Joe Walters (born November 30, 1984) is an American former professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

player. Walters is part of the 2022 class of the Rochester Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Early life

Walters, the youngest of four children was born to Joe and Be Walters. His father, Joe, served with the U.S. Army in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Walter's father met Be in Vietnam. Walters attended Irondequoit High School in his hometown of

Irondequoit, New York Irondequoit is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of 2019, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 5 ...

College career

Walters was a four-time All-American at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

. He won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, and was named ACC Player of the Year in 2004. In the last game of his senior regular season with the Terps, Walters became the University of Maryland's all-time leading point scorer with 227 and all-time leading goal scorer with 153. Walters won the 2006 Jack Turnbull Award as the Attackman of the Year. He was also a finalist for the

Tewaaraton Trophy The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and ...

, given to the National Player of the Year. Walters played in the 2006

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in July 2006. Up to that point, he was the only current college lacrosse player who made Team USA. Since then, Duke's Ned Crotty has also played for Team USA.

Career highlights

Goals: 6 vs. Virginia (2004-04-25), vs. UMBC (2005-03-19), at Johns Hopkins (2006-04-15)
Assists:5 vs. Denver (2006-05-13)
Points: 8 at Johns Hopkins (2006-04-15)
Groundballs: 6 vs. Bucknell (2004-03-17)
Multi-Goal Games: 41
Multi-Point Games: 52
Hat Tricks: 32
Point Scoring Streak: 45 games (2004-04-28 to 2006-04-30)
Goal Scoring Streak: 27 games (2004-02-28 to 2005-04-29)

Professional career

Major League Lacrosse

Walters was taken 1st overall in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft by the

Rochester Rattlers Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. During the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

season, Walters began playing the midfield position for the Rattlers, as opposed to his usual attack position. Walters was a member of consecutive

Steinfeld Cup The Steinfeld Trophy was a trophy given annually to the winners of the Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere ...

winning teams with the 2008

and the 2009 Toronto Nationals. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2008 MLL Championship Weekend. With the suspension of operations of the

Hamilton Nationals The Hamilton Nationals were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season in Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadi ...

after the 2013 season and the birth of the expansion

Florida Launch The Florida Launch were a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Boca Raton, Florida. They joined Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as an expansion team for the 2014 season until 2019. The team played its home games at Florida Atlantic Univers ...

for the 2014 season, most of the Nationals players, including Walters, were transferred to the Launch. This eliminated the need for MLL to conduct both a dispersal draft and an expansion draft. Before playing a game for the Launch, Walter was traded along with the 21st overall selection in the 2014 MLL collegiate draft to the

Chesapeake Bayhawks The Chesapeake Bayhawks were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland since 2010. They played in the greater Baltimore metro area beginning with the MLL's inaugural 2001 season, as the Bal ...

in exchange for

Casey Powell Casey Powell (born February 18, 1976) is a Hall of Fame American former college and professional lacrosse player from West Carthage, New York. In 1998, he graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a four-time USILA All-American. Powell wa ...

, the 10th selection in the 2014 MLL collegiate draft and the eighth pick in the 2014 MLL supplemental draft. On November 23, 2016 Joe engaged in the new MLL Player Movement Policy and signed with the New York Lizards.

National Lacrosse League

Walters was drafted into the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

by the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

in the second round of the 2007 Draft. Walters did not play for the Bandits in 2007. Later, Walters was traded to the

Philadelphia Wings Philadelphia Wings may refer to any of three distinct professional lacrosse teams: * Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975), a member of the original National Lacrosse League * Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014), a founding member of the National Lacrosse ...

, but never joined the team. Walters played his first season in the NLL with the

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks are own ...

in 2009. Walters was a member of the 2012, 2013 and 2014

Champion's Cup The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup. Winners Most Valuable Players All-time Finals appearances since leagu ...

winning teams with the Knighthawks.

Canadian Lacrosse Association

Walters was a member of the 2011

Mann Cup The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associa ...

champion Brampton Excelsiors.

Premier Lacrosse League

In 2019, Walters was announced as a member of Redwoods Lacrosse Club in

Paul Rabil Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985), is an American former professional lacrosse player and co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League. He played for the Cannons Lacrosse Club and Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, as well as the ...

’s new

Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...

. Walters announced his retirement in March of 2022.

Personal

Walters is of Vietnamese descent from his mother, who was born in Vietnam.

Statistics

NCAA

Major League Lacrosse

Reference:

Premier Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League

Reference:

Canadian Lacrosse Association

Reference:

Awards

References

External links

* The official site of Joe Walter
jw1lacrosse.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Joe 1984 births Living people American lacrosse players Chesapeake Bayhawks players Hamilton Nationals players Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse players New York Lizards players Premier Lacrosse League players Rochester Knighthawks players Rochester Rattlers players San Diego Seals players