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Ranking the 2020 PLL Jerseys - Best to Worst
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Ranking the 2020 PLL Jerseys – Best to Worst

We’re weeks away, folks!

As the PLL players prepare for the Salt Lake City bubble, and the rosters become real, the lacrosse world waits in anticipation for the PLL’s Championship Series. Before the first whistle on July 25th, Lacrosse All Stars will be bringing you in-depth previews of the teams, players, and storylines that come with a World Cup style tournament. But forget about all of that, because we all know there’s a winner to be crowned before the teams ever set foot on the field.

I’m talking, of course, about the reveal of the 2020 PLL jerseys.

The PLL has finally dropped its jerseys for 2020 and I’ve got thoughts. Feelings. Burning rage, in some cases. The stunned, breathtaking gasps of beauty, in others. Enough preamble. Let’s dive in, shall we?

One unique touch the PLL has worked in to all of their jerseys is a team phrase inside the collar.

Archers – Above all else, win.
Atlas – A force to be reckoned with.
Chrome – Prepare for battle.
Chaos – Not to be trifled with.
Redwoods – Grounding force.
Waterdogs – Every game is a revenge game.
Whipsnakes – Strike without warning.

Aside from all sharing the three stripes across the shoulders, manufacturer’s placement on the left chest and a massive common ad across the lower back, each kit has its own unique flair that all aim for simple and iconic. Whether they hit the mark or not it up for debate.

2020 PLL Jerseys – Comprehensive Ranking

For the sake of simplicity, a team’s light jerseys will be called home, and dark jerseys away. 

1

Archers LC – Home Jersey

Color! Unique, stunning color!

After so many teams seem to have gone for duller jerseys, the Archers went and upped the ante for 2020, rocking their accent orange everywhere instead of a plain white jersey like they did in 2019. The sleeve striping, a subtle arrow accent of its own, adds a nice bit of blue, and the white numbers with dark drop shadow really pop off the orange on the back and sleeves.

There’s nothing fancy about these jerseys, but that seems like it’s for the best. No odd pattern to ruin it. No sponsor on the front. Just a bunch of color. Combine the eye-grabbing hues with the space-like logo, these jerseys look like the sort of thing NASA might outfit its lacrosse team in, and I mean, NASA should have a lacrosse team.

Love these jerseys. Keep giving us more color. 

Archers LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

2

Atlas LC –  Away Jersey

The second-best jersey of 2019 (I was a sucker for those black Chaos jerseys) remains nearly unchanged.

A bold, beautiful blue completely defines this kit. Aight elephant print adds subtle texture without distracting from anything. The use of a clear, crisp font shows off the logo, name and numbers without any confusion. The addition of color to the Capital One logo on the front is an update to the sponsor they added during the 2019 season, but it doesn’t matter much, as the embellishment is nicely tucked away without distracting like some of the other logos.

Look, are these basically the same jersey as last season? Yup. But, with a jersey this classic, there’s no need for major changes. Don’t ruin a good thing (see: away jersey, Chaos). 

3

Chaos LC – Home Jersey

The ghosted logos. The blood-red trim. That big, bold scorpion.

The Chaos deserves a jersey that’s, not to be too on the nose, a little chaotic, and this nails that. The ghosted patterns are asymmetrical, adding plenty of character to the jersey, while keeping them a light gray keeps them from distracting from the bold logo and numbering. I appreciate the clean, modern take on a white uniform.

Also, and those this may be an unfair reason to give them bonus points, the lack of a sponsor on the front keeps the jersey even cleaner. 

4

Whipsnakes LC – Away Jersey

No major changes for Whipsnakes except for the massive flex of rocking the crown on them now. I’m not even going to mess around here, this was a top-notch detail worked in by the PLL.

The red remains bright and bold. The snakeskin print works way better on the red, adding a bit of character to an otherwise rather plain jersey. The name and numbers are simply white, which doesn’t add to or take away from the aesthetic. I keep waiting for the Whipsnakes to use more of their teal on the jerseys, but a fella will keep dreaming.

