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Trevor Baptiste

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Trevor Baptiste
BornNewark, New Jersey
NationalityUnited States
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight215 pounds (98 kg)
Position Midfielder (face-offs)
NCAA teamUniversity of Denver
NicknameThe Beast
Career highlights
  • NCAA Record, Face-off wins by a freshman in a DI season (2015)
  • First Team All-American (2015)
  • Big East Midfielder of the Year (2015)
  • Inside Lacrosse Freshman of the Year (2015)
  • NCAA Championship (2015)
  • NCAA All-Tournament Team (2015)

Trevor Baptiste is a college lacrosse player who plays midfielder for the Denver Pioneers of the University of Denver. He holds the NCAA Division I season record for face-off wins by a freshman.[1] During the 2015 regular season, Baptiste led all of college lacrosse in face-off win percentage[2] (72%). He also set the Pioneers' school record for face-off wins during a season.[3]

Early life and education

Baptiste was born in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up in Roxbury, New Jersey and then moved to Denville, New Jersey. Baptiste graduated from Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, New Jersey in 2014. During his high school years, he played on the lacrosse and swimming teams for four seasons. Baptiste was an Under Armour Underclass All American in 2013.[4]

During his senior year, Baptiste served as a captain of the lacrosse team. He helped guide Morristown-Beard to an undefeated season (8-0) as the 17th ranked team in New Jersey.[5] Baptiste also helped drive a playoff run that earned the team runner-up for the state championship.[6] Morristown-Beard School awarded him their Most Valuable Player Award and Alden C. Hess Award for his work ethic. Baptiste also earned selection to the 2014 US Lacrosse All American Team[4] and The Star-Ledger's First Team All State.[7] He went 80% in face-offs that season, scored 42 goals, and notched 22 assists.[8] During his high school career, Baptiste scored 100 goals and notched 43 assists. He also scooped up a net total of 640 ground balls.[9]

College lacrosse career

Recruited for Denver in 2014

During his college search in 2014, Baptiste initially considered attending an NCAA Division III school. He had planned to play for the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats in Lancaster, Pennsylvania until the University of Denver called. In March, Baptiste took a late season recruiting visit to Denver, Colorado, and he signed an intent to play for the Pioneers in April.[5] (By coincidence, Denver shares a school color of crimson with his high school alma mater, which competes as the Crimson.)

Tapping his prowess in face-offs, Denver named Baptiste their new face-off specialist. He took over the role from junior Chris Hampton, who switched over to winger on face-offs.[10] In October, Baptiste dominated face-offs in the Pioneers' exhibition game against the defending champion Denver Outlaws. He won 76.9% of his face-offs to drive Denver's 15-7 victory over the Major League Lacrosse team.[11]

2015 Season

Making his season debut, Baptiste dominated face-offs in Denver's season opening victory over the defending champion Duke Blue Devils. He won 73.5% of his face-off attempts. Baptiste's 25 face-off wins came close to tying the Pioneers' record for face-off wins in a game (26). The Big East Conference and NCAA.com both named Baptiste their offensive player of the week.[11]

During the 2015 season, Baptiste ranked sixth in ground balls per game in the Big East Conference. He led the conference and the nation in face-off win percentage. Baptiste scored 7 goals and notched 5 assists.[12] During a game against the Providence Friars, Baptiste won 91.7% of his face-offs to guide the Pioneers' comeback victory.[13] In May, he went 73.1% in face-offs in Denver's 16-8 defeat of the Georgetown Hoyas to capture the Big East Tournament Championship.[14]

Baptiste's overall performances during his rookie season earned him the nickname "The Beast".[15] The Big East Conference awarded him their 2015 Midfielder of the Year Award and named him to First Team All-Big East.[16] Baptiste was the only freshman named among the 25 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy for the top lacrosse player announced on April 23, 2015.[17] In May, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) named him a First Team All-American.[18] Baptiste was one of seven Pioneers selected for the All-American Team, the most in school history.[19] Connor Cannizzaro and he were only the second and third Pioneers to achieve DI First Team All-America honors in school history.[18] Baptiste was also the first freshman selected as a First Team All American since 2001.

