The Major League Lacrosse College Draft is Friday, January 22 at 8:30 p.m. at the US Lacrosse Convention Center in Baltimore. The general consensus this year is Myles Jones and Matt Kavanagh are the must have products and the rest of the draft is a toss up. We will breakdown the top five players at each position starting with attack.
5) Devin Dwyer, Harvard
Dwyer is a very smart player with excellent skills. He is smooth with the ball and is at his best dishing to the open man. He can read the defense very well and has an accurate shot. Dwyer is also a scrappy guy who is not afraid to go in and get the ground ball to maintain possession.
4) Zach Herreweyers, Loyola
Herreweyers posted nine hat tricks last season in 15 games and had 13 multi-goal performances. He led the Patriot League in goals per game (3.13) and total goals (47), while finishing seventh in the NCAA in goals per game. He has scored 66 goals in 26 career games.
3) Ryan Brown, Johns Hopkins
Brown emerged into a top tier player when he moved to attack as a sophomore when he lead the team with 40 goals. Last season, he was third in the country with 61 goals. His 118 career goals are the second-most in school history by a player prior to senior season (Terry Riordan 132 from 1992-95). Brown has a deadly shot and will now be the focal point for the Hopkins offense so he can easily be in the 65-70 goal range this year.
2) Dylan Donahue, Syracuse
Donahue has led Syracuse in goals each of the last two seasons. He also led the nation in extra-man goals with 15. With 50 goals last season, he was the first Orange player to score 50 goals since Tom Marechek in 1991. More importantly, Donahue has improved his skill and shot selection each year he has been at Syracuse. He is small just like former SU product Kevin Rice, but like Rice, he is a talent that will excel in the MLL.
1) Matt Kavanagh, Notre Dame
Kavanagh will be one of the favorites for the Tewaaraton Award and may lead his team to a National Championship. He was slowed as a junior with an array of injuries, but still was able to finish with 27 goals and 25 assists. He has the uncanny knack for the dramatics as he loves having the ball in his stick with the game on the line and has a proven track record of delivering in the clutch. Look for Kavanagh to be the #2 overall selection by the Charlotte Hounds behind Myles Jones who is the overwhelming favorite to go #1 overall.
Up next: Top 5 Midfield
Brendan McDaniels is a color analyst for the MLL Television broadcasts. Follow Brendan on Twitter @McDanielsSports.
