By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/13/24
Former La Salle College High and Johns Hopkins great Tucker Durkin, generally considered one of the top defenseman of his era at every level, announced his retirement as a player today.
Durkin was playing for New York Atlas in the Premier Lacrosse League and remains an assistant coach at Drexel.
“I want to start by saying just how fortunate and grateful I am for the sport of lacrosse and what it’s given me,” Durkin wrote on his Instagram announcement. “When I picked up a stick 25 years ago I couldn’t have imagined where this game would take me.
“Absolutely none of this would have been possible without the love and support of so many people. My family, friends, coaches, teammates, fans, trainers – from the bottom of my heart, thank you!”
Durkin was a two-time high school All-American at La Salle, leading the Explorers to the 2008 state championship and the 2009 title, the first sanctioned by the PIAA. Durkin was named the Phillylacrosse.com Player of the Year in 2009 and then was a three-time All-American and two-time NCAA Defender of the Year at Johns Hopkins.
In addition to being a member of the 2018 Team USA Gold Medal team, Durkin was Team USA’s Most Outstanding Defender and was a member of the 2014 All-World team.
Durkin joined the coaching staff at Drexel in the summer of 2019 as Defensive Coordinator. In 2021, the Dragons won the CAA championship for the first time since 2014 and and advanced to the NCAA Championships. Drexel held fourth-ranked Notre Dame to just 10 goals in the opening round of the tournament.
Durkin came to Drexel after serving as the head coach at Bryn Athyn. He led the Lions to four consecutive conference tournament appearances and a 30-29 overall record. Durkin was part of the transition team that led Bryn Athyn to full-time membership and took over a program that had just 13 student-athletes when he arrived. The 2018 North Eastern Athletic Conference championship appearance was the first in school history for any sport.
Playing awards and achievements
La Salle College High:
US Lacrosse All-American, 2008, 2009
PA State Champion, 2008, 2009
Phillylacrosse.com Player of the Year, 2009
NCAA: 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: Team USA
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
Major League Lacrosse: (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)
Premier Lacrosse League:
1st Team PLL All Pro (2019)
PLL All Star (2019)
