Tucker Durkin (born September 5, 1990 in

Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania Huntingdon Valley is a Village (United States), village, as well as a suburban mailing address located in Lower Moreland Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Lower Moreland Township, Upper Moreland Township, Pennsylvania, Upper Moreland To ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

retired professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

player. Durkin played lacrosse collegiately at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. There he won the division 1 defenseman of the year award twice consecutively in 2012 and 2013. He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024. He was drafted third overall to 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 ...

, who later became the

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 Univer ...

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 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...

. He then joined the

Atlas Lacrosse Club The New York Atlas are a professional field lacrosse team based in Albany, New York, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). History The Atlas LC was one of the six founding members of the PLL for the 2019 season. The inaugural roster ...

of the Premier Lacrosse League, founded in 2019, retiring after the 2023 season. He played for the

United States men's national lacrosse team The United States men's national lacrosse team has won eleven of fourteen World Lacrosse Championships, the most recent in 2023. Team USA finished second in the other three field lacrosse tournaments, losing to Canada in 1978, 2006, and 2014. The ...

twice, at the 2014 tournament and the 2018 tournament, winning the tournament best defenseman award and the 2018 championship. Tucker Durkin is one of the most decorated and dominant defensemen of his era, known for his toughness, leadership and tremendous stick checks. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Drexel Men’s Lacrosse program.

College career

Durkin attended

, after originally committing to Bucknell. At Hopkins, he started all 59 games he played in, collecting 127 groundballs and causing 65 turnovers. His junior and senior years he was awarded the

Schmeisser Award The William C. Schmeisser Award is an award given annually to the NCAA's most outstanding defenseman in men's college lacrosse. The award is presented by the USILA and is named after William C. "Father Bill" Schmeisser, a player and coach for John ...

winner for being the nation's top defensemen, named a First Team All-American, and totaled a team-high 19 forced turnovers and 35 ground balls. In 2013, Durkin won the William C. Schmeisser Award as the nation's top defenseman for the second year in a row, making him the 8th player in college lacrosse history to win the award twice. He was also a first team All-American for the second straight year. He totaled 16 caused turnovers and finished with 32 ground balls. In 2012, Durkin won the William C. Schmeisser Award as the nation's top defenseman, making him the 13th different Johns Hopkins player to win the Schmeisser Award (the 13 have won it 16 times). He was also a first team All-American. He totaled a team-high 19 caused turnovers and finished third on the team with 35 ground balls. He notched the second point of his career - an assist - in a 17-6 win over Albany. Durkin was a leader of a JHU defense that held 13 of 16 opponents to nine goals or less and finished seventh in the nation in scoring defense (7.38). In 2011, Durkin was a Second Team USILA All-American making him first sophomore defenseman at Johns Hopkins to earn First or Second Team All-America honors since Dave Pietramala grabbed first team honors in 1987 Durkin started all 16 games on close defense and had one assist, 35 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers on the year. He was a leader of a defense that finished sixth in the nation in scoring defense (7.25). Notched first career point - an assist - in the win vs.

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 2010 Durkin started all 15 games on close defense, making him the only freshman to start every game and the first JHU freshman to start a season-opener on close defense since Matt Drenan in 2006. He was part of a JHU defense that held Manhattan scoreless for the first 53:12 - the longest such streak in the Dave Pietramala era. Against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Durkin had three ground balls and three caused turnovers and forced a turnover in final 20 seconds that gave JHU a chance to tie the game in the. Against Loyola, Durkin totaled three ground balls and two caused turnovers and attempted the first four faceoffs of his career, going 1-of-4. Tucker Durkin was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.

Professional career

In 2013, the

selected Durkin with the third overall pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Durkin was named a 2013 ALL-MLL Defenseman, the only rookie in MLL history to be named All Pro. In 2014, Durkin played for the

in their first year. He was named to 2014 All-MLL Pro Team for the second year. He played in 10 MLL games, as well as the 2014 FIL World Championship, where he was named Outstanding Defender of the Championships and All-World Team. In 2015, with the

, Durkin played in all 14 games. He had the first Florida Launch assist of the 2015 season at Chesapeake on April 26. Durkin scored his first goal of season at Rochester on May 3, along with two groundballs. He had four groundballs at Charlotte on July 11. He scored another goal against the

Denver Outlaws The Denver Outlaws are a professional field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the ...

on July 19, while also establishing a new season high with five groundballs in the game. Durkin was named

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Player of the game versus Rochester on July 25, after holding the Rattlers’ leading scorer to one goal, and was also named Week 15

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

Defensive Player of the Week. Durkin was named to this his third All-MLL Pro Team. In 2016, with the

, Tucker earned his fourth All-MLL team selection and third MLL All-Star Game appearance. He played in 13 games for the Launch in 2016. In the home opener against the Ohio Machine on April 23, he logged a season high of five groundballs. He had four groundballs against the

Atlanta Blaze The Atlanta Blaze were a professional men's field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Blaze became the ninth team in MLL as an expansion team for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season, 2016 season and played its home games at Atlanta ...

on May 21. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Durkin made

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 ...

and won MLL Defensive Player of the Year for the Launch. Durkin was also named to his 5th straight All-MLL Pro Team. Before the 2018 season, Durkin re-signed with the

for one season. Durkin played in 11 games, scooping up 16 total ground balls and causing five turnovers. Tucker Durkin was one of three defenders nominated by the league for Warrior Defensive Player of the Year at the 2018 MLL Honors. Durkin was named to his 6th All-MLL Pro Team. In 2019, Durkin played for

Paul Rabil Paul Rabil (born December 14, 1985) is an American Business executive, sports executive and retired professional lacrosse player. He is currently the president of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), which he co-founded with his brother, league CEO ...

’s

Premier Lacrosse League The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is a professional field lacrosse league in the United States. The league comprises eight teams. Its inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major- ...

Coaching career

Durkin was the head coach of Bryn Athyn College from 2016-2019, where he had a career record of 30-29, and lead them to the

North Eastern Athletic Conference The United East Conference, formerly known as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the ...

championship in 2018. On July 15, 2019, Durkin was named as the defensive coordinator for the Drexel Dragons men's lacrosse team.

Awards and achievements

: * 1st Team PLL All Pro (2019) * PLL All Star (2019)

: (2013 - 2018) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2018) * MLL Defensive Player of The Year (2017) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2017) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2016) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2015) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2014) * 1st Team MLL All Pro (2013)

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

: Johns Hopkins Lacrosse * All-Time Johns Hopkins Team * 2013 USILA First Team All-American * 2013 William C. Schmeisser Award Winner * 2013 Tewaaraton Trophy Semi Finalist * 2013 Co-Captain * 2012 USILA First Team All-American * 2012 William C. Schmeisser Award Winner * 2011 USILA Second Team All-American * Started all 54 games of his career at Johns Hopkins University FIL:

*2018 World Lacrosse Championship Gold Medal *2018 Member of Team USA *2014 Member of Team USA *2014 World Lacrosse Championship Most Outstanding Defender *2014 World Lacrosse Championship All-World Defender

Statistics

Major League Lacrosse

Premier Lacrosse League

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durkin, Tucker American lacrosse players 1990 births Living people Florida Launch players Drexel Dragons men's lacrosse coaches Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Lacrosse players from Pennsylvania Premier Lacrosse League players Hamilton Nationals players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse players