John LoCascio

Classroom

LoCascio maintains a 3.67 GPA in Finance with a minor in Economics from the prestigious Villanova School of Business. He has been a Dean’s List honoree six out of the seven semesters during his time on campus and his academic accomplishments include being chosen as the 2013 Philadelphia Inquirer Men’s Lacrosse Academic All-Area Performer of the Year, being named to the 2012 Philadelphia Inquirer Men’s Lacrosse Academic All-Area Team and a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star (2010, 2011, 2012) selection. He is also a contributing writer and member of the Villanova Equity Society where he focuses on IPO performance for the Financial Journal. Following graduation, LoCascio has accepted a position focusing on Institutional Foreign Exchange Sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Character

LoCascio is a consummate team player and has twice been named a team captain for Villanova. He is a vocal and emotional leader on and off the field and sets a tone for the entire team with his tireless work ethic. LoCascio has set lofty goals for himself and is dedicated to achieving his aspirations which is clearly shown by his numerous accomplishments. His contributions to the team and his leadership abilities have been noticed at the university and beyond as LoCascio has been a yearly participant in the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service which is the largest student run day of service in the nation. Additionally, LoCascio is one of the first Villanova student-athletes to participate in the Villanova Leadership Institute where student-athletes gather once a month to discuss different leadership strategies both on and off the field and for application in life after graduation. Furthermore, LoCascio has regularly given back to the lacrosse community as a tutor and coach for youth lacrosse teams as a personal lacrosse trainer and head coach/organizer with Digz Apparel Youth Lacrosse.

Community

LoCascio annually participates as an awards proctor for the Villanova Special Olympics Fall Festival, the largest student-run Special Olympics event in the country. He is also a four-year volunteer at the Villanova Day of Service serving as a clean-up specialist and working to rehabilitate an elementary school in the Philadelphia area as part of the nation-wide “Day of Service” event with the Augustinian Church and Villanova University. As a lacrosse coach, LoCascio has taught elementary and middle school children the fundamentals of lacrosse year-round while also providing guidance and advice in the college recruiting process to high school athletes looking to play at the next level. LoCascio also helped start, organize and coach the Digz Apparel Youth Lacrosse Team in their first year of competition. Additionally, as a member of the Villanova Leadership Institute, LoCascio attends monthly meetings that bring Villanova student-athletes together to discuss difference leadership strategies and how those lessons can be applied on the field, in the classroom and in life after college.

Competition

Prior to the start of the 2014 season, LoCascio was named the unanimous 2014 BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous selection to the First Team Preaseason All-BIG EAST team. Following his junior season, LoCascio was named a 2013 Third Team USILA All-American, the 2013 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, an unanimous selection to the 2013 All-BIG EAST First Team, a 2013 BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team member and was the 2013 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year. Additionally, LoCascio was named to the 98 player U.S. Lacrosse Tryout Pool for the 2014 FIL World Championship and was just one of eight current NCAA players to earn an invitation to camp. In 2012, LoCascio was named a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, a 2012 BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team member and was also named to the 2012 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team. He enters his senior season as a second-year team captain. LoCascio has appeared in 45 games of his career and has only missed one game during his junior season due to injury. In three seasons, he has collected 164 ground balls and caused 84 turnovers as a defenseman and also has registered three goals and eight assists for 11 points. LoCascio currently ranks second all-time at Villanova with 87 caused turnovers and is also second all-time in school history averaging 1.93 caused turnovers per game. In January he was selected as the 26th overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft by the Rochester Rattlers.