Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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92 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED player while at Seton Hall Prep. Lyght — a cousin of former Irish foot- ball great Todd Lyght — was rated as the No. 26 lacrosse recruit in the country out of high school and could've played collegiately just about anywhere he wanted. But a chance to win a national cham- pionship in lacrosse, study at a presti- gious university, and enjoy the opportu- nity to soak in the sights and sounds of a big-time Notre Dame football weekend were three of the top draws that brought Lyght to South Bend. "Once Notre Dame kind of offered me, it was hard to say no to that Notre Dame degree and the success they've al- ready had in lacrosse," Lyght said. "Ev- erything I do I want to try and be the best I can be. Iron sharpens iron here every day. And we're always pushing each other to get better. So, lacrosse- wise, I don't think I would be the player I am today without coming to Notre Dame." Despite being somewhat overshad- owed during his first two seasons with the Irish, Lyght still quietly emerged as one of the most valuable players on the team as the young man responsible for guarding the top opposing offensive player each game. "[Lyght] is, at this point, as good of a defenseman as I've ever been around," Corrigan said. "He makes it look easy but he works his tail off. Yes, he's got the ability. But he works very hard, dili- gently and is intentionally getting better at the things he's not good at, and then refining and being great at the things he's good at. There's no shortcut, no easy path to that." As a sophomore last spring, Lyght was named the William C. Schmeisser Co-Defensive Player of the Year as the top defenseman in the country, a unani- mous All-American, and the ACC Co- Defensive Player of the Year. All are great honors to look back on, but they mean nothing moving forward. "It's easy to put all of that behind because I haven't done anything yet this year," said Lyght, stressing that his leadership this season will be as impor- tant as his on-field contributions. "I'm a calm and collected person all the time. So just being that presence, being stable for everyone throughout games when things might be going awry, through the ups and downs of a game and of a season, just trying to bring everyone back together will be an important role for me." And at the same time, Lyght will con- tinue to always find his "why," and in- spire other minority players to do the same. "But it can be scary or intimidating to join a sport that people don't look like you," he said. "So it's important for younger kids to be able to look at college and see a high-level lacrosse player and say, 'He's doing it. He's been doing it. It's possible for me to do it too.' That's very important to me." ✦ Irish Roundup BASEBALL (2-1 OVERALL) Opened the season by winning two of three games at Florida Atlantic Feb. 13-15 at Boca Raton, Fla. FENCING (WOMEN: 28-1 OVERALL; MEN: 26-3 OVERALL) Both teams participated in four dual meets from Jan. 17-Feb. 8, with the women posting a 23-1 re- cord and the men notching a 23-2 record … The ACC Championships take place Feb. 21-22 in Durham, N.C. … The NCAA Midwest Regional will be held March 8 in Cleveland, the NCAA Women's Cham- pionships are slated for March 19-20 in South Bend and the NCAA Men's Championships will occur March 21-22 in South Bend. MEN'S GOLF Began the spring season with a 14-over-par 854 team score en route to a sixth-place finish out of 18 teams in the Gators Invitational Feb. 14-15 at Gainesville, Fla. WOMEN'S GOLF Started their spring slate by tying for 11th with a 27-over-par team score of 891 at the FAU Paradise Invitational Feb. 2-4 in Boca Raton, Fla. HOCKEY (6-20-4 OVERALL, 2-15-1 BIG TEN) Saw its losing streak reach 10 games, before snapping it with a 6-1 win over Ohio State Jan. 24 … Skated to a pair of ties, 3-3 and 2-2, at Bowling Green Jan. 30-31 … Went 1-2-1 in Big Ten play at Wis- consin and home versus Minnesota the first two weekends in February. MEN'S LACROSSE (1-0 OVERALL) Opened the season with a 16-11 victory at Marquette Feb. 14. WOMEN'S LACROSSE (4-0 OVERALL, 1-0 ACC) Began the season with a 12-10 win over Michigan Feb. 6 in South Bend … Demolished Central Michi- gan 25-0 Feb. 8 in South Bend … Notched a 12-9 triumph at No. 3 Boston College Feb. 13 … Came away with a 10-7 victory at Harvard Feb. 15. SWIMMING & DIVING Suffered a pair of defeats in a dual meet at Kentucky, with the men losing 187-112 and the women falling 158-141 … The women notched a first-place showing in the Tim Welsh Classic Jan. 23-24 in South Bend … The ACC Championships are taking place for both programs Feb. 15-21 in Atlanta. SOFTBALL (7-4 OVERALL) Opened the season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Feb. 6-8 in Clearwater, Fla., notching a 3-3 record … Took part in the Purple-Gold Classic Feb. 13-15 at Greenville, N.C., winning four of five contests. MEN'S TENNIS (8-1 OVERALL, 1-0 ACC) Began the dual portion of the schedule with four straight wins in January, capped with a 4-0 triumph at Louisville … Following a two-week break, went 4-1 in five home nonconference contests from Feb. 6-14. WOMEN'S TENNIS (11-1 OVERALL, 1-0 ACC) Opened the spring dual season with five victories in six matches in January, with the only defeat being a 4-0 setback to Vanderbilt in Ann Arbor, Mich. … Won six straight matches during the first two weeks of February. TRACK & FIELD Competing in nine non-team scoring meets in January and February before the ACC Championships Feb. 26-28 in Boston and the NCAA Championships March 13-14 at Fayetteville, Ark.