2026 Premier Lacrosse League Draft Big Board

 ball is in full swing. With scrimmage reports dropping after every weekend, teams are starting to take shape, develop their identity, and lay the foundation for their season. Teams have to work in grad transfers and young players, returners may be adjusting to expanded roles, there’s a balance of “this doesn’t mean anything” and “it’s actually really important that we learn a lot right now” to fall ball. For me, it’s a signal that it’s time to start thinking about the next PLL draft class. Big Board time. 

As always, this is NOT a mock draft. I don’t expect players to be drafted in this order and would be surprised if they are. This is a list of college seniors and grad students, ranked by how likely I think it is that they become successful PLL professionals. Drafts have to consider team needs, fit, and other factors. A big board considers none of that. The higher a player is ranked, the more likely I think it is that they have a successful pro career, not that they get drafted in that spot. 

Per the PLL, if you’re a senior in college, you can declare for the draft. So if you’re a senior or grad student, I’m going to consider you draft eligible. Once I get confirmation that a player is not coming out of school, either because he’s playing another year of lacrosse or pursuing something else out of college, I’ll add him to the noted unavailable player section. We’re done with the COVID year stuff at this point, but grad years, injuries, and the portal still mean players have the opportunity to spend more than four years in college playing lacrosse. Five(ish) years of lacrosse and leaving school with a grad degree is a pretty great opportunity and I love seeing players take advantage of it.

Not to sound cold, but most of the names you see on this board won’t end up being pros long term. Go back just two years to 2023, and almost the entire back half of the draft is out of the league or regularly a healthy scratch. That said, I tend to err on the side of having too many names on the list this early, and then paring it down a bit as, in the words of Macho Man Randy Savage, the cream rises to the top. 

This board changes over time as players rise and fall, and as new players get added. Because I’m a voter for the D1 media poll and media All Americans, I watch a lot of D1 lacrosse. Because I contribute to the USA Lax Mag DII and DIII polls and player awards, I watch a lot of D2 and D3 lacrosse too. It’s a lot of hours. But even with all those hours, college lacrosse is a massive place, I can’t do deep dives on every single player who is draft eligible and still keep my day job. If you look down the list and think I can’t believe Dan missed this guy, reach out, give me a game he stands out in or make your case for him, and I’ll take a look.

Noted Unavailable Players:

Jack Cascadden, FO, Cornell

Charlie Johnson, D, Duke

Riley Figueras, D, Syracuse

OVERALL

1. Joey Spallina, Attack Syracuse

2. Mikey Weisshaar, Midfield, Towson

3. Aidan Maguire, SSDM, Duke

4. Silas Richmond, Attack, Albany

5. Bobby Van Buren, Defense, Ohio State

6. Will Schaller, Defense, Maryland

7. Matt Collison, Midfield, Johns Hopkins

8. Will Donovan, LSM, Notre Dame

9. Billy Dwan III, Defense, Syracuse

10. Eric Spanos, Attack/Midfield, Maryland

Don’t think too hard folks. The safest bet to be not just a solid pro, but All Star level player in this draft is Joey Spallina. Doesn’t mean he goes first, just means he’s the best bet to be a star in the PLL. Not for nothing though, Spallina has the chance to be the third straight American player to go first overall in both the PLL and NLL drafts. Massive hype has followed Spallina since high school. He arrived at Syracuse already promised the #22 jersey. A playing career under that microscope means that there will always be some invisible set of criteria for how good he should be that he can’t actually reach; criteria usually set by podcasters and social media experts. He produces a ton, yeah well do it against a better team. He produces against a better team, yeah well do it in the playoffs. He produces in the tournament against a top tier opponent and number one matchup, yeah well do it again or win a natty. The fact of the matter is, Spallina was one of the highest scoring freshmen in Cuse history. With 61 points this year (that would be his lowest scoring season ever by the way) he’ll leave Cuse as the programs highest scoring player ever. More than any Gait, any Powell, anyone. With 25 goals he’ll finish top 10 in program history in goals. He’s already 6th in assist and will pass Ryan Powell, Mikey Powell, John Zulberti, and Tim O’Hara this season to finish, at worst, second in program history in assists. He’s been top five in the nation in points each of the last two years. With all of that usage, he averages about 1.4 turnovers per game for his college career. He’ll enter the 2026 season as a Tweaaraton favorite. He’s spent his summers playing indoor in Canada and bringing his lessons from the box game outdoors. When he gets to the 5x5 outdoors, he is a threat to score, feed, redodge, and any of those could happen in spectacular fashion. The interesting thing about Spallina is that, depending on who drafts him, his PLL rookie year could be the first time in his lacrosse career where he isn’t the QB of the offense. That’s not a bad thing. 

