Biography
• 2023-24 Naval Academy Captain of the Captains
• 2024 Navy Lacrosse Co-Captain
• 2022 USA Lacrosse U21 Team
• 2022, ‘23 USILA Honorable Mention All-American
• 2022, ‘23 Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American
• 2023 Inside Lacrosse Preseason Third-Team All-American
• 2022 Inside Lacrosse Midseason Third-Team All-American
• 2023 USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American
• 2022 USA Lacrosse Magazine Third-Team All-American
• 2023 USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Third-Team All-American
• 2022, ‘23 First-Team All-Patriot League
• 2021 Second-Team All-Patriot League
• 2021 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll
• 2022, ‘23 Preseason All-Patriot League Team
• Elected by the team captains for Navy’s 36 varsity programs to serve as the 2023-24 Captain of the Captains
• Alongside fellow senior Jackson Peters, selected by his peers to serve as co-captain of the 2024 Navy men’s lacrosse team
• Has started every game in which he has played at Navy (39 gms = 9 Fr // 14 So // 16 Jr)
• Has recorded a caused turnover in 27 of the 39 games and multiple CTs 14 times
• Stands 5th on Navy’s career caused turnovers leader board with 50 ... with his takeaway at Bucknell in the 2023 Patriot League regular-season finale, he became only the 5th player in school history to reach 50 caused turnovers in a career... joined the top 5 with his 3-takeaway performance against Army (4.22.23) ... needs 2 caused turnovers to tie 4th-place John Trainor (2014-17)
• Selected to the 23-player U.S. Men’s National Team roster that competed against Canada and Penn State at the USA Lacrosse Fall Classic (Oct. 13-15)
2023 // Junior Year
• Garnered USILA Honorable Mention All-America, Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-America and USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-America recognition
• Named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection for a second-consecutive year and is now one of only 13 players in school history to be a three-time All-Patriot League selection (second team in 2021) ... he is among 6 close defensemen or long-stick midfielders on that list and the first since Chris Fennell and Matt Rees earned recognition in 2015, ‘16 and ‘17
• The cornerstone of a defense that closed out 2023 ranked 10.44 nationally and #2 in the Patriot League in scoring defense, holding opponents to 10.44 goals per game
• 1 of 2 players overall (Max Hewitt) and the only defensive player to start all 16 contests in 2023
• Navy’s leader in caused turnovers with 22, he finished the year tied with DJ Plumer (2016) for 8th on Navy’s single-season caused turnovers list ... with 3 takeaways against Army, he became only the 7th different Navy player to reach 20 caused turnovers in a single season
• Turned in 3 points (1G, 2A) on the year, including the first assists of his career
• Matched up against Bucknell’s Dutch Furlong, holding the nation’s #9 scorer (5.00 PPG) and #3 assists man (3.09 APG) to just 1 point (an assist) and 2 shots in the game ... Furlong turned the ball over 3 times, including what would be Bonitz’s 50th-career caused turnover ... he is one of only 5 players in program history to reach 50 takeaways in a career and the first since 2017
• Dealt out just his 2nd-career assist, feeding Xavier Arline in transition in the win over the Bison
• Recorded 3 caused turnovers and picked up 3 ground balls against #9 Army
• Navy’s defensive unit held Lafayette to its second-fewest goals of the season with 6 and fewest since the Leopards lost a 14-5 decision to Delaware in the second week of the season ... Navy held Lafayette scoreless for the first 14:19 of the game ... after the Leopards got to within one (6-5) in the third quarter, the Mids held them without a goal for the next 19 minutes, giving up a goal with 1:00 left in the game
• Punched in his first goal of the season and third of his career in Navy’s win against Lafayette ... picked up a season-high 5 ground balls and forced a turnover
• Turned in 5 ground balls and forced a turnover in the Mids’ 11-10 win at #13 Loyola
• Part of a Navy’s defense that held Boston U., the nation’s 8th-ranked scoring offense (14.75), to single digits for the first time since last year’s NCAA Tournament game against Princeton
