Tucker Durkin, 33, Announces Retirement

Tucker Durkin, a 2013 Johns Hopkins graduate, All-Star professional player and two-time member of the U.S. men’s national team, announced his retirement from professional lacrosse on Wednesday.

Durkin, 33, announced the news on his Instagram account.

“While it is never easy to let go, I am confident in my decision, as I am ready to turn the page and focus on the next chapter of my life,” he wrote. “I look forward to attacking it with the same level of intensity that I did as a player.”

Durkin was indeed an intense player, a lockdown defenseman who could throw some of the heaviest checks you’ve ever seen.

He was the Most Outstanding Defenseman at the 2014 FIL World Championship in Denver, where the U.S. earned a silver medal. He helped lead the U.S. in its redemption tour in Israel in 2018, anchoring a gold-medal defensive effort.

At Johns Hopkins, Durkin started all 59 games he appeared in and won the William C. Schmeisser Award as the nation’s best defenseman in 2012 and 2013.

Drafted third overall in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse Entry Draft, Durkin was an All-MLL defenseman as a rookie, a sign of things to come in his illustrious pro career. He was a three-time MLL All-Star and the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year before moving to the Premier Lacrosse League, where he was again a three-time All-Star.

Durkin’s full efforts will now shift to coaching. He is the defensive coordinator for Drexel, which is 3-3 thus far in 2024.