ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley Men's Basketball players AJ Catanzaro and Justin Baker have each earned the LVC Judge John Walter Defensive Player of the Year honors, as announced by head coach Brad McAlester. Catanzaro won the award in 2019-20, while Baker garnered recognition for the 2020-21 season.
 
Last season, Catanzaro appeared in 25 games, making seven starts. He reached double digits in points against Hood (12) on Jan. 8 and Alvernia (13) on Jan. 11. Often tasked with handling opponents' top offensive players, Catanzaro helped the Flying Dutchmen hold opponents to .432% from the field and .348% from beyond the arc.
 
Back in March, Baker was named the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year and landed on the First Team. Baker, who got better each season at LVC, was tasked with defending every team's best player this season, and started all 11 games for LVC at guard and averaged 13.4 points per game and 4.6 boards per contest. He led the Dutchmen in steals with 21 and ranked second on the squad with 30 assists. He was also solid from the charity stripe, going 35-for-42 (.833%). He also helped the Dutchmen average just 74.5 points allowed per game.
 
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC athletics.