• Named to the USILA National Team of the Week after holding Vince D’Alto, the Terriers’ leading scorer and the nation’s sixth-ranked scorer (5.25) without a goal for just the third time in his career (Ohio State ‘20, Princeton ‘22) ... held D’Alto without a point for 58 minutes before he dealt out an assist on Boston U.’s final goal of the game with 1:16 remaining
• Produced a combined 6 caused turnovers and 6 ground balls in road games against Villanova and Holy Cross ... tied his career high in takeaways with 4 at Holy Cross
• Recorded the first assist of his career, feeding Xavier Arline in transition against #9 Johns Hopkins
• Recorded a season-high 3 caused turnovers and picked up a pair of ground balls at Colgate
• Force a pair of turnovers and grabbed a ground ball in the league opener against Lehigh
• Picked up 5 ground balls and forced a High Point turnover (2.25), as he broke into the Mids’ all-time top-10 caused turnovers list
• Corraled 4 ground balls against Manhattan
• Navy’s defense is now 65-1 since 2003 (7-0 under Amplo) when holding an opponent to 5 or fewer goals after defeating Queens 19-5 ... the Mids held the Royals scoreless for the first 34 minutes of the contest before allowing a goal
• Part of a defensive unit that held Mount St. Mary’s to just 2 goals in the first half en route to a 13-7 victory in the opener ... turned in a pair of caused turnovers
2022 - Summer // Team USA
• Member of the 2022 USA Lacrosse U21 Team that won gold at the 2022 U21 World Lacrosse Championship in Limerick, Ireland on Aug. 10-20, 2022
• Bonitz is the first Navy player selected to the final roster for the U.S. Men’s Under 21 Team since it was established in 1988.
• Team USA swept through pool play, outscoring their foes 54-12. The U.S. defeated Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals and Haudenosaunee in the semifinals before meeting the Canadians in the championship. The United States won its ninth Under 21 world title with a 12-10 win over Canada and improved to an incredible 54-2 all-time.
• Anchored a defensive unit that held 6 of its 7 opponents to 5 or fewer goals
• Scored a pair of goals - vs. Australia and Haudenosaunee
2022 // Sophomore Year
• Navy’s only returning defensive starter from 2021, Bonitz was named a USILA Honorable Mention All-American, Inside Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American and USA Lacrosse Magazine Third-Team All-American ... he was also a 2022 First-Team All-Patriot League selection
• Along with teammate Patrick Skalniak, named an Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American ... Skalniak was named to the second team, while Bonitz was a third-team selection
• Anchored a defensive unit that finished the year ranked #12 nationally and #2 in the Patriot League, holding opponents to 10.13 goals per game ... the Mids held 6 of their 15 opponents to single digits in the spring, including 2 of the last 4 (5 Lafayette, 6 Bucknell)
• Part of a defensive effort that held three-consecutive opponents to 6 or fewer goals (5 by Mercer, 6 by Hofstra, 6 by Manhattan) ... it’s the first time Navy has achieved that mark since holding six-straight foes to 5 or fewer goals in 2008
• Navy’s leader in caused turnovers with 18, he was ranked #47 nationally and #8 in the Patriot League in caused turnovers per game (1.29) ... the 18 takeaways are tied (Geoff Leone, 2009) as the 10th most in a Navy single season
• Stood second on the team in ground balls with 39
• Grabbed 4 ground balls and posted a takeaway against Lehigh in the Patriot League Quarterfinals
• Navy’s defense held Bucknell to more than 8 goals under its average in a 13-6 win ... Bucknell came into the game ranked #3 nationally averaging 14.62 goals per game
• Part of a defensive unit that held #6 Army to its second-fewest goals this season in a 12-11 overtime victory (10 vs. Rutgers, 10 vs. Lehigh)
• The 6 goals were the fewest by the Bison since dropping an 18-6 decision to Lehigh in 2021
• Navy held the Bucknell starting attack (each of which came into the game with 30+ goals and 50+ points) to 1 of 18 shooting and a combined 4 points (1G, 3A)
• The Bison here held to just 1 goal over the final 24:32 of the contest, while the Mids went on a 8-1 run to close out the victory
• Held Army scoreless for 8+ minutes on 3 occasions, including 16:07 (2nd/3rd qtrs) that allowed Navy to pull even at 6-6 in the 3rd quarter and 8:41 (3rd/4th qtrs) that allowed Navy to take its first lead in the game (10-8) since the opening goal of the game (14:02, 1Qtr).