Mikey Weisshaar was a first team All American midfielder in 2024. He would have been again in 2025, but he was moved to attack, presumably to be on the field 100% of the time. At the pro level, Weisshaar is a midfielder. He creates shooting space with ease, and scores from multiple release points even from sharp angles. What really stands out to me about him is that it is just so damn hard to disrupt him as a shooter. If he doesn’t outright dust his man off the dodge with an explosive first step, he shoots through sticks and contact as well anyone in America. On the run, a defender on his hip, a stick in his gloves, and he can shoot as if the defender just isn’t there. He can do this with either hand, from any spot on the field. The best shooter in the draft, and his seamlessly moving between attack and midfield, and being dangerous with both hands, means every team in the PLL has a spot for him.

Aidan Maguire has a legitimate shot to play his way into the first overall pick spot. He’s that dynamic as an SSDM. He defends all matchups on an island; the Duke defense trusts him that much. He’s got the prototype PLL SSDM body at 6’1, 205 lbs. He’s one of the best pure athletes in college lacrosse. You can watch a video of him doing an absurd 66 inch (not a typo, really 66 inch) box jump on the Duke lacrosse instagram page. Maguire was second on the team in caused turnovers at Duke last year with 26, he was the only shorty in the top 30 in the country in the CT category. He won the McLaughlin Award, given to the national Midfielder of the Year in 2025 as an SSDM, joining Zach Goodrich as the only shorties to win the award. He will walk onto a PLL field and be a difference maker at one of the most important and valuable positions in the sport on his first day in the league. 

Turn on Silas Richmond’s tape, and to watch him move would make you think he was the size of Connor Fields or Ryder Garnsey. Nope. He moves and creates like those two, except he’s listed at 6’4 and 210 lbs. Richmond is the latest in a line of Albany attackmen, like the aforementioned Fields, who are worthy of being slid to any time they are above GLE, regardless of if they appear to be covered or not. He conjures scoring opportunities out of thin air, but actually had more assists than goals in his junior season. When it comes to players from outside traditional lacrosse power conferences, the common refrain is “he doesn’t play anybody”. In regular season games against Penn, Georgetown, UVA, Cornell, and Yale, Richmond had a combined 11 goals and 9 assists. That’s four points per game. He also opened the season with a seven assist game against Colgate. Take off those Big Ten/Ivy/ACC colored glasses, Richmond is the real deal. 

Bobby Van Buren is my top defender in the class. The close defense position this year is a strong one, and you might get a different top defender pick depending on who you ask. BVB is 6’1, 215 lbs of muscle. He is, somehow, both the unstoppable force and the immovable object. For a solid look at him doing some of his best work, turn on the tape from his UVA game this past year. If you read the stat line you’ll see two GBs and one CT. Not a huge game, right? That’s why you have to watch. His matchup, McCabe Millon, had zero points and three turnovers, and put two shots on goal in the game. Van Buren spent the entire afternoon pushing him around, stick in his gloves, feet where they needed to be, and turned UVA’s top weapon into a spectator. He does this with regularity. Again, his stats will never wow you. He has zero career goals. His best GB season was 33, his best CT season was 22. But he’s ready to cover PLL attackmen, even stars, on day one. Turn back the clock to 2023 and watch that Ohio State vs UVA game. A fellow named Connor Shellenberger had one shot on goal and two assists in the game. You can guess who guarded him. 

Will Schaller is a close number two. It’s hard to go wrong taking a first team All American close defender from Maryland.  Ajax Zappitello, Matt Dunn, Tim Muller, Brett Makar even back to more veteran players like Jesse Bernhardt and long ago Lee Zink, you know you’re getting a well coached, fundamentally sound, pro ready close defenseman when you draft from a Terp. Schaller is no exception. Schaller was on the first team All American list with Van Buren, and was also the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Schaller, like Van Buren, might not be a highlight-prone defenseman. You won’t see him throwing a rusty gate or going over the head in search of big CT numbers. But he’ll win his matchup. He’ll be where he needs to be off the ball. You’ll be able to count the times he actually makes a major mistake in his rookie year on one hand. I give BVB a slight edge just in terms of physicality, but any team who ends up with either of these two defenders will be very happy.

Matt Collison is another pro ready midfielder, but a very different type of player than Weisshaar. Listed at 6’4 and 225 lbs, Collison came to Hopkins from Canada and brought a whole lot of indoor lacrosse with him. From low wings, he demands an immediate slide, even if he’s dodging a pole. One on one from those spots, he is getting top side, he’s just too physical and plays leverage too well. He’s the first Hopkins player to be a USILA All American as a freshman, sophomore, and junior since some guy named Paul Rabil. This past year Hopkins played him at attack more and more as the year went on, presumably just out of need at the position as they dealt with some injuries and lack of consistency on that end. At the pro level, Collison is a midfielder who can crush teams from low wings and the invert, and can get downhill in the sub game. His indoor ability also means he can play serviceable defense should he have to track back and not be able to sub. 

Will Donovan might not be the biggest LSM in the world, but recent history in the PLL shows you that doesn’t matter. You can be 6’5 Michael Ehrhardt, or you can be 5’8 Jake Piseno. Big Mike won LSM of the Year five times, Piseno just took home his first award in his sophomore season. Ethan Rall is 5’9 and has been a 2nd team All Pro twice. Donovan has played every game of his Notre Dame career. He served as the team’s primary LSM since his sophomore year. Donovan is an elite cover defender above the goal, but one of my favorite things about him is that, despite having a knack for causing turnovers, he plays clean. He has committed a total of three penalties in his Notre Dame career. Three penalties in 33 games. In that time he’s come up with 84 GBs and 51 caused turnovers. Donovan is the best faceoff wing player in the draft, winning 1v2 ground balls with regularity. With some defenseman, you can tell the six foot pole is just something to swing at their matchup. Donovan uses it as a tool better than anyone. He uses it to regain ground against dodgers, he is elite at disrupting the hands of feeders. Donovan can play behind the net or above it and, like most a long line of well coached LSMs from Notre Dame before him, play sound and quality defense. 

Billy Dwan III is the most aggressive defender in the draft, and the most eager to get involved going from defense to offense. He’s 6’4 and 230 pounds, but he can run the field and push tempo. Dawn scored eight goals as a sophomore and has 12 in his career. He’s physical and aggressive with dodgers. Syracuse has the ability to shuffle matchups with two great cover men in Dwan and Riley Figueras, so it’s not a given that Dwan gets the top matchup every week. He does his best against the more physical players. For me, one Dwan’s best games was a 10-4 Cuse win over Duke his sophomore year. Holding Duke to four is a feat in itself, but Dwan drew the O’Neill matchup and played it well. It wasn’t always the prettiest, but there are plenty of clips in there of Dwan driving O’Neill to spots on the field where shots would be low percentage attempts, or setting up trail checks well. Dwan has enough tape guarding PLL level players that he’s a safe bet to translate well to the pros. The only risk with Dwan is that his aggression can lead to time in the box. Last year he was whistled for 13 penalties on the year, and Cuse as a team gave opponents 68 power player opportunities, the 4th most in the country. 

