosse players.
O'Keefe joins teammates Grant Ament and Gerard Arceri, who were named in the original list that was announce on February 28.
This season, O'Keefe, an attackman out of Syosset, N.Y., has scored a team-best 31 goals, adding seven assists, 14 ground balls and four caused turnovers. He currently holds the top spot in the nation in goals per game at 4.43 and is second in individual man-up goals at 5. O'Keefe is also seventh in points per game at 5.43. He also currently leads the nation in career goals per game at 3.16.
This marks O'Keefe's first time on a Tewaaraton Watch List.
Players not named to the initial lists have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. The next round of watch list additions, if applicable, will be announced on April 11. On April 25, the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees. Nominees can be players on the watch lists or players not on the watch lists, effectively allowing for a third round of additions. This year's initial watch list, announced on February 28, recognized the top 50 men's and 50 women's candidates for the Tewaaraton Award.
Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced on May 9 and invited to the 19th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 30.
O'Keefe and the rest of the Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, March 23 at 12 p.m. as they head to Cleveland, Ohio to take on Cleveland State.
