Awards and Honors: Taylor, Reilly, Roode Named 2026 B1G Players to Watch
1/22/2026 3:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Jan. 22 – Hunter Taylor, CJ Reilly, Nick Roode
Big Ten Players to Watch
» Hunter Taylor enters his senior season as the starting goalie for the Wolverines and the winningest goalie in program history with his 21 victories.
» He ranks second all-time in Michigan annals with 400 career saves and logged a personal-best .528 save percentage in 2025.
» Taylor tallied seven double-digit-save games in the 2025 campaign and stopped a career-best 18 shots against Rutgers (April 26).
» The Rockville, Md., native also earned Lacrosse Network Player of the Week recognition in 2025 and was the Big Ten Specialist of the Week on two occasions.
» The honor is the second of Taylor's career; he was also a Big Ten Player to Watch in 2024.
» CJ Reilly returns for his junior season as a midfielder.
» He played in 14 games with four starts in his sophomore campaign and tallied seven points.
» The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., native scored four goals and had three assists with his first career goal coming against Marquette (Feb. 1).
» He entered the 2025 season on a three-game scoring streak with five total points.
» Nick Roode heads into his junior season as a member of the Michigan attacking core.
» Roode played in nine games with five starts in 2025 and ranked fourth on the team with 14 goals and three assists for 17 total points.
» He notched four multi-point games, including a career-high five goals and one assist against Cleveland State (March 4).
» Roode netted the game-winning goal against No. 1 Maryland in triple overtime.
Big Ten Preseason Poll
Michigan was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten after tying for second in 2025. Maryland was picked to win the title by the Big Ten coaches, while Penn State was chosen to finish second.