Eric Spanos is, like Schaller above, a reliably pro ready Terp. You know you’ll get a player who is smart, versatile, and effective on the offensive side of the ball. I don’t think Spanos is the best player in the draft at any particular individual skill. He’s not the best shooter, dodger, or passer. But he still does all those things at a pro level. In a way he’s similar to Sam King a year ago. He’s ready to be plugged into your offense just about anywhere, and he’ll play intelligently within the system. One thing that Spanos clearly established last year, he’s ready for the big moment. He had three points in the fourth quarter in a win against Syracuse, he scored three in the fourth quarter to lead a comeback against Loyola, and he scored the game winner against Princeton. He had six goals and three assists over Championship Weekend. There’s something to be said for a player who handles pressure and high leverage moments that well. It’s really not something coachable, players have this or they don’t. Spanos has it in spades. 

ATTACK

1. Joey Spallina, Syracuse

2. Silas Richmond, Albany

3. Eric Spanos, Maryland

4. Chris Lyons, Yale/Maryland

5. Finn Thomson, Syracuse

Players to Watch: Leo Johnson, Matthew Minicus, Truitt Sunderland, Jack Regnery, Ryan Stines, Thomas Power, Rory Connor, Teddy Malone, Alex Marinier

The top three are covered above. Chris Lyons may still carry around the rep of being an offball player. That narrative should change for him. He’s shown himself to be a very good dodger against college defenders, if he takes it to some pro level defenders this spring in the Big Ten, look out. He clearly was a pro off ball, his stock will skyrocket if he gets plenty of dodging chances this spring. Thomson is a bucket, and has been filling the net since his freshman year at Cuse. Until he missed some time last spring with an injury, he started every game since he arrived in upstate New York. He has a slight frame at 6’2 and 165 lbs, but he has an incredible knack for putting himself in dangerous positions. He’s outstanding as an offball threat. He does maybe look for the highlight goal a little too often, going BTB even if it might not be necessary, but he’s got the ability to be a two league pro. Speaking of buckets, there’s a few more here that might not get the eyeballs they deserve. First is Ryan Stines, who has started every game in his Utah career and been the ASUN Player of the Year. 38 goals as a freshman, 48 as a sophomore, and as a junior put up 40 assists as he became a primary ball carrier. The North Carolina kid who went out west to Utah is the most recent example that if you’re still just looking in New York and Maryland for top end talent, you’re selling yourself way short. Jack Regnery is in my mind the most likely D3 player to be drafted, or at least get a training camp shot, this year. After a scrimmage against Dartmouth a year ago, the sentiment around Regnery was that he could start for anyone in America. Not just in D3. Anyone. He has some of those video game D3 numbers we love to see; 121 points as a sophomore, 133 as a junior, 159 goals over the last two years. The Florida native is an elite shooter and the likely 2026 Player of the Year in D3. 

MIDFIELD, OFFENSE FIRST:

1. Mikey Weisshaar, Towson

2. Matt Collison, Johns Hopkins

3. Chad Palumbo, Princeton

4. Michael Leo, Syracuse

5. Evan Plunkett, Army

Players to watch: Ty English, Marcus Wertheim, Kyle Lewis, Logan Ip, Will Angrick, Luke Rhoa, Brad Sharp, John Murray, Will Consoli

