Mark Matthews

Mark Matthews (born January 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League. He won the 2018 NLL MVP award.

He popularized the toe drag dodge, his signature move.

Early life

Matthews played minor hockey growing up in Oshawa and was drafted by the OHL's Saginaw Spirit in 2006.

College career Matthews played for the University of Denver for four years. Matthews made the USILA All-American team his junior and senior seasons. He was a USILA 2nd team All American at attack in both 2011 and 2012.

With Matthews leading the team in scoring, the Denver Pioneers surprised the lacrosse world by reaching the 2011 NCAA lacrosse semi-finals.

Canadian Lacrosse Association career Matthews played for the OLA Jr A Whitby Warriors for three years, winning a Minto Cup in 2011. In 2010 he played for the Coquitlam Adanacs, where he won his first Minto Cup. Matthews currently plays for the Peterborough Lakers in the Major Series Lacrosse league.

NLL career Matthews was drafted by the Edmonton Rush in the first round of the 2012 NLL Entry Draft. After scoring 38 goals and 31 assists in his rookie year, Matthews was named NLL Rookie of the Year. The Rush won their first championship on June 5, 2015, and Matthews was named MVP of the championship finals. In 2018, Matthews won the National Lacrosse League MVP Award after a year where he broke the league record for assists in a season with 84.

Heading into the 2023 NLL season, Inside Lacrosse ranked Matthews the #10 best forward in the NLL.

Matthews was traded from the Rush to the Toronto Rock on July 10, 2023 in exchange for forward Zach Manns, defenseman Adam Jay, and the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft.

MLL career Matthews was drafted in the first round of the 2012 Major League Lacrosse draft by the Denver Outlaws, where he scored 19 goals in 9 games. In 2013, he joined the New York Lizards, where he had 11 goals in 8 games. He switched teams again for the 2014 season, this time to the Rochester Rattlers. In his two years there, he played in 8 games and scored 17 goals. In 2016, for the Atlanta Blaze, Matthews has his career high goals with 23. He stayed with the Blaze for the 2017 season, where he had 13 goals in 6 games. In 2018, Matthews joined the Ohio Machine, but only participated in 2 games for them.

Personal Outside of lacrosse, Matthews works as a real estate agent in the Durham region.

Statistics University of Denver Season GP G A Pts PPG 2009 15 24 9 33 2.2 2010 16 39 11 50 2.9 2011 14 46 24 70 5.0 2012 16 47 17 64 4.0 Totals 61 156 61 217 (a) 3.6 (a) graduated as all-time career points leader at University of Denver

NLL Reference:

Major League Lacrosse

Canadian Lacrosse Association

Accomplishments 2010 Minto Cup Champion (Coquitlam Adanacs) 2011 Minto Cup Champion (Whitby Warriors) 2015 NLL Champions Cup (Edmonton Rush) 2016 NLL Champions Cup (Saskatchewan Rush) 2018 NLL Cup (Saskatchewan Rush) 2018 NLL MVP (Saskatchewan Rush) 2026 NLL Cup (Toronto Rock)

Awards