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Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. Denver and U.S. faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste was selected first overall by the Boston Cannons in the 2018 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft at US Lacrosse headquarters Wednesday. He currently ranks second in NCAA history with 1,076 career faceoff wins.

US Lacrosse Magazine's Matt Hamilton caught up with Baptiste after hearing the big news:

Maryland midfielder Connor Kelly, a U.S. training team member, went second to the Atlanta Blaze while having a career year for the Terps with 60 points.

Albany’s Connor Fields went third overall to the Charlotte Hounds, the Dallas Rattlers selected Yale attackman Ben Reeves fourth and Johns Hopkins midfielder Joel Tinney rounded out the top five, heading to the New York Lizards.

Check out the round-by-round selections:

2. No. 4 James Madison topped No. 17 Virginia 15-10 on Wednesday night behind five goals from Kristen Gaudian, four goals from Hanna Haven and three goals from Haley Warden. The Dukes are off to their best start in school history with a record of 14-1.

“We are looking to be the best team in Virginia,” JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. “No question about it, and you have to get through UVA to do that.”

In other women's highlights, Albany threw Notre Dame another curve ball, handling the Irish 10-7 thanks to five points from Kaylee Rickert on four goals and one assist. Notre Dame freshman Andie Aldave broke the school record for most draw controls in a season with five in the loss, passing Barbara Sullivan who had 85 in 2015.

Also in action Wednesday in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 were:

  • No. 6 Florida, which dominated Cincinnati 20-4,

  • No. 9 Loyola, which beat Bucknell 18-6,

  • No. 12 Navy, which downed American 24-5,

  • No. 15 Dartmouth, which trounced Vermont 16-5, and

  • No. 18 High Point, which escaped Winthrop 16-14.

3. MLL previews continued yesterday with looks at Dallas and Denver.

The close-knit Rattlers have a winning chemistry with its core of Galloway, White, Manley, Wolf and Ranagan, and the question marks have disappeared regarding where they would play.

“When we had Greg Bice and Anthony Kelly, it was about family,” said first-year coach Bill Warder. “You build that family culture of taking care of each other. Every team in the MLL has talented, world-class lacrosse players. The records come down to a couple goals over the course of the season to see who the playoff teams are. What put us over the top is trusting each other and team chemistry.”

Added a rival coach about Dallas: “They’re not getting paid millions of bucks, but their team moves across the country and they stick together. That’s cool to see.”

For the second straight year, the Outlaws need to put together a new defense after offseason departures. Midfielder Greg Downing retired, plus defensive midfielder Noah Molnah and defender B.J. Grill will not be playing this season.

“Nick [Tintle] and Josh [Hawkins] will be the core of the defensive midfield, and we’ll have to add one or two guys to the mix,” coach B.J. O’Hara said.

But rival coaches are keeping tabs on Denver: “They find some diamonds in the rough. Every time you think they lost somebody, they fill in with somebody equally as talented.”

4. Boston College, Maryland and Stony Brook will battle for the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament.

The undefeated Seawolves and Eagles are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, but the No. 3 Terps have one of the strongest resumes that could earn them that top spot.

Our resident bracketologist, Jeremy Fallis, breaks down the field of automatic qualifiers and at-large bids.

What We’re Reading

  • MLL’s Atlanta Blaze announced Andre Gudger, founder and CEO of technology company Eccalon, has taken ownership of the franchise following the league’s sale.

  • For the first time, the NLL is hosting five combines across North America in Canada and the United States.

  • Lacrosse is returning to the IWGA World Games, participating for the second time after making its debut last summer in Wroclaw, Poland. The next games take place in Birmingham, Ala., from July 15-25, 2021.

  • The Baltimore Sun chats with Loyola attackman Aidan Olmstead.

  • Yale women’s lacrosse features seven two-sport athletes, including senior Kiwi Comizio, who also plays field hockey.

  • Mason girls’ lacrosse (Ohio) held a fundraiser for #MayaStrong in memory of Maya Collins, who died Oct. 3 as a result of complications from her leukemia treatments.

What We’re Watching

Team USA defenseman Tucker Durkin has some fast feet.

In case you missed it, the Dallas Cowboys got some lacrosse lessons from the Dallas Rattlers.

Plus, Casey Powell Lacrosse 18 is now available to download for PS4 and Xbox One.

Check out the top plays in NCAA action this past week.

What’s On Tap

  • Stay tuned for more MLL previews ahead of opening weekend.

  • A couple big conference games go down tonight on the women’s side – No. 19 Syracuse at No. 2 Boston College (5 p.m., ACC) and No. 16 Penn State at No. 3 Maryland (7 p.m., Big Ten).

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