Weisshaar and Collison are covered above. Chad Palumbo is, in my eyes, a picture perfect PLL midfielder. He’s 6’2 and 205 lbs. He can play inside as an offball threat, he can run by a shorty from the perimeter. He shoots exceptionally well for a middie (35% career shooter). His shots consistently hit the net. He’s smart, and can disrupt a defense from the inside out. His play in pick games is pro ready. Will he walk onto a field and hit running BTBs down the alley like Matt Traynor? Probably not. But he’ll make any offense he is in more effective. Michael Leo is a solid pick for a player who gets draft a bit late and has people wondering how he fell so far. It’s a solid midfield class, in other years Leo probably goes higher. He led the Cuse midfield in points last year, and I really enjoy watching him as a dodger. He sets up his moves as well as anyone. The more you watch him, the more you realize there is nothing accidental or really improvised about his initial dodge. He starts from exact spots on the field with a plan of where he wants to end up, and then takes his defender for a ride. Every step he takes he evaluates where he needs to be next to gain a bit more advantage. It all happens lightning fast, if each of his dodges has 3-4 little battles between him and a defender along the way, he makes sure to win them all. Evan Plunkett is, next to Weisshaar, the most versatile midfielder in this class. He can attack from all spots on the field, and is particularly dangerous out of inverts and wing dodges. Plunkett would be much higher on the board if not for his commitments after he graduates. As a West Point grad, it’s likely his pro career is a short one. PLL coaches and GMs have started to prioritize players who they think will be part of the team long term, which means Plunkett could slide come draft day. A few other players to watch in a very talented midfield group. Adelphi’s Kyle Lewis was the Midfielder of the Year in D2, he’s been a first team all american multiple times. In the offseason, schools like Penn State and Syracuse pursued Lewis in the transfer portal, but he ultimately decided to return to Adelphi. He has an explosive first step, on par with anyone in college lacrosse, and can separate from poles and shorties alike with ease. He’s an excellent shooter, and showed off serious improvement as a feeder last year totaling 35 assists. He’s a top tier D1 middie who takes the field in D2. Brad Sharp has had some injury woes in his college career, but if he stays healthy 2026 could be huge. He’s at Ohio State for a grad year after transferring from Yale. Athletically, Sharp is an adonis. He’s 6’2 with exceptional speed. As a downhill dodger, he is pro ready. 

MIDFIELD, DEFENSE FIRST/TWO WAY

1. Aidan Maguire, Duke

2. Erik Kolar, Maryland

3. Jack Pilling, Richmond

4. Blake Eiland, Ohio State

5. Eliot Cohen, Washington & Lee

Players to Watch: Peter Detwiler

While Maguire is the only player in the top 10, this is still a very talented group. Erik Kolar and Jack Pilling would have been drafted last year had they come out. Kolar is a bit bigger and stronger than Pilling, so he gets an edge in these rankings, but both are PLL level defenders. They’re good in different ways. Kolar is better in coverage, Pilling is better off the ground and in wing situations. Similarly, Eiland is in the mix for SSDM at the pro level and is probably the best in transition from offense to defense. Need matters a lot here for who would target each in the draft. In some ways, it’s similar to the 2023 group that had Piper Bond, Connor Maher, Brian Tevlin, and Payton Rezanka. There’s clear choices for who is best in transition, who is best as sort of a swiss army knife, and who is best as a pure cover player. As I always do, I will throw in a D3 player for this spot as well. At 6’2 205, Cohen is actually bigger than everyone on this list except Maguire. He’s outstanding on GBs and is very productive as a transition threat. He covers the invert well. With Cohen, as it always tends to go with D3 players, he’ll have to prove he can cover a PLL level dodger, which is a big leap. But it’s worth bringing him to camp to find out.

DEFENSE/LSM:

1. Bobby Van Buren, Ohio State

2. Will Schaller, Maryland

3. Will Donovan, Notre Dame

4. Billy Dwan III, Syracuse

5. Cullen Brown, Ohio State

Players to Watch: Charlie Cave, Richard Checo, Hunter Smith, Alex Ross, Brendan Staub, AJ Larkin

