OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – A pair of Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse players were named candidates for the Senior CLASS Award on Monday as Ryan McNulty and Aidan Olmstead were two of the 20 student-athletes nationally recognized on the list.
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition.
 
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ^®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 
 
McNulty and Olmstead have been standouts on the field for the Greyhounds throughout their time on the Evergreen campus, and both have been active in the other core values that award honors.
 
Now in his sixth year with the program, McNulty has been one of the top long-stick midfielders in the game since coming to Loyola prior to the 2017 season. He earned All-America Second Team recognition last season, and he was named a preseason All-America First Team honoree this year.
 
Over the course of his career, McNulty has picked up 205 ground balls and caused 74 turnovers, totals that are good for 13^th and sixth all-time at the school. He also has been a threat to score on the offensive end of the field with 13 goals and 13 assists for the Greyhounds.
 
McNulty has been an active leader for the Greyhounds and is a team captain again in 2022. He has worked with Harlem Youth Lacrosse in the Baltimore area, participated in the York Road Initiative and has been a member of the Hopkins Lounge Mass team through the Loyola Campus Ministry Department. McNulty, who has been a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll multiple times, graduated from Loyola in May 2020 with a bachelor of arts in communication and is currently pursuing his master's of emerging media at the school.
 
Olmstead has been one of the Greyhound's most versatile offensive weapons throughout his career, leading Loyola in points in 2020, 2021 and thus far in 2022. He has a near-even split between goals and assists with his 192 career points, scoring 95 goals and assisting on 97.
 
An All-Patriot League First Team honoree in 2021, Olmstead is now tied for third all-time at Loyola in points, matching the 192 by Pat Lamon from 1983-86; he is tied for 14^th in goals and is fourth in assists on the Greyhounds record board.
 
He was named the 2021 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year and has been a member of the Dean's List every year at Loyola. Olmstead has been a two-time member of the Academic All-Patriot League Team and worked as an operations analyst for Morgan Stanley. He graduated in May 2021 with a bachelor of science in business administration and international business and a bachelor of arts in global studies. He is currently pursuing his M.B.A.
 
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.