With the NCAA tournament ongoing we have had the opportunity to see many drafted MLL prospects. Miles Thompson, Joe Fletcher, Jordan Wolf and Luke Duprey to name a few. However, there are several players that will be drafted next year, so it’s time to look at some of the top 2015 MLL prospects.
Nikko Pontrello, Loyola
Pontrello is now eliminated from the tournament along with his Greyhounds, but he still had a strong season. He was fifth in the country with 51 goals and he had 63 points overall. His scoring has gone up every year, starting with four goals, then 16 and this year 51. The New Jersey native started every game with Loyola this season.
John Glesener, Army
Glesener was fourth in the league with 43 goals, just behind Matt Gregoire of UMBC and the Thompsons. He was 11th overall in points with 53. He was the 2013 Patriot League offensive player of the year, however, tore his ACL at the end of last season. He returned strong, only with eight points less than his career high 61 from last season.
Shayne Adams, Detroit
Adams picked up 49 points with the Detroit Titans this season. He missed much of 2013 with a shoulder injury but he is far and away the top player on that Titans roster, and returned even stronger this season. He also tore his ACL in his freshman year, showing a bit of injury concern with both serious injuries. Adams also plays indoor lacrosse in Ontario.
Dan Taylor, Lehigh
Putting up 76 points this season, Taylor put up 50 points last season and improved even more in 2014. He is also a Canadian, out of Calgary. The 6’3″ attackman can be a dominant force, as he showed with the Mountainhawks in 2014. Taylor led the Alberta junior lacrosse league in scoring with 72 points over the summer as well.
Conrad Oberbeck, Yale
A 6’1″ attackman, Oberbeck scored 50 points, 38 of them goals in 2014. He has led Yale to a contender in the Ivy League. The Connecticut native was second team All-New England in his sophomore year and made the Ivy League All-Tournament team.
Wesley Berg, Denver
Berg put up 60 points in 2014, his second best year after 72 points in 2013. Last season he was first team All-ECAC. He also plays indoor lacrosse with Coquitlam, and because of that has some added skills and is versatile. He has terrific hands in front of the net and will be a high NLL draft pick. but will he in the MLL?
Randy Staats, Syracuse
Staats has been one of the most followed players through his college career for indoor and outdoor teams. This midfielder is from Six Nations and will likely be the first overall pick in the 2015 NLL draft. He played two seasons at Onondaga Community College before transferring to Syracuse before this season. He won a bronze medal with the Iroquois in 2012 with the U-19 team.
Kevin Rice, Syracuse
Rice was fourth in the country in points per game with five, and he put up the fourth most goals with 80. Despite this, the Syracuse junior was a Tewaaraton snub. He doesn’t make flashy plays but he is one of the top scorers in the country and he will probably be a very high pick in next year’s draft.
Nick Saputo, Drexel
Saputo shined in Drexel’s win over Pennsylvania on Saturday with three goals to match his total from the rest of the season. The defensive midfielder is also a faceoff man. Two of his goals came in the final 12 seconds of the first for Drexel, showing his flare for the dramatic. Saputo is also a ground ball machine along with his faceoff abilities.