It’s a really good defensive group, and most of the list is already covered in the Top 10. In the five spot here though, Cullen Brown. Athletically, he has always popped with his long frame and speed. In 2025, Brown really elevated his game, doubling his best ever CT season and recording 34 while picking up 60 GBs. With the Buckeyes, Brown sort of flows between down low and a transition role. In my eyes he’s a pro ready LSM, built for the PLL style. The Players to Watch list for this position is stacked. Richard Checo is one of the most prolific caused turnover machines that college lacrosse has ever seen. He had 45 last year, 48 the year before, and 54 as a FRESHMAN. He’s chasing players like fellow Lehigh Mountainhawk Craig Chick for the all time lead in the stat. Alex Ross is in the vein of BVB and Schaller; he’ll cover his matchup, win you some GBs, and do it with excellent footwork and angle play. Hunter Smith also falls into this category, although Smith is more adept when it comes to causing turnovers and forcing the action. Smith, like Donovan, is a clean player; five penalties in his Richmond career. Charlie Cave is another player to watch from a Brown team that sneakily might produce multiple pros. Cave is on the smaller side, but really shined in some of Brown’s biggest games. Four CTs and five GBs against Yale, three CTs and a pair of GBs against Princeton, ignore Bruno’s win/loss record and just focus on Cave, you’ll see pro potential. 

FACEOFF:

1. Henry Dodge, UVM/Maryland

2. Andrew McMeekin, Princeton

3. Luca Accardo, High Point

Players to Watch: Matthew Mancini

Dodge was the nation’s best faceoff specialist, percentage wise, a year ago at UVM. He was also fourth in GBs per game nationally. As we seem to have to say with anyone who isn’t in one of the three big conferences, yes, Dodge did take on quality competition, and yes, he was successful. He went 12/18 against Syracuse and John Mullen/John Richiusa, and 11/17 against Princeton and Andrew McMeekin/Koby Ginder. Dodge has that athletic background that the great faceoff men all seem to have. He’s been dedicated to the position since his youth lacrosse days, and he was a lacrosse player and wrestler in high school. Dodge will have the opportunity to grow his profile in a major way, as Maryland notoriously plays a schedule packed with the best of the best. Andrew McMeekin and Luca Accardo would both be a step behind Dodge in this class; a team looking for a faceoff specialist likely targets Dodge in the draft, and any other player as a college waivers option. Matthew Mancini is an interesting choice as well. He won a national championship with D2 Lenoir-Rhyne. He has a career faceoff percentage over 60%, and he went 67% a year ago scoring 10 goals, picking up 164 GBs, and committing just seven turnovers. He’s got the athletic makeup too; he originally went to Old Dominion to play football. 

GOALIE:

1. Ryan Croddick, Princeton

2. Sean Byrne, Army

3. Jimmy McCool, Syracuse

Players to Watch: Thomas Ricciardelli

Turn back the clock to the start of the 2025 season, a major question was who can fill Michael Gianforcaro sized shoes in the Princeton goal. Croddick answered it week one. He went 69% against Penn State in week one with 22 saves. He followed it up with a 13 save game against Maryland. He would go on to post double digit saves in 16 of 17 games. He went over 60+% nine times, including in five straight games against Vermont, Brown, Penn, Yale, and Harvard. He also tallied up three assists on the year, which is a short and sweet way to say he can throw some very crisp outlets from clean saves. With Colin Mulshine and Michael Bath graduated, Croddick will get leaned on to be a louder defensive leader this year, which can only improve his stock. Sean Byrne is the best pure ball stopper in the class, but as noted above with Plunkett, I ding him a bit as a West Point grad. If long term pro lacrosse career prospects were better, he’d be pushing for the top spot. Jimmy McCool jumped on the list for me last year. He finished .535 in goal, which isn’t exactly eyebrow raising. But these are the teams he went 50+% against in goal: Jacksonville, UVM, Towson, Maryland, Utah, Hopkins, Manhattan, Colgate, UVA, Notre Dame (twice), Duke (twice), UNC. One of those Notre Dame games was a 20 save effort in a win. He had some tough outings in the NCAA tournament, but another strong season against ACC competition, and a big Memorial Day Weekend, would push McCool up the list. Not many goalies get drafted, but he’ll get a look from someone.