• Held Army without a goal over the final 5:16 of regulation, as well as the 58 seconds that elapsed in the extra frame.
• Anchored a defensive unit that held Lafayette to its lowest goal output (5) since 2020 when Loyola held the Leopards to 4 ... the Mids held Lafayette scoreless for the first 20:42 of the game and without a goal for another 19:38 stretch ... during both stretches, Navy put together 4-0 scoring runs
• He held Lafayette’s leading scorer Peter Lehman to 1 goal on 9 shots ... Lehman came into the game ranked 9th in the league and 58th nationally in points per game (3.45), ninth in the league and 52nd nationally in assists per game (1.58)
• Recorded a pair of caused turnovers in the win over the Leopards
• With a caused turnover in the win over Holy Cross, he joined Navy’s all-time single-season top 20 list
• The Mids held Holy Cross scoreless for 8:12 in the second quarter while Navy went on a 4-0 run and built a lead (7-2) it would not relinquish ... also held the Crusaders scoreless for an 11-minute stretch (12:40-1:37) in the final frame
• Navy’s defense held #18 Johns Hopkins scoreless over the final 6:05 to post an 11-10 come-from-behind win
• After sitting out the Colgate contest, returned against Johns Hopkins where he grabbed a pair of ground balls and posted 2 takeaways
• Contributed on both ends of the field in Navy’s win against Manhattan ... led the team with a pair of caused turnovers, including one of which he turned into goal (the second of his career) ... his goal extended Navy’s streak to 29-consecutive years with at least one pole scoring a goal
• Part of a defensive effort that held Mercer without a goal for the first 30:59, allowing Navy to hold a 7-0 halftime advantage ... also held the Bears scoreless for the final 13:38 in the contest
• Navy’s defense held Mercer to just 24 shots ... it’s the fewest shots by a Navy opponent since Furman mustered just 16 shots on Feb. 15, 2020
• Among the 11 players to help Navy post 17 takeaways against Mercer ... the 17 caused turnovers fell just one shy of the school record (18) set against VMI in 2011
• Recorded 3 caused turnovers and 4 ground balls against the Bears
• Paced the Mids with a career-high tying 4 caused turnovers and 6 ground balls in the opener against Mount St. Mary’s
2021 // Freshman Year
• Garnered Second-Team All-Patriot League recognition as a starting member of the Mids’ defense
• He is only the third Navy freshman to garner All-Patriot League accolades, joining midfielder Basil Daratsos (2007) and faceoff specialist Brady Dove (2014)
• Navy’s defensive unit closed out the year ranked #11 in the country and #3 in the Patriot League in scoring defense (10.00) and #23 nationally (#2 in the PL) in man-down defense (20 of 29, 69.0)
• The Mids were also #10 in the Patriot League and #2 in the PL in clearing percentage (88.5)
• Finished his rookie campaign second on the team in caused turnovers (10) and fourth in ground balls
• Produced the fifth-most caused turnovers by a Navy freshman in program history
• Navy’s defense yielded 16 goals to Loyola in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, the most goals scored against the Mids since Syracuse defeated Navy 18-9 on April 20, 2019
• The Mids held Lafayette without a goal for three incredible stretches ... after the Leopards took a 5-4 lead at 11:38 in the second quarter, Lafayette did not score for 13 minutes, allowing Navy to go on a 6-0 run and build a 10-5 lead at the half ... the Leopards scored the first 2 goals of the third quarter, but would find the back of the net just once over a 25-minute timeframe with a pair of 12-plus minute droughts (12:33 3Qtr - 1:39 4Qtr / 1 goal at 0:01 3Qtr)
• Navy’s defense held #10 Army to a single goal in the opening half and just one goal over the final 17-plus minutes of the contest en route to a 9-4 victory in the Star Game
