LOS ANGELES, Calif. – After finishing a legendary career with the Salisbury University men's lacrosse team on Sunday, graduate defenseman
John DeFazio was signed by the Premier Lacrosse League's (PLL) Maryland Whipsnakes earlier this week.
A pillar of the Sea Gull defense over the last five seasons, DeFazio has piled up absurd totals of 455 career ground balls, 212 caused turnovers and 41 points on 12 goals and 29 assists. He ranks fourth in career caused turnovers at the Division III level since the stat began being tracked in 2010 across his 107 appearances and 101 starts in the maroon and gold.
DeFazio hit the ground running right away with SU, contributing 49 ground balls and causing 21 turnovers while tacking on four points with one goal and three assists in 18 games and 14 starts as a freshman. He nearly doubled up that production in 2022 with 92 grounders, 35 forced turnovers and six assists in 22 starts.
Number 17 was an essential member of the squad's 2023 national championship run, chasing down 106 ground balls and causing 57 turnovers while adding a then-career-high nine points on five goals and four assists. DeFazio stuffed the stat sheet with 17 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers across the two-game Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) tournament in '23 and also starred in the DIII title game, netting his fifth goal to go with three ground balls and a key caused turnover.
DeFazio's consistency continued in 2024 as the veteran pole logged 99 ground balls and caused 54 turnovers, adding seven points with one score and six helpers. The Mountain Lakes, N.J. native saved arguably his best season for last, scooping a career-high 110 ground balls and causing 45 turnovers while producing a career mark offensively with 15 points on five goals and 10 assists. He dug out 11 ground balls across SU's two tournament tilts.
DeFazio has earned no shortage of accolades in his time at Salisbury. A two-time Tewaaraton Award Watch List selection, DeFazio was named the 2024 Division III Iroquois National Outstanding Player of the Year by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), has collected eight total All-American nods from USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine including unanimous first-team choices in 2023 and 2024, was named the 2025 Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) Player of the Year this season after locking down Defensive Player of the Year laurels a season ago, and has landed on an all-conference team in each of his five seasons as a Sea Gull.
DeFazio becomes the first Sea Gull to join the PLL's ranks since his former teammate
Cross Ferrara '23, SU's 15th professional draftee in program history, was drafted by Chrome LC (now the Denver Outlaws) during the 2023 postseason.
DeFazio begins camp with the Whipsnakes next week. The team begins its season at Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y. on May 31st, facing the Utah Archers at 1 p.m. to open the summer slate. The Whipsnakes come to Homewood Field in Baltimore on June 21-22, with the team facing the Boston Cannons on Saturday at 7 p.m. before battling the Carolina Chaos at 2:30 p.m. the next day.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 205 conference championships, and have produced 51 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
