The 2023 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft is officially in the rearview window. The league’s eight clubs filled out their rosters with top young prospects as training camp and the fifth PLL season draws closer.
There weren’t too many crazy moves or wild swings in this draft, and every team addressed their needs and stayed fairly close to the pre-draft script. Even if it wasn’t as chaotic as years past, this draft is an interesting one to look at and evaluate.
This crop lacked some of the superstar talent of other years, but it’s a deep group that each team took in a different direction. Here are my initial grades for each of the eight teams’ draft class.
Archers Lacrosse Club
Head coach Chris Bates and Archers picked their guys, no matter what. While Archers’ draft class went against the consensus, Bates filled the biggest holes on a roster that’s been so close to breaking through to a championship and revamped it’s offense via free agency.
The biggest thing holding Archers back from day one of the PLL is faceoffs. Since 2019, the stripe has been the only real weakness on this roster. Archers selected a faceoff specialist for the third time in five drafts, this time with a first-round pick.
Lehigh’s Mike Sisselberger is two seasons removed from arguably the most dominant faceoff season of all time, but he still acquitted himself as an all-time great faceoff specialist. He was a favorite to be the first faceoff man off the board, but few expected him to go in the first round.
Bates threw perceived value out the window and drafted Sisselberger fifth overall. If he finally fixes Archers’ faceoff woes, nobody will care how high he was drafted.
In the middle of the draft, Archers went a bit off the board to fill out the rope unit. With Dominique Alexander’s retirement, SSDM was a clear need heading into Thursday’s draft. Bates took North Carolina’s Connor Maher in the second round and Penn’s Piper Bond in the third.
Neither were locks to go high in the draft, but both bring big-time college experience and pedigree to the rope unit. Loyola defenseman Cam Wyers is a solid depth defender to add in the fourth round to bolster the back end.
On paper, this is the weakest draft of any team with four or more picks. Archers passed on premium talent like Thomas McConvey and Will Bowen but prioritized getting guys that fill a clear need and help this team get over the hump.
If there was ever a team that needed to fix specific needs over overall talent, it’s Archers. It wouldn’t be shocking if this draft, even with its seemingly questionable choices, was the thing that helped get this core to a championship.
Best Pick: Piper Bond (SSDM), Penn (3rd Round)
Overall Grade: C
