With the merger with Major League Lacrosse, the Premier Lacrosse League is getting a major influx of talent. On March 25, the PLL will hold its Entry Draft, where all eight teams will add former MLL players — and other first-time entrants into the PLL player pool — to their rosters.

Lyle Thompson seems to be the consensus top pick, but former Philadelphia Barrage head coach Spencer Ford said that there is a lot more talent up for grabs.

“You think of names like Randy Staats and Bryan Cole and Tommy Palasek and [Dan] Bucaro,” he said. “You’re thinking of top-dollar talent.”

A number of talented players and promising prospects won’t be drafted with only three rounds in this draft, making the route to a roster spot even more difficult. Former Ohio Machine head coach Bear Davis said the goalie position will feel the numbers crunch the hardest.

“Austin Kaut and Brian Phipps, they were starters when everyone was in the league. Brian Phipps is a Team USA level goalie,” Davis said. “If I was approaching the draft, here’s a pool of goalies, we will take any of those 10, not to mention the goalies coming out of college. There’s not going to be a rush.”

As teams set protected rosters and make trades for Entry Draft selections (see the Atlas sending Rob Pannell to the Redwoods for the third pick in the Entry Draft as well as a second-round college draft pick in 2022), and then have to fill in players lost during the Expansion Draft, a lot will change between now and the Entry Draft. What is clear, however, is that this offseason will be unlike any other in the history of professional lacrosse.

PLL Entry Draft
Top 20 Big Board

1. Lyle Thompson, A

 The 2019 MLL MVP is one of the best lacrosse players in the world. He can make any play he wants to make, but his teammates also talk about how much of a team-first player he is.

2. Randy Staats, A

He’s equal parts dangerous passer and talented finisher. He’s also a physical presence who is strong enough to hold off defenders before making a no-look pass.

3. Zach Goodrich, SSDM

He was the 2020 MLL Defender of the Year. An opposing coach once said to me that he told his players that if Goodrich was covering them to move the ball, not attempt to dodge.

4. Dan Bucaro, A

“I think Bucaro can help any of the teams,” Ford said. “He can come in and dodge any pole, and he can come out of the box. He can just go play.”

5. Max Adler, FO

He’s been the best faceoff athlete in MLL the past two seasons, and he’s also done very well against some of the PLL’s best. In 2018, he won 27 of 38 faceoffs against Trevor Baptiste, and in the championship game that year, he won 15 of 29 faceoffs against Drew Simoneau.

6. Mikie Schlosser, M

He may not put up gaudy stats, but he was Denver’s initiator on offense. Everything flowed through him. He’s also known as a great locker room guy.

7. Sean Sconone, G

The goaltender was widely credited for the Rattlers late winning streak and playoff push in 2019, and he was a big reason why the Hammerheads were a semifinalist in 2020. He went undrafted in both the MLL and PLL prior to the 2019 season, but he turned that around and won two consecutive MLL Goalie of the Year awards.

8. Ben Randall, D

In three seasons, he quickly emerged as one of the league’s best cover defenders. He has the size to match up with bigger, more physical players, as well as the speed to match up with smaller, quicker players.

9. Liam Byrnes, D/LSM

The 2019 MLL Defender of the Year can play close defense or as an LSM, and he also is a good passer in transition. When the Atlanta Blaze made the playoffs in 2019, Blaze goaltender Chris Madalon told the MLL website, “He was such a big part of what we were able to do this year. Not a lot of people like to focus on the defensive part of the game, but it’s been pretty obvious that he’s had an impact on our team the last two seasons.”

10. Nick Marrocco, G

Sconone has gotten the awards, but Marrocco got the championship trophy. He’s been a starter since the end of the 2018 season, and he showed in the 2020 championship game just how good he is with several point-blank, game-saving stops.

11. Bryce Wasserman, A

Since filling in for an injury-ravaged Ohio Machine in the 2018 season, Wasserman has proven he can score at the professional level. He scored 14 goals in five regular season games in 2020 and then had a goal and an assist in the championship game en route to earning the league MVP award.

12. Andrew Kew, A

“Andrew Kew really intrigues me,” Davis said. After scoring the game-winning goal in the 2019 MLL championship game, Kew finished tied for third-best in the league in 2020 with 14 goals.

13. Tommy Palasek, A

He’s often overlooked by teammates with more recognized names, but Palasek has put up impressive statistics since becoming a pro in 2012. He tallied at least 20 points every season from 2012-19, including a 31-goal season in 2015 and a 35-assist, 63-point season in 2019.

14. Colin Heacock, A

“Colin Heacock is going to go,” Ford said. “He’s a lefty. He can play attack. He’s tough as nails. You could say he could play short-stick defensive middie and be as good as anybody, that’s how athletic he is.”

15. Isaiah Davis-Allen, SSDM

The 2017 second-round draft pick plays fast, pushes transition, does a good job picking up ground balls and plays solid defense.

16. Michael Rexrode, D

At Rutgers, he was a two-time All-American and the 2018 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He’s transitioned well to the professional level and was a finalist for defender of the year in 2020.

17. Ryan Lee, A

The RIT-graduate led the Denver Outlaws in scoring in both 2019 and 2020, including scoring 38 goals and adding 46 points. He’s also not afraid of the big stage, scoring three goals in the 2019 MLL championship game.

18. C.J. Costabile, LSM

He is a player who has seemingly gotten better the longer he’s been a professional. He does a little bit of everything on the field. In five games in 2020, he picked up 14 ground balls, scored three goals (including two two-point goals), added three assists, caused four turnovers and won four faceoffs.

19. Bryan Cole, M

Ford called the 6’3” Cole MLL’s best midfielder in 2019 after he scored 39 goals to go along with 14 assists.

20. Alex Woodall, FO

The 2019 MLL Rookie of the Year has been solid, but Ford, his coach with the Barrage, thinks he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential. “I don’t think Alex Woodall has had the pro career he’s wanted to have,” Ford said. “He’s taken a lot of faceoffs, but he’s better than right around 50 percent. … He wants to be the best in the world.”