Ultimately, I can’t complain too much about these threads staying the same. The champs get to do whatever they want. 

5

Chrome LC – Away Jersey

I’m still holding out hope that, eventually, the PLL goes all-in and gives Chrome a pink jersey.

Blessed with arguably the best color scheme in the PLL, Chrome’s jerseys last season were shockingly boring. While I continue to find the knight head logo kind of, well, dumb, this is an ideal black jersey for the Chrome.

First of all, actual chrome, which seems so blindingly obvious that I can’t believe it took this long. The all-chrome name is dope, and the chrome trim on the numbers is going to glint beautifully in the Utah sunshine. Also, the silvery chainmail finish works a lot better on the black. Big upgrade for Chrome LC.

Now give me Miami Vice!

Chrome LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

6

Archers LC – Away Jersey

Basically the same as last year, but they’re perfectly solid jerseys.

The white-with-orange of the numbers is a fun pop. Their logo looks great on navy. There’s really not a lot to say about these, they don’t let down the club in any way. They’re perfectly solid, with no major flaws, but with nothing that makes them stand out amongst the crowd. 

Would they make a great shirt for casual wear? You bet.

7

Redwoods LC – Away Jersey

Nooooooooo!

Why did you remove the trees?

The all-green look has easily been the Redwoods’ best get-up for 2019 and now for 2020, but the 2019 version is so much better. The addition of the Progressive logo to the front of the jerseys isn’t too distracting, as, thankfully, the logo has been color-matched to the rest of the jersey.

Aside from the missing trees, my other complaint with these remains the numbering. Why the sleeve numbers on the double-digit guys have two different highlights is beyond me, and overly thick shadowing on the back of the jersey numbers isn’t really my favorite. They tried something different and it didn’t hit. No shame to roll back a little next time.

Really, this is just about replacing the awesome look of the trees with these much less fun stripes. If they removed stripes for trees, these bad boys would have soared up the list.

Redwoods LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

8

Atlas LC – Home Jersey

I think the only change to these might be the Capital One logo. They’re…fine? Look, it’s basically just a white shirt with a logo and numbers.

You can get away with wearing this to a casual dinner with the family, to school or maybe another sporting event in the hope of striking up conversation about lacrosse. They aren’t loud, they aren’t aggressive, but they aren’t necessarily iconic.

The pattern, while there, is so faint that it doesn’t really do anything for me except make these look a bit wrinkled. It’s great up close, but no one should be within six feet of you anyway.

There’s nothing wrong with these jerseys, but they’re still pretty lackluster. 

Atlas LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

9

Whipsnakes LC – Home Jersey

Put the pattern on the sleeves, PLL!

Leaving the sleeves pure white on these jerseys means that, from farther than a few yards, the Whipsnakes jerseys just look a bit dirty or like the players slept in them. The sleeve issue keeps them from the main goal: be awesome.

The number coloring went with a sort of dark, iridescent green that basically just looks black on the back. I get that it is very serpent-like, but with red and teal available, using an incredibly dark green didn’t hit like it could have. Adding the namesake to the logo doesn’t change much of the jersey’s overall energy.

Adding the crown is fun, and the Whips did win a title in their whites, but these are still not my favorite jersey and bonus points can’t save them. 

LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

10

Redwoods LC – Home Jersey

This is less to do with this specific jersey, and more to do with what it replaces.

In my opinion, the weird, reddish-brown jerseys the Redwoods had to wear for their whites last season were hot garbage. Someone had the brains this year to throw out trying to use the color of a tree (I suppose), and kept the Redwoods’ wonderful green as the primary accent on their whites this time around.

Am I a fan of the fake blur number accent? Not really. Is this basically just the exact same jersey as last year but with a different color? Pretty close, yeah. But that color change makes all the difference. No longer do they have to wear the grossest kits in the PLL.

Redwoods LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

11

Chrome LC – Home Jersey

Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t a bad jersey. They’re just really boring. White uniforms don’t have to be boring!

