EASTON, Pa. – Senior DL Malik Hamm wrapped up a dominant football career at Lafayette by garnering Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors on Tuesday morning.
 
For Hamm, it is the second time the Baltimore, Md. native has earned the distinction. He also achieved player of the year status in his sophomore season of 2019, a year after he earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors to start his career. He is in esteemed All-Patriot League company, as he is the lone student-athlete in Patriot League football history to secure All-Patriot League laurels on five occasions (four first-team selections and one second-team honoring).
 
Hamm will graduate as the school's career sacks leader, and appropriately the final play of the final game of his collegiate career was a game-ending sack of Lehigh's quarterback in a 14-11 win in #Rivalry158 on Nov.  19. Hamm finished with 32 career sacks, bookending his career with 8.5 sacks each in his first and final seasons on College Hill. The Psychology major ranks fourth in the Patriot League annals for career sacks.
 
Hamm played in 48 career games on College Hill, with 46 starts, ending his career with 233 total tackles, 50 tackles for loss (TFL), 12 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four blocked kicks.
 
A two-year team captain, Hamm joins four other defensive teammates on the All-Patriot League Teams. Fellow co-captain Marco Olivas garnered All-Patriot League First-Team honors for the second time in his career and second straight season. Olivas led the team in tackles for the second year in a row, racking up 92 stops to go along with 7.5 TFL, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
 
The senior linebacker helped orchestrate a defensive unit that led the Patriot League in rushing defense (111.0 ypg) and red-zone defense (71.1%) and finished second in scoring defense (21.7 ppg). 
 
Senior safety DaRon Gilbert represented the Lafayette secondary on the All-Patriot League First Team. The hard-hitting Gilbert made 54 tackles (35 solo) with an interception and four passes defended. He started all 11 games in 2022 and has started 30 of 33 played in his career. For Gilbert, it is the second-straight season earning All-Patriot League honors as he was a second-team selection in 2021.
 
Joining Hamm on the defensive line are seniors Damon Washington and Jyaire Stevens.  For Washington, it is the second-consecutive season with All-Patriot League honors and the initial campaign as a first-team honoree. Washington, a defensive tackle from Iselin, N.J., finished with 31 tackles, seven tackles for loss (second on the team) and four sacks (second on the team). Washington, an Economics major, has played in 35 career games with 21 starts.
 
Stevens, one of the most versatile players on the defense, achieved All-Patriot League Second-Team plaudits for the first time in his career. He made 40 tackles, adding 7.0 TFL with 2.5 sacks. The International Affairs major from Wappingers Fall, N.Y., also broke up two passes and managed a force fumble and a fumble recovery. Stevens started all 11 games at defensive end in 2022, playing in 34 career games with 24 career starts.
 
The Leopards secured one All-Patriot League selection on offense in junior tight end Mason Gilbert. Gilbert was a first-team honoree for the second-straight campaign. The DeWitt, Mich. native started 10 games in 2022, reeling in 15 catches for 174 yards and a touchdown. Gilbert had two or more catches in five games and at least one grab in nine games. For his career, the Economics major has 19 starts in 24 games.
 
The All-Patriot League First and Second Teams were selected in a vote by the conference coaches with Fordham senior quarterback Tim DeMorat named the offensive player of the year, Lehigh wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel the rookie of the year and Holy Cross' Bob Chesney named the coach of the year.