The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team has named four student-athletes as captains for the 2026 season. Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Matt Brown announced that Russell Overly, Chris Caldwell, Cody Malawsky, and Joe Taraboletti will lead the Pioneers during the upcoming campaign.
Russell Overly, a redshirt junior defenseman, returns after being recognized as the University of Denver’s Comeback Player of the Year for 2024-25. Overly played in all 14 games last season following a lower body injury that sidelined him for much of the previous year. He collected 27 ground balls and forced 13 turnovers during his redshirt-sophomore season, also contributing two goals and an assist.
Chris Caldwell participated in every game of his redshirt sophomore season in 2025. He led the team with 39 ground balls and forced 15 turnovers. Caldwell is from Draper, Utah, and received two weekly awards from the BIG EAST Conference last season.
Cody Malawsky enters his redshirt-junior year after earning Most Valuable Player honors at last summer’s Minto Cup tournament. In each of his first two seasons with Denver, Malawsky recorded 32 points. He finished the 2025 season with 18 goals and 14 assists over 12 appearances.
Joe Taraboletti is preparing for his fifth year with Denver. Last season he played in 13 out of 14 games, tallying five goals and three assists for eight points. Taraboletti has made a total of 26 career appearances for the Pioneers.
Earlier this week, Denver released its schedule for the upcoming season. The team will play eight home games in 2026, starting against Cleveland State on January 31 at noon Mountain Time.
Tickets for all home games are now available through DenverPioneers.com.
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