PHILADELPHIA, May 12, 2025 – The National Lacrosse League (NLL) today announced two major award winners as part of its 2024-25 season honors. John Gurtler, the long-time play-by-play voice of the Buffalo Bandits, has been named the recipient of the Tom Borrelli Award for Media Person of the Year, while Jason Thorne, Vice President of Business Operations for the Vancouver Warriors, has been named the League’s Executive of the Year.
Gurtler, who has been the voice of Bandits since 2004, has called more than 400 consecutive games, becoming a familiar and trusted presence for fans in Buffalo and across the League. As the voice of the Bandits on WWKB-AM, ESPN and TSN broadcasts, Gurtler has become synonymous with the team’s identity. The award is named in honor of Tom Borrelli, a beloved journalist who covered the Bandits for The Buffalo News until his passing in 2008.
Thorne receives the Executive of the Year honor in his first full season with the Warriors, having joined the organization in February 2024. Under his leadership, the Warriors’ ticketing and marketing efforts saw dramatic growth, culminating in record attendance numbers and a heightened presence in the Vancouver community. Vancouver finished 117 this season reaching the NLL semifinals.
Sportsmanship Award and Teammate of the Year
General Manager of the Year and Les Bartley Award
Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Transition Player of the Year, Goaltender of the Year
Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, First Team All-NLL, Second Team All-NLL, All-Rookie Team
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league and welcomed more than 1 million fans for the third consecutive year during the 2024-25 season. Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 14 franchises across Canada and the United States, and recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to
The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to 60 communities across North America by 2028.
For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. Games are available live and streaming on TSN, TSN+, the ESPN family of networks, ESPN+, and NLL+.
Meghan O’Donnell and Samantha Ward, National Lacrosse League [email protected].
