Perhaps no one was more surprised to earn America East Conference Rookie of the Year honors than Jordan Galloway. 
 
"I remember going into the season assuming I wasn't going to play, maybe ride the bench or take a red-shirt. But the accomplishment was awesome", says Galloway. "(Head) Coach Moran did a great job of preparing us in practice and I'd have to give it to my teammates for pushing us to that standard." 
 
Galloway's rapid development was not a tremendous surprise for the Retriever mentor. "On top of being physically strong and fast, Jordan was a good student and a very competitive athlete during our evaluation of him," said Moran. "Recruits that have good grades tend to be highly disciplined and mature young men.  Recruits that are competitive tend to improve the most over a duration of time.  Additionally he comes from a very well respected and athletically competitive high school in DeMatha."
 
Galloway began the fall campaign several layers down on the depth chart, but found himself on the second midfield unit on Opening Day versus 19th-ranked Drexel. He scored two goals against the Dragons in UMBC's 12-8 victory and never looked back. 
 
However, the nerves were what he recalls the most vividly. "I was shaking…the crowd was pretty big, and I had some family and friends who were at the game. It was definitely nerve-wracking to hear your name called to go in, but as soon as that first goal happened, I remember all of the noise going away and thinking, 'Wow, I'm really here.'"
 
The Grasonville, Md. native became UMBC's first America East top rookie since Pat Young earned the honor in 2013. Moreover, he is just the third Retriever to earn the accolade since the program joined the conference in the spring of 2004. 
 
When asked about what helped him achieve the success within his first year, Galloway breaks out into a smile. "The relationships are awesome. We'll switch jerseys and knock you down but always pick you back up...it's a gritty mentality." He mentions Tommy Lingner and Mason Edwards as relentless teammates that would always 'chirp' in practice, but work hard and push Galloway to continue to develop. 
 
"Jordan Galloway is the ultimate competitor," said Edwards, a senior midfielder on the 2022-23 squad. "Playing against him in practice, you know you're never going to get an easy rep against him and his level of competitiveness will only increase as he gets further and further into his career."
 
Galloway competed in all 13 games and started the final six at midfield. He played his best lacrosse against top competition, as he tallied two goals in games versus Utah and Richmond and capped a four-game scoring streak by tallying a season-best three-goal, five-point effort versus Stony Brook on April 23. 
 
"We don't care who you are or how many goals you've scored in the past, we're going to come at you with everything we have and that's our biggest fight," Galloway said about the character of his team. "I think we play fearlessly and that shows in practice."
 
Galloway, who amassed 13 goals and three assists in his initial campaign, also found success in the classroom as the media and communications studies major earned a spot on the 2022 America East Spring Honor Roll.
 
"I believe Jordan has earned his teammates respect with humility and work ethic," said Moran.   "He thinks of his teammates before himself, and is consistently one of the first on the field and last off."
 
After going through the downs and ups of his freshman season, Galloway's advice for an incoming freshman is to face adversity head on. "It's kind of cliche but…you're going to be knocked down, it's all about just pushing to get better."