LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team returned to the Centennial Conference Tournament and the national rankings during the 2025 season. This week, several Diplomats were honored for their individual success in helping the team achieve those accolades. Franklin & Marshall won two major awards as Teddy Scarborough was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and the Diplomats received the conference's coaching staff of the year honors. Those award winners headlined five All-CC selections, including three first-team picks, along with a representative on the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team.
Teddy Scarborough became the first player in program history to earn defensive player of the year honors since its inception in 2014. The sophomore goalie led the Centennial Conference in goals against average (7.52) and ranked second in both save percentage (62.3%) and saves per game (12.19). Scarborough was at his best during the conference schedule as he stopped nearly 64 percent of the shots on goal he faced during those contests. He logged double-digit saves during 12 of his 16 appearances, finishing with a save percentage over .700 during three of those contests. His season high in saves came when he stopped 19 shots during the nationally-ranked victory over Swarthmore to clinch a playoff spot. Scarborough already ranks sixth in program history in goals against average (7.85) and 10th in save percentage for his career (.622). His win, goals against average and save totals from 2025 all represent top 10 single-season performances in program history.
The F&M coaches were voted as the Centennial Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. Head coach Todd Cavallaro and assistants Nolan Sachs, Rich Lefever, Nick Kirk and Kyle McCormick helped led the Diplomats back into the national rankings and an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament. Finishing the season with an 11-6 record, including a 5-3 mark in Centennial Conference play, Cavallaro became the program's all-time winningest coach this season. He has now been named the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year on three occasions, previously winning the award during the 2013 and 2017 seasons.
Dillon Mannix earned the first all-conference recognition of his career as the junior took home first-team accolades. As a middie, Mannix finished with 35 points, scoring 23 goals and assisting on 12 more. He additionally picked up 13 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Mannix scored in 13 of the Diplomats' 17 games this season, recording the game-winner at nationally-ranked Swarthmore to cap off a season-best four goal performance versus the Garnet. Mannix also scored three goals and had an assist during the overtime win against Washington College. He totaled a season-high six points with one goal and five assists against Ohio Wesleyan.
Pierce Archer was another first-team All-Centennial Conference selection for the Diplomats. He received the first All-CC honors of his career during his senior campaign. Appearing in all 17 games, the defensive middie led the team with 41 ground balls and caused eight turnovers. He collected multiple ground balls on 12 occasions, featuring a season-best five GBs at McDaniel. He also caused two turnovers against Dickinson and Muhlenberg throughout a strong campaign. Archer scored a goal in transition during the win at Messiah and finished the 2025 season with five total assists. Archer graduates from F&M ranked among the top 20 players in program history for both caused turnovers and ground balls.
Jackson Barnhill earned honorable mention All-Centennial Conference recognition as a top defender on one of the toughest teams in the conference to score on. Helping F&M to its best scoring defense since the 2012 season, Barnhill caused 12 turnovers and collected 29 ground balls. The sophomore caused a season-high four turnovers versus Ohio Wesleyan, adding multiple CTs during two other victories. He secured at least three ground balls during six of the team's contests and scored goals during the wins over Haverford and Swarthmore. His goal against the nationally-ranked Garnet saw him get out in transition multiples times as he also assisted on a goal during that playoff-clinching victory.
Luke Topley was another honorable mention All-Centennial Conference star on the Franklin & Marshall defense. Earning his first career all-conference honor during his sophomore season, Topley finished the 2025 campaign with 13 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. He caused three turnovers in the win against Ohio Wesleyan, adding two more during the nationally-ranked showdown at Swarthmore. Topley posted his season high in ground balls with three versus Dickinson.
Charlie Bernicker represented the Diplomats on the conference's all-sportsmanship team. The senior appeared in 12 games this season, scoring goals in three consecutive games against Messiah, Ursinus, and Haverford before tallying his fourth goal of the year at McDaniel. Bernicker added one assist and two ground balls to his season totals and finished his F&M career with 41 games played.
