Tewaaraton Award 2024

[BlueJaySince1947]

Who gives a s--t about any of this...!!!

[xxxxxxx]

Who gives a s--t about any of this...!!!

Couldn't agree more, it's the best attack man of the year award in the ultimate team sport. Waste of time.

[Farfromgeneva]

Who gives a s--t about any of this...!!!

Well the traditional answer to a question like this typically would be:

“your mom”

Thanks,

mgt

[CU88a]

Yale #41 Matt Brandau

[lorin]

Yale #41 Matt Brandau

How can he win it, he’s doing boring no btb shots or passes he just makes the guys around him better

[The Orfling]

Yale #41 Matt Brandau

How can he win it, he’s doing boring no btb shots or passes he just makes the guys around him better

Well-played, lorin.

Matt Brandau also had a 13 point game this year against Colgate but it was the proverbial tree falling in the forest with nobody watching -- inexplicably the Yale-Colgate game was a neutral site game with no streaming. I'm glad that this 11-point game for #41, coming on a Tuesday, may have been seen by more folks. Brandau isn't flashy, he just has fantastic vision, is a great decision-maker, and is a pinpoint passer and shooter. Really glad that the educated lacrosse fans out there (many of whom are Fanlax regulars) are appreciating his game.

[blue angels]

Yale #41 Matt Brandau

How can he win it, he’s doing boring no btb shots or passes he just makes the guys around him better

Well-played, lorin.

Matt Brandau also had a 13 point game this year against Colgate but it was the proverbial tree falling in the forest with nobody watching -- inexplicably the Yale-Colgate game was a neutral site game with no streaming. I'm glad that this 11-point game for #41, coming on a Tuesday, may have been seen by more folks. Brandau isn't flashy, he just has fantastic vision, is a great decision-maker, and is a pinpoint passer and shooter. Really glad that the educated lacrosse fans out there (many of whom are Fanlax regulars) are appreciating his game.

It may not be fair, but will Yale definitely be in the NCAA Tournament, and if so, will they be around more than a game or so? Those questions seem pivotal as to whether he will be a serious candidate or not.

[faircornell]

I'm not sure what metric to use, or if an Ivy player will be hyped by the media, but Brandau is a truly great player. His athleticism, drive, and lacrosse IQ allow him to dominate a field of play

[brodad]

Enteman stands out to me.

[The Orfling]

Yale #41 Matt Brandau

How can he win it, he’s doing boring no btb shots or passes he just makes the guys around him better

Well-played, lorin.

Matt Brandau also had a 13 point game this year against Colgate but it was the proverbial tree falling in the forest with nobody watching -- inexplicably the Yale-Colgate game was a neutral site game with no streaming. I'm glad that this 11-point game for #41, coming on a Tuesday, may have been seen by more folks. Brandau isn't flashy, he just has fantastic vision, is a great decision-maker, and is a pinpoint passer and shooter. Really glad that the educated lacrosse fans out there (many of whom are Fanlax regulars) are appreciating his game.

It may not be fair, but will Yale definitely be in the NCAA Tournament, and if so, will they be around more than a game or so? Those questions seem pivotal as to whether he will be a serious candidate or not.

I agree, blue angels. I think Yale has a decent shot at an at-large bid at this point, having beaten 5 currently ranked teams (Denver, Penn, Colgate, BU, Harvard) and having only lost to ranked teams thus far (Cornell and Penn State), but the Bulldogs' defensive efficiency numbers make it hard to imagine that they could make a deep run into the tournament. Under those circumstances (possible 1 and done), even without regard to Brandau's "quiet" style of play (not the biggest, the fastest, the slickest dodger or the hardest shooter, nor the best player on a presumptive Memorial Day team), I would be hard pressed to imagine him coming away with the Tewaaraton. I think he's making a good case for (top 5) finalist, however.

[HopFan16]

The tournament will ultimately decide this but right now Brandau is my pick. Yale plays no defense to speak of, they're down two starting attackmen, and yet they've barely skipped a beat, largely because Brandau is dominating his matchup every week. I do think some of his outsized production is because they don't have Johnson or Lyons, so they've relied on him to produce even more than usual, but I don't hold that against him. Playing really, really good lacrosse this season.