In his first playoff-game, Baptiste went only 42% in face-offs in a victory over the Brown Bears.[20] Reaching the quarterfinals, he re-bounded against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Baptiste won 13 of his final 23 face-offs (56.5%) to help drive a comeback win by Denver to reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four.[21] In the semi-finals, he exerted greater dominance in face-offs against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Baptiste won 15 of his 24 face-offs (62.5%) to power Denver's overtime victory to reach the championship final.[22] He reached the milestone of 300 face-off wins in the victory. Baptiste's 24 face-off attempts also advanced him higher among all-time DI players making 400 or more face-off attempts in a season. His 437 face-off attempts in 2015 trailed only past performances by Duke's Brendan Fowler, Albany's Kevin Klueckert, and Bryant's Kevin Massa.[23]

In the NCAA DI Tournament Final, Baptiste won 10 out of 19 face-offs (52.6%) against the Maryland Terrapins. His performance helped drive the Pioneers to the championship victory, the first in school history and the first west of the Appalachian Mountains.[24] The NCAA named Baptiste and teammates Ryan LaPlante, Zach Miller, Mike Riis, and Wesley Berg to the All-Tournament Team. Berg won the Tournament's Most Valuable Player Award.[25]

Baptiste finished the 2015 season with 310 face-off wins out of 456 attempts and 140 ground balls. This marked the fourth best season in face-off wins in DI college lacrosse history. Only Fowler, Massa, and Alex Smith of Delaware have won more face-offs in a season. Only Fowler and Klueckert have had more face-off attempts in a season.[23] Following the season, Sports Illustrated featured Baptiste for their article on the art of face-offs.[26] In June, Lacrosse Magazine selected Baptiste as one of their 13 Year-End All-Americans.[27] Inside Lacrosse named him their 2015 Freshman of the Year.[28]

References

  1. ^ Chambers, Mike (May 10, 2015). "Trevor Baptiste's faceoff expertise key in DU's quest for title; Pioneers in possession of national title contender". The Denver Post.
  2. ^ Kessenich, Quint (May 14, 2015). "In NCAA lacrosse quarterfinals, Denver and Annapolis regionals offer a study in contrasts". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ^ Rod Mackey (May 9, 2015). "Baptiste could be key to Pioneers success". 9News.com.
  4. ^ a b "9 - Trevor Baptiste".
  5. ^ a b "Baptiste '14 Signs with University of Denver".
  6. ^ "Boys' Lax Finishes Excellent Season".
  7. ^ "Boys lacrosse All-State selections, 2014". The Star-Ledger. June 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Chris, Ryan (April 29, 2015). "Boys lacrosse: Former Morristown-Beard star Trevor Baptiste named Big East Midfielder of the Year". NJ.com.
  9. ^ "Baptiste Nets 100th Career Goal".
  10. ^ Chambers, Mike (April 16, 2015). "Denver Pioneers draw No. 1 ranking in faceoffs; Baptiste's star role in his specialty allows Hampton to shine in more roles for powerhouse Pioneers". The Denver Post.
  11. ^ a b Chambers, Mike (February 20, 2015). "Freshman Trevor Baptiste can stick it to DU foes on faceoffs". The Denver Post.
  12. ^ Havsny, Jane; Knego, Lauren (May 4, 2015). "College Corner: Morristown-Beard grad Baptiste tabbed Big East Midfielder of the Year". The Daily Record.
  13. ^ Chambers, Mike (April 16, 2015). "Baptiste's dominance in faceoffs carries Denver past Providence". The Denver Post.
  14. ^ Feil, Justin (May 2, 2015). "Denver Powers to Second Straight Big East Title". LaxMagazine.com.
  15. ^ "DU Lacrosse Freshman Faceoff Specialist Trevor Baptiste Best In The Nation". Denver.CBSlocal.com. April 7, 2015.
  16. ^ "2015 Big East All-Conference, Individual Awards Announced". InsideLacrosse.com.
  17. ^ "Tewaaraton Announces 25 Men's and Women's Nominees". LaxMagazine.com. April 22, 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Connor Cannizzaro and Trevor Baptiste tabbed USILA First Team All-Americans". TheDenverChannel.com. May 22, 2015.
  19. ^ "Seven Denver Pioneers lacrosse players earn All-American honors". The Denver Post. May 21, 2015.
  20. ^ Chambers, Mike (May 13, 2015). "Faceoff extraordinaire Trevor Baptiste looks to bounce back against Buckeyes". The Denver Post.
  21. ^ Chambers, Mike (May 16, 2015). "Denver advances to men's lacrosse Final Four with win over Ohio State". The Denver Post.
  22. ^ Burns, Sean (May 23, 2015). "Denver Takes ND's Best Punch, Recovers to Win 11-10 in OT". LaxMagazine.com.
  23. ^ a b NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Division I Records Through 2014 (PDF). NCAA Lacrosse. 2015.
  24. ^ Schonbrun, Zack (May 25, 2015). "A Coach Reaffirms His Standing as Denver Claims Lacrosse Title". The New York Times.
  25. ^ "Denver Lands Five on NCAA All-Tournament Team". LaxMagazine.com. May 25, 2015.
  26. ^ Rice, Nelson (May 27, 2015). "Face-off Kings: Trevor Baptiste is among the top specialists in lacrosse". Sports Illustrated.
  27. ^ McLaughlin, Corey (June 3, 2015). "Lacrosse Magazine's Year-End All-Americans". Lacrosse Magazine.
  28. ^ "D1 Freshman Rankings, June 12".
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