SPARKS, Md. -- Max Wayne has been named the Preseason Defenseman of the Year by USA Lacrosse Magazine as he prepares to continue anchoring the defensive unit for the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team in the upcoming campaign.
 
Honored as a first-team Preseason All-American by the same publication on Monday, Wayne was named the top defenseman in the nation entering 2022. He is the first Captain in program history to receive the prestigious honor.
 
Over the past four years, Wayne has solidified his spot as one of the top standouts in the country. He has wrapped up the past three seasons as an All-American and was a second-team selection by USA Lacrosse Magazine in 2021. Additionally, he is a four-time All-State and three-time All-Conference performer for his work with the Captains.
 
During the 2021 campaign, Wayne ranked 24th in the nation with 30 caused turnovers. That also marked the eighth-highest total in school history. He registered at least one takeaway in 16 of his appearances, including four against No. 12 Stevenson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on May 16. He also came back with two more during the squad's win over No. 4 Lynchburg in the NCAA Quarterfinals on May 22.
 
Wayne's work in 2021 was simply another chapter to a storybook career for the Ashburn, Virginia native. He also ranked ninth in the NCAA with 51 takeaways in 2019 while helping the Captains lead the nation in caused-turnovers-per-game that season. One year earlier, he established the program's freshman record with 29 caused turnovers during his debut campaign.
 
Incredibly, over the past four seasons, Wayne has posted at least one caused turnover in 52 of his appearances. Equally adept at cleaning the field, he has also collected a ground ball in 61 of his 64 outings.
 
Entering the year, Wayne currently ranks second in school history with 124 caused turnovers, while his 142 ground balls place him 10th on the all-time charts. Meanwhile, he has started each of the team's 64 games since the start of the 2018 season, which ranks as the longest "Iron Man" streak in program history.
 
Overall, his 64 appearances are tied for the 10th most in school lore, just nine shy of matching the all-time record.
 
Wayne and the rest of his teammates will open up the 2022 campaign on February 12 when Christopher Newport hosts Roanoke in the season opener at 1 p.m.
 
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