Five members of the Calvin University men's lacrosse team received All-MIAA recognition on Wednesday.
Ethan Boelens (Round Lake, Ill./Grayslake Central) was named MIAA Defensive MVP and All-MIAA First Team.
Christian Coler (Ionia, N.Y./Honeyoye Falls-Lima) was named All-MIAA First Team, while
Thomas Smith (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South),
David Blackmon (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) and
Josh Gage (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) were named All-MIAA Second Team.
Ethan Boelens
Boelens is the first Calvin men's lacrosse player to ever be recognized as Defensive MVP of the MIAA. The senior defender finished the season with a new Calvin single-season record 52 caused turnovers, including a league-best 19 in MIAA play. Both totals were tops among all players in the MIAA and give Boelens 125 caused turnovers for his career, good for second place in program history.
Along with those caused turnovers, Boelens also ranked second on the Knights with 61 ground balls while also adding one goal and one assist this season. For his career, Boelens now ranks fifth in program history with 179 career ground balls.
Defensive MVP is just one of several accolades from Boelens this season, along with three MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Christian Coler
Coler earned his first career All-MIAA award after a strong junior campaign in which he led all Calvin players and finished second in the MIAA with 94 ground balls. Through only three seasons, Coler ranks fourth in Calvin men's lacrosse program history with 217 career ground balls.
Coler also finished the season second on the Knights in goals (29) and assists (16) while tying for the team lead with 45 points and leading Calvin with four game-winning goals.
Thomas Smith
This season was the second straight All-MIAA Second Team honor for Smith, who finished atop the Calvin leaderboard with 31 goals while tying for the team lead with 45 total points. Smith and Coler both tied for fifth in the MIAA with 11 goals during league play.
For his career, Smith is tied for third in Calvin men's lacrosse program history with 82 goals. He is also tied for fifth place with 107 career points.
David Blackmon
Blackmon broke out for the Knights during his sophomore season. After appearing in 12 games and scoring two goals as a freshman in 2023, Blackmon scored 27 goals and added 12 assists in 2024 in 16 starts as an attacker.
Blackmon ranked second on the Knights in total shots (95) and tied for second in shots on goal (58). He also contributed 35 ground balls.
Josh Gage
Gage earned All-MIAA honors for the second consecutive season after winning All-MIAA First Team as a sophomore in 2023. This season, Gage ranked second on the Knights with 30 caused turnovers while adding 27 ground balls.
This season, Gage moved into third place in program history with 91 career caused turnovers and into the top 10 with 112 career ground balls.
The Calvin men's lacrosse team finished the regular season 12-5 overall and 4-2 in MIAA play. The 12 overall wins were the most in program history, while the four wins and third-place league finish are also the best in program history.
The Knights will return to action tonight (Wednesday, May 1) when they travel to second-seed Albion College for the semi-final round of the MIAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament at 7:00 PM.
