PLL Draft, MLL Draft: Making Sense of Two Leagues, One Class

With Wednesday’s PLL Collegiate Draft officially completed, we now have a full picture of where things may start to fall in the pro lacrosse landscape when combined with the May 4th MLL draft. As one would expect, a few of the same players were named in both drafts, but the MLL also used six more rounds despite having one less team than the PLL.

The drafts themselves were also run quite differently.

The MLL opted to go for the pure virtual draft, while the PLL did the now-standard version of everyone calling in from home, but broadcast it on NBC Sports Network.

As you would expect, they were very different experiences.

While social media is still the forte of the PLL, the MLL virtual draft actually went pretty well and was a large improvement over what they had done in previous years. To commemorate the 20th season, they had current and former players send in videos to announce picks for the first round, before going primarily to tweeting out the remainder of picks from league and team accounts.

The PLL Draft, on the other hand, used the league’s NBC partnership to hold a true, hour-long draft show, even though there were just two rounds this year. What this amounted to was a platform for the league to expand upon other league happenings such as reviewing the Championship Series and the recent announcement of signing with Genius Sports to close in on enabling fans to gamble on PLL games. In between picks, coaches were given the opportunity to provide some insight into the players they chose. Capping off their expert insight, you had lacrosse legend Ryan Boyle also providing his analysis on the selections as they were announced. Quite professional all around.

While both formats were obviously modified due to pandemic travel and social gathering restrictions, they each had their benefits. The setup aside, let’s take a quick look at the picks and where things stand as of 12 p.m. EST on Friday, May 15th, 2020.

MLL Draft Picks

PLL Draft Picks

Crossover Battle

Looking at all of these together, it’s interesting that only Chesapeake managed to draft players that were not picked up in the PLL draft while the Archers were the only PLL team to not pick MLL draftees.

One thing working in the MLL’s favor were the several days leading up to the PLL draft to sign players, and they did. The most notable was Mark Evanchick for Philly, who was believed to be a likely PLL draft pick, and after seeing the PLL heavy lean towards longpoles the belief was reinforced. But, once that contract is signed, there is no point in wasting a pick.

Speaking of contracts, this is where things will start to get interesting. Michael Kraus was the biggest news the day after the PLL draft by immediately signing with the MLL’s Hammerheads. Interestingly enough, the PLL scrubbed their social media of nearly any post referring to Kraus. So, one could assume this was not appreciated.

But the race to sign players is real.

Scheduled Games

The PLL has the Championship Series on the calendar which, as noted by Hutton Jackson, the PLL has until June 12th to decide which 22 players will be invited to the initial camp and set of game. Given the containment procedures planned, there will not be much flexibility offered.

For the MLL, they are still hoping to actually play a season, and are waiting for public health officials to give them the guidance or opening that they need. Chesapeake President Mark Burdett described a goal of wanting to start play on July 4th. If you track that backwards, you would be looking for a training camp around June 13th or 20th, a roughly-equivalent timeline to the PLL.

Plenty of Room to Play

While the PLL is aiming for a 22-man roster for the 12, the MLL is looking for 40. To do so, the MLL teams are signing draft picks and free agents like crazy.

As you would expect, the PLL and MLL contracts both prohibit a player from playing in another league. Many of them are usually signed for 2 years, as leagues are really battling for players.

That also means next summer could turn into a huge free agency battle (two years seperated from the PLL defections). If teams in either league are able to get draft picks, free agents, or current players to up themselves for 2+ years now, they make their summer a little more comfortable a year from now.

It’s basically a massive game of contractual keep away.

Clear as Mud

While the lists above track known decisions and signings as of today, they are not just subject to change, they are absolutely going to change.

It’s also tough to say for ANY outside observer why one player chooses one league over the other.

Realistically, that can come down to travel, playing location(s), work, teammates, playing time, money, sponsorships, team culture, or even position.

For a player like Grant Ament, he made it clear from the moment he announced that was leaving Penn State that he fully intended on going into the PLL. That’s also why you didn’t see his name called in the MLL draft.

Even if a player wasn’t drafted by the PLL, they could in theory still be invited to try out for the Championship Series. But the best place for a player to be right now is in the middle. Having options puts them in a better position.

So keep an eye out for signings to trickle in over the coming weeks as teams in both leagues look to solidify their rosters and get ready to (hopefully) play. It’s been a long spring that we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives, but the prospect of seeing some great lacrosse played at the professional level is something fans everywhere can get excited for.