Mitchell Lloyd Recognized With Post-Grad Scholarship By Big Ten
5/19/2026 5:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
After four years of excelling on and off the lacrosse field, Lloyd’s kinesiology degree has set him up for a successful professional career helping others.
Mitchell Lloyd had an incredible four years at the University of Maryland, both on the lacrosse field and in the classroom. After being awarded a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship, he’s set up to impact countless lives as his time in College Park concludes.
At the end of the year, Lloyd was awarded a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship, one of 28 such honored student-athletes in the Big Ten. He and women’s soccer star Ava Morales were the Terps’ two recipients for 2026.
“I was so grateful,” Lloyd said. “I didn't necessarily know that I was going to be nominated for it, but once I was told, I was pretty thrilled about it. I'm excited to be able to do what I'm doing and be able to get some financial support. It's super amazing.”
After four seasons with Maryland lacrosse — and two Academic All-Big Ten accolades — Lloyd’s success spans all aspects of his student-athlete tenure in College Park.
“It just shows how much this university supports its student-athletes,” Lloyd said. “I'm on the lacrosse team, but I'm not only getting recognized for my lacrosse achievements. It goes back to the ‘Be the Best’ mantra on and off the field. You can be the best on the field. You can be the best off the field. Being able to recognize and support both sides of that mantra is pretty awesome.”
I wouldn't have been here if it weren't for my team, if it weren't for Coach Tillman pushing us to be the best on and off the field, and if it weren't for the support of our coaching staff and academic staff. I really owe it to everyone who has been here to support me, help me succeed academically, and help me get this award.Mitchell Lloyd
Lloyd found his calling early in life. Unfortunate circumstances in his early lacrosse career sparked a passion he’d chase to the University of Maryland and beyond.
“I dealt with a lot of injuries growing up and had my fair share of physical therapy cycles when I was going through all of that rehab,” Lloyd said. “I kind of fell in love with learning about the human body, how it works and how your joints move and how your muscles work.
“Once I found that passion, I came into college wanting to go to medical school and be a sports medicine physician and be able to help athletes like I once was. It wasn't until I got into the research field that I realized exactly what I wanted to do, which is to help cancer patients improve quality of life by using exercise.”
Now a recipient of the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship, Lloyd will be heading to the University of South Carolina for the next stop in his academic career.
“I'll be earning my master's in exercise science,” Lloyd said. “I’ll be working in an exercise oncology lab, working hands-on with cancer patients and helping them improve their quality of life through exercise. This scholarship is going to help me in supporting my career goals in so many ways. It means a lot that they’ll be financially supporting me while I'm in the process of achieving everything I want to achieve and helping the people I want to help.”
When you're a student-athlete, it's really easy to get lost in the athletic side of it. I encourage every incoming freshman and anyone who doesn't know what exactly they want to do to come in and not be afraid to find their passion. Being a student-athlete and knowing what your passion is will only help you succeed as much as you want to. There are no barriers between the two.Mitchell Lloyd
Maryland lacrosse creates great players and even better people. Now that his time on the field is done, Lloyd’s thrilled to have the opportunity to help others find joy and relief in exercise, something he finds incredibly important.
“With everything that comes with chemotherapy and cancer treatments, so many patients are fighting fatigue,” Lloyd said. “Their bodies are just fighting against them, and sometimes it's hard to not just sit there and feel terrible, but being able to use exercise as a conduit to help the body balance its energy source and allow patients to feel better.”
Along with being able to focus on exercise and use it as an outlet, Lloyd is excited to help patients regain muscle mass they may have lost during chemotherapy treatment. He says he wants to make sure they have the confidence to move however they need to in their daily lives outside of treatment centers and be able to stay active throughout their days.
His path will allow him to help hundreds of people fight through their toughest battles, but he recognizes the support he’s received from everyone along his journey that’s helped him get to where he is today.
“I wouldn't have been here if it weren't for my team, if it weren't for Coach Tillman pushing us to be the best on and off the field, and if it weren't for the support of our coaching staff and academic staff,” Lloyd said. “I really owe it to everyone who has been here to support me, help me succeed academically, and help me get this award.”
Playing collegiate lacrosse for an elite program and graduating with a demanding kinesiology degree took an incredible amount of balance. Excelling in both the classroom and on the field took constant diligence to be the best.
“It definitely took some trial and error,” Lloyd said. “I'd be lying if I said it was easy, but over time I developed a sense of what worked right for me and what doesn't work right for me. The way I always thought about it to myself was that if I didn't have any school work to do, I was missing something. Most importantly, I think that the biggest thing was that I needed to make sure I was taking time for myself.”
With everything Lloyd has already achieved — and everything he hopes to do — he’s able to pass on wisdom to future student-athletes. He took advantage of every opportunity College Park gave him, and his message to future Terps is simple:
“When you're a student-athlete, it's really easy to get lost in the athletic side of it,” Lloyd said. “I encourage every incoming freshman and anyone who doesn't know what exactly they want to do to come in and not be afraid to find their passion. Being a student-athlete and knowing what your passion is will only help you succeed as much as you want to. There are no barriers between the two.”