[joewillie78]

His numbers are mind-boggling. He put up 8 assists a few games ago, and then he does it again today, and adds 3 goals on top of that.

Is their any ONE PLAYER, more important to their team, right now than Matt Brandau? He lost both his other starting attackmen to injuries, and now he's making their replacements look like stars.

It kind of reminds me of BRADY in his glory days with the Pat's, when he had receivers no one ever heard of and he turned them into stars, ie Welker, Edelman etc.

Brandau right now has to be at the top.

Gobigred
Joewillie78

[The Orfling]

The tournament will ultimately decide this but right now Brandau is my pick. Yale plays no defense to speak of, they're down two starting attackmen, and yet they've barely skipped a beat, largely because Brandau is dominating his matchup every week. I do think some of his outsized production is because they don't have Johnson or Lyons, so they've relied on him to produce even more than usual, but I don't hold that against him. Playing really, really good lacrosse this season.

Thanks, HopFan16, good thoughts. And Joewillie, gracious as always!

Some food for thought: in his freshman year, 2019, Brandau had 50 goals, 24 assists (playing with Morrill and Gaudet). In his next full season, 2022 (Ivy cancelled in 2021), Brandau had 99 points (57 goals, 42 assists) playing with Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons, both in their freshman year (Lyons became a starter about a third of the way through that year). Last year, with Johnson and Lyons even more confident in their second seasons, Brandau unselfishly shared the ball and the totals were Lyons 74 points (62G/12A); Brandau 70 points (37G, 33A); and Johnson 62 points (40G, 22A).

This is a guy who is a 2-time 50-goal scorer in his career, but he does whatever he needs to do to make other guys better, whether it's sharing the ball and the QB role more (as in '23) or playing the QB role more full-time this year, in which his fellow attackmen are less experienced: Carson Kuhl was a midfielder before this season and David Anderson is in his second season but first one with meaningful playing time. (Both Kuhl and Anderson have done a great job, too -- just making the point about the experience level at the attack position.)

Again, HopFan16 and Joewillie and others taking note of Brandau after tonight's great showing, I appreciate your appreciation for a player that Yale fans love.

[DocBarrister]

The tournament will ultimately decide this but right now Brandau is my pick. Yale plays no defense to speak of, they're down two starting attackmen, and yet they've barely skipped a beat, largely because Brandau is dominating his matchup every week. I do think some of his outsized production is because they don't have Johnson or Lyons, so they've relied on him to produce even more than usual, but I don't hold that against him. Playing really, really good lacrosse this season.

Thanks, HopFan16, good thoughts. And Joewillie, gracious as always!

Some food for thought: in his freshman year, 2019, Brandau had 50 goals, 24 assists (playing with Morrill and Gaudet). In his next full season, 2022 (Ivy cancelled in 2021), Brandau had 99 points (57 goals, 42 assists) playing with Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons, both in their freshman year (Lyons became a starter about a third of the way through that year). Last year, with Johnson and Lyons even more confident in their second seasons, Brandau unselfishly shared the ball and the totals were Lyons 74 points (62G/12A); Brandau 70 points (37G, 33A); and Johnson 62 points (40G, 22A).

This is a guy who is a 2-time 50-goal scorer in his career, but he does whatever he needs to do to make other guys better, whether it's sharing the ball and the QB role more (as in '23) or playing the QB role more full-time this year, in which his fellow attackmen are less experienced: Carson Kuhl was a midfielder before this season and David Anderson is in his second season but first one with meaningful playing time. (Both Kuhl and Anderson have done a great job, too -- just making the point about the experience level at the attack position.)

Again, HopFan16 and Joewillie and others taking note of Brandau after tonight's great showing, I appreciate your appreciation for a player that Yale fans love.

Doesn’t Brandau have another season of eligibility?

DocBarrister

[The Orfling]

The tournament will ultimately decide this but right now Brandau is my pick. Yale plays no defense to speak of, they're down two starting attackmen, and yet they've barely skipped a beat, largely because Brandau is dominating his matchup every week. I do think some of his outsized production is because they don't have Johnson or Lyons, so they've relied on him to produce even more than usual, but I don't hold that against him. Playing really, really good lacrosse this season.

Thanks, HopFan16, good thoughts. And Joewillie, gracious as always!