The little pop of pink on the jersey stripes is really the only character these jerseys get. They sort of look like a stock jersey from the warehouse that someone slapped a Chrome logo on in quick fashion. Keeping the metallic trim on the numbers is nice, but the name just being black is pretty uninspired.

Chrome LC is sitting here with their own version of the Miami Heat’s “Miami Nights” jersey, with its beautiful baby blues and hot pinks, and yet they keep just wearing black and white jerseys. When your official colors include chrome and pink, walking out there in what basically just looks like a disheveled t-shirt with a Chrome logo slapped on there is a bit of a disappointment. Unlike the dark versions, the white jersey’s chainmail print just makes it look messy from afar.

Nothing majorly wrong with these, but they have so much squandered potential. 

12

Waterdogs LC – Away Jersey

Speaking of wasted potential, might I introduce you to the PLL’s seventh team?

This is the part where I reveal that I thought the Waterdogs name and logo were dumb to begin with, but their color scheme was so good that I held out hope that the PLL’s newcomers would make up for a bad, bro blog-inspired mascot with a really neat jersey.

Reader, they did not.

They took a gorgeous purple, and they ruined it. The top half of the jersey is, minus the glaring red-and-green sponsor logo, really not too bad. The lilac-ghosted water waves, though? C’mon, Waterdogs, I…okay, I didn’t actually expect better from you, but this is still just not a fun jersey.

This set really does look like it was designed by those sketchy overseas manufactures that try to sell you what they think lacrosse jersey look like through Instagram DMs.

The new sponsor logo, unlike the Redwoods, is stupidly obvious and draws the eyes most. The water pattern is bad. Real bad. Sadly, the logo, which makes up a good chunk of the center of the jersey, remains the PLL’s worst. For the sake of whoever decided to become a Waterdogs fan, and for the sake of Zach Currier, I hope the Wetpuppies on-field debut goes better than their name debut, logo debut, and now jersey debut…

Waterdogs LC PLL 2020 Jersey uniform

13

Chaos LC – Away Jersey

Back in high school, my teachers sometimes used to assign partner projects where your partner was assigned, rather than selected. Often, in these situations, my partner and I would simply split the workload 50/50, and go on our merry way to accomplish the project, with no communication or cooperation as to how those two halves would fit together.

I can only assume the same process is true for the Chaos design team, who seem to have taken two great jersey designs, and then mashed them together into some sort of unholy, Frankenstein’s Monster type jersey. Had either of them won the battle for control of the jersey, they would rank far higher on this list.

Chaos had, in my opinion, the best dark jersey of 2019. The red jersey that could’ve been here looks great. The spiky, jumbled mess that the two come together to create is certainly chaotic. I assume this jersey is going to end up being one that splits readers. Some, like our own Mark Donahue, are going to ride for this wacky, outside-the-box design. For me, I can say that I purchased a Chaos away jersey last season, and I’ll will be keeping in rotation rather than replacing it with this one. 

Chaos LC PLL Jersey Uniform Premier Lacrosse League 2020

14

Waterdogs LC – Home Jersey

Just because something is vegan does not mean that it’s cruelty-free. The Waterdogs jersey, which proudly represents the vegan-friendly Sun Chlorella logo, is a great example of this, as it’s just cruel to make guys like Drew Snider have to wear this on national television.

Blessed with a beautiful royal purple, the Waterdogs decided to simply take their dark jersey and crank up the white-balance, resulting in the sort of all-lilac jersey that you might get if, say, you accidentally spilled RIT Dye on your shirt while dyeing a head. Not to rest on its laurels, they followed this up by keeping the terrible water pattern, but adding like three different purples in an attempt to the bottom to make it work.

The sponsor logo is still glaring. The names, printed in black, neither match well nor stand out well. The entire shorts for this jersey maintain the water pattern and look like a worn-out swimsuit you’d borrow at a friend’s house, or find in the lost-and-found at your local public pool.

I hope the Waterdogs lose every single game this year and are relegated to beer league play, where these jerseys and that mascot belong.