Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse is facing Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on May 16 due in no small part to the contributions of standout junior Luke Martin.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound defenseman picked up five ground balls and caused five turnovers against Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 9.
One of those ground balls was the biggest play in the game. With the score tied at eight in overtime, Hopkins junior attackman Hunter Chauvette looked like he was about to win the game for the Blue Jays … only for his shot to rocket off the post and toward midfield.
Martin pounced on the ball at midfield and drew a penalty on Cornell’s Willem Firth, which gave Hopkins an opportunity to win the game with a man advantage. Junior attackman Jimmy Ayers won the game for the Blue Jays soon thereafter.
Hopkins’ coaching points were in the back of Martin’s mind as he chased after that ball.
“One of the biggest points of emphasis is, ‘Whatever you do, you can’t miss the ball. You just can’t leave it where it is. You have to get a piece of it no matter what,'” he said on Glenn Clark Radio May 13. “That was just what was going through my head. I have to get it. I just can’t leave it. And then it’s just like, figure it out once you get it.”
Martin’s big play made the rounds on social media, but he couldn’t dwell on it in the moment.
“The play you just made, it’s gone. You have to make another one coming up, so it’s really hard to process that on the field,” Martin said. “But then afterward, just looking at all the videos of it, I was even surprised. I didn’t really know what it looked like until after the game. It was surprising to me to say the least, honestly.”
That falls in line with what Martin calls Hopkins’ next-play mentality, which has proven especially beneficial this season. The Blue Jays (10-5 overall) have found themselves in tight games in recent weeks, with their final four Big Ten regular-season contests being one-goal decisions and yet another against Cornell.
Martin says junior defenseman and team captain Quintan Kilrain does an excellent job of stressing a next-play mentality.
“I think it’s just consistent messaging from the leadership,” Martin said. “Our coaching staff as a whole, they just do a great job of keeping our heads in the game. No matter what happens, it’s only the next play that matters. You only have to make the next play — staying disciplined, staying the course, trusting that your boys are going to have your back, trusting that things are going to go your way eventually if you keep on staying on the path.”
Martin always thinks back to a 9-8 victory at Loyola in 2025 as an example of this. Hopkins was down, 6-3, in the third quarter, but Martin noticed the positive attitude that then-graduate short-stick defensive midfielder Jack Monfort carried throughout the game.
“He was smiling on the sidelines and staying nice and loose,” Martin said. “He was talking to me, keeping me loose. It was his undoubted belief that, no matter what, we’re going to win this game. I kind of took that lesson from him — just got to have that belief, have that looseness about you.”
Now, Martin gets a chance to return close to home for the quarterfinals. Hopkins will face Notre Dame in Hampstead, N.Y., close to Martin’s hometown of Dix Hills, N.Y. The Fighting Irish, the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, are 11-2 overall. Martin (30 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers) will be tasked with slowing down a powerful Notre Dame offense led by senior Josh Yago (25 goals, 15 assists) and sophomore Luke Miller (29, 10).
“Everyone’s got to bring their best game. Everyone’s got to bring their energy. Everyone’s going to have to be locked in,” Martin said. “It’s going to take good practices every single day. Our coaches like to say, ‘Not a single casual step on this field.’ That just means that you’re doing everything with intent and you’re doing everything to get us to where we need to go. That’s really what it’s about — everyone buying into every single thing that we’re doing.”
For more from Martin, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Athletics