Some food for thought: in his freshman year, 2019, Brandau had 50 goals, 24 assists (playing with Morrill and Gaudet). In his next full season, 2022 (Ivy cancelled in 2021), Brandau had 99 points (57 goals, 42 assists) playing with Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons, both in their freshman year (Lyons became a starter about a third of the way through that year). Last year, with Johnson and Lyons even more confident in their second seasons, Brandau unselfishly shared the ball and the totals were Lyons 74 points (62G/12A); Brandau 70 points (37G, 33A); and Johnson 62 points (40G, 22A).

This is a guy who is a 2-time 50-goal scorer in his career, but he does whatever he needs to do to make other guys better, whether it's sharing the ball and the QB role more (as in '23) or playing the QB role more full-time this year, in which his fellow attackmen are less experienced: Carson Kuhl was a midfielder before this season and David Anderson is in his second season but first one with meaningful playing time. (Both Kuhl and Anderson have done a great job, too -- just making the point about the experience level at the attack position.)

Again, HopFan16 and Joewillie and others taking note of Brandau after tonight's great showing, I appreciate your appreciation for a player that Yale fans love.

Doesn’t Brandau have another season of eligibility?

DocBarrister

This might be a joke question but since some are curious: Brandau played a full season in 2019 (1); 4 games in 2020; zero games in cancelled 2021; full season in 2022 (2); full season in 2023 (3); final 4th season including COVID eligibility this year (4). Many Ivy players -- like Chris Fake or Brian Tevlin -- couldn't use their last season of COVID eligibility at Yale because you have to graduate in 8 semesters. Brandau wanted to "retire as a Yalie" so he took off enough semesters so that this spring is his 8th semester. A lot of the Twitter goofballs mock his supposed advanced age but Brandau graduated from HS the same year as Pat Kavanagh, who took a PG year, then has been at ND for five years and is a grad student this year. It's not Brandau's fault the Ivies (stupidly) cancelled the 2021 season, and he sacrificed a lot by putting his life on hold to stay at Yale for his COVID year.

Relatedly, since I'm on the "Brandau Truther' roll: Brandau in his 64th career game broke Ben Reeves' records, set in 67 career games. As savvy lacrosse watchers know, all of these program records at all the schools will eventually fall given the modern shot clock era, which Brandau played in but Reeves did not. A fair test is "how are you doing against others nationally" and leading the country in points-per-game is a pretty solid indication of where Brandau lands. I would put him in the Yale Men's lacrosse Mount Rushmore with Jon Reese and Ben Reeves as a top-3 all-time Eli lacrosse player.

[Suitcase]

How old is he ?

[The Orfling]

How old is he ?

I don't know. His first college season was 2019 but because the Ivies lost two seasons to COVID his second full college season was 2022. He's no older than Pat Kavanagh; he's no older than Chase Yager of UVA who played 2 years at Amherst, 2 years at Harvard after COVID, then another grad year; he's no older than Chayse Ierlan -- the only difference is that Ierlan is playing his 4th lacrosse season at Hopkins, not at Cornell. He's no older than Brian Tevlin and Chris Fake were last year when they played for Notre Dame as 2017 high school grads who played their fourth full season of college lacrosse in 2023. He's no older than some of the Army lacrosse 5th year seniors who also did a year at USMAPS before college (like Reese Burek).

I find the harping on Brandau's age irritating given that, for their final college season, guys who have a PG year then redshirt are 6 years out of high school; guys who had a PG year then took their COVID 5th year (like Pat Kav) are 6 years out of high school; guys with multiple injury year red shirts are 6 years out of high school; and any Ivy guy who took a year off, finished at the Ivy after COVID, then did a grad year (like Fake, Tevlin, Yager) are 6 years out of high school.

[10stone5]

Brandau is a Hall of Famer, for sure.

12th all time in scoring, for now.
And as mentioned, passed all timer Ben Reeves in scoring at Yale.
In the top 20 in goals scored.

One National Title finals.
A Tewaaraton finalist for sure this year, and a very likely Jack Turnbull Award winner.

[Suitcase]

Is Brandau like 25 years old ?

[joewillie78]

Is Brandau like 25 years old ?

Yes, and only 37 more years and he can apply for Social Security. Lucky guy.

Gobigred
Joewillie78