• The Mids held Army to just four goals, its lowest goal output since losing to Loyola 13-4 in the 2017 Patriot League Championship Game
• It was also the fewest goals scored by Army in an Army-Navy Game (Star Game or otherwise) since the Mids beat the Black Knights 8-4 on April 11, 2009
• Part of a defensive effort that held #15 Loyola (4.17) scoreless for the first 11+ minutes of the game as Navy raced out to a 6-0 lead ... also held the Greyhounds to just one shot and without a goal over the last 4:59 of the game to secure the program’s first win at Loyola
• Turned in a career-high 4 caused turnovers, grabbed 4 ground balls and scored his first-collegiate goal in the win over the Greyhounds
• Paced the Mids with a team and career-best 7 ground balls, along with a pair of caused turnovers in the loss to Loyola (4.3)
• Part of a Navy defense that held Bucknell scoreless for better than 10 minutes as the Mids went on a 5-0 run and broke a 6-6 tie in the third quarter to take the lead for good
• Paced a Navy defense that held Jacksonville without a goal for nearly 25 minutes (24:19) as the Mids went on a 9-0 run in the second and third quarters
• After giving up 5 goals over the first 23:11, Navy’s defense held the Dolphins to a single goal over the final 36:49
• Alternated in his defense of leading scorer Evan Tyler (8-2=10) and midfielder Jeremy Winston (1-3=4), who Bonitz held without a point (G or A) ... just 3 of their combined 10 shots were on goal
• Recorded 2 caused turnovers, including a spectacular play that saw him keep Jacksonville’s Luke Robinson from scoring in transition ... made a diving stick check that dislodged the ball out of Robinson’s stick as he attempted to shoot 1 v 1 against Navy keeper Spencer Rees from 5 yards out
• His outlet pass that spanned box to box led to long-stick defensive midfielder Jeff Durden’s goal at 2:34 in the second quarter that sparked Navy’s 9-0 run
• Part of a defensive unit that held Mount St. Mary’s scoreless for the first 37-plus minutes of the game, while Navy jumped out to a 7-0 lead ... the Mids gave up just 3 even-strength goals in the 8-5 win
• Made the start in the Mids’ opener against the Mount where he grabbed 2 ground balls and forced a turnover
High School
• 2020 graduate of McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md.
• Three-sport athlete who earned letters in football, lacrosse and wrestling
• Member of the 2020 USA Lacrosse U19 Team that was scheduled to play in the U19 World Lacrosse Championship in Ireland in the summer of 2020
• Ranked #8 overall and #2 among defenseman on the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 Incoming Recruits
• Earned a 5-star recruit rating by Inside Lacrosse
• Earned 2019 Second-Team All-Metro honors in lacrosse
• Served as captain of both the football and lacrosse teams his senior year
• Garnered All-MIAA honors in football as a junior and senior
Personal
• Son of Toby and Jennifer Bonitz
• His service assignment is Navy Pilot
• Majoring in Quantitative Economics, he owns a 3.17 grade-point average
• Has earned Commandant’s (F2020, S2021, F2021, S2022, S2023, F2023) List accolades multiple times, while also being named to the Superintendent’s (S2021) List
• Originally committed to Penn State, he also took recruiting visits to Air Force and Army
• High school teammates Dane Swanson (Sr), Aidan Hurdle (So), Zach Hayashi (Fr) and AJ Marsh (Fr) are also members of the Navy lacrosse team
• Father, Toby, is a 1992 graduate of Pittsburgh where he was a member of the football team
• Brother, Toby Jr., is a 2014 graduate of Westminster College where he played football
• Brother, Chase, was a member of the football and track & field teams at Thaddeus Stevens
