Hempstead, NY – Hofstra junior attackman Sam Llinares has been named to the 2015 Tewaaraton Award Men's Watch List, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced Thursday night.

The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of premier collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. The list released Thursday night includes the top players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour.

Llinares, the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year as well as a first team preseason selection, is off to a fast start this season. In three games for the Pride, he has accumulated 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points. Included are career-highs of five assists at Princeton on February 21 and six goals and eight points against Manhattan on February 24.

A 2014 USILA All-American honorable mention and an All-CAA first team selection, Llinares notched the 50th goal of his career and topped the 100-point career mark last Tuesday with his eight-point performance against the Jaspers. He now has 50 goals and 54 assists in 32 games. Hofstra and Llinares return to action on Saturday, February 28 at Georgetown.

 "The national reach of quality players is evident in this list, with players from all regions of the country, along with a strong group of five former winners and finalists," said Jeff Harvey, chairman of The Tewaaraton Foundation. "As the season unfolds, we are excited for another deserving group of Tewaaraton Award candidates to emerge and we look forward to welcoming them to Washington, DC in May."

Among the 2015 men's watch lists returnees is last year's co-winner, Lyle Thompson (Albany). The 50 men's watch list candidates, with position, school, and graduation year noted:

MEN'S WATCH LIST
Cole Bailey, Tufts - Sr., A
Wesley Berg, Denver - Sr., A
Jimmy Bitter, North Carolina - Sr., A
Ryan Brown, Johns Hopkins - Jr., A
Connor Buczek, Cornell - Sr., M
Connor Cannizzaro, Denver - So.., A
Deemer Class, Duke - Jr., M
David Dickson, Bucknell - Sr., M
Dylan Donahue, Syracuse - Jr., A
Matt Donovan, Cornell - Sr., M
Devin Dwyer, Harvard - Jr., A
Jake Froccaro, Princeton - Jr., M
Conor Gately, Marquette - Jr., A
John Glesener, Army - Sr., A
Andrew Hodgson, Towson - Sr., M
Ryan Izzo, Massachusetts - Sr., M
Stephen Jahelka, Harvard - Jr., D
Myles Jones, Duke - Jr., M
Matt Kavanagh, Notre Dame - Jr., A
Jesse King, Ohio State - Sr., M
Matt Landis, Notre Dame - Jr., D
Sam Llinares, Hofstra - Jr., A
Dan Lomas, High Point - Jr., A
Alex Love, Hobart - Sr., A
Mike MacDonald, Princeton - Sr., A
Kevin Massa, Bryant - Sr., FO
Brandon Mullins, Syracuse - Jr., D
Joe Nardella, Rutgers - Sr., M
Jack Near, Notre Dame - Sr., M
Conrad Oberbeck, Yale - Sr., A
James Pannell, Virginia - Jr., A
Michael Pellegrino, Johns Hopkins - Sr., LSM
Sergio Perkovic, Notre Dame - So., M
Matt Poillon, Lehigh - Sr., G
Nikko Pontrello, Loyola - Sr., A
Charlie Raffa, Maryland - Sr., FO
Kevin Rice, Syracuse - Sr., A
Challen Rogers, Stony Brook - Jr., A
Joey Sankey, North Carolina - Sr., A
Nick Saputo, Drexel - Sr., M
Sam Somers, Army - Sr., G
Randy Staats, Syracuse - Sr., A
Wells Stanwick, Johns Hopkins - Sr., A
Dan Taylor, Lehigh - Sr., A
Lyle Thompson, Albany - Sr., A
Ryan Tucker, Virginia - Sr., M
Chad Tutton, North Carolina - Sr., M
Gunner Waldt, Bryant - Jr., G
Ryan Walsh, Colgate - Sr., A
Zed Williams, Virginia - So., M

Players not named to the initial list have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch lists additions, if applicable, will be announced on March 19 and April 9. On April 23, 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. Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced on May 7 and invited to the ceremony. The Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2015, at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

For more information on the Tewaaraton Award or to attend these exciting events, visit Tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The Tewaaraton Foundation at Facebook.com/Tewaaraton, Twitter.com/Tewaaraton and Instagram.com/Tewaaraton.

About The Tewaaraton Foundation
The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The Award symbolizes lacrosse's centuries-old roots in Native American heritage and is endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse. The Tewaaraton Foundation is a non-profit that defines the mission and upholds the integrity of The Tewaaraton Award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, visit www.tewaaraton.com.

About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA), the originator of performance footwear, apparel and equipment, revolutionized how athletes across the world dress. Designed to make all athletes better, the brand's innovative products are sold worldwide to athletes at all levels. The Under Armour Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world's largest digital health and fitness community through a suite of applications: UA Record, MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal. The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.uabiz.com.