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. Part three focuses on the defense and goalies.
Defense
5) Robby Haus, Ohio State Haus is one of the most underrated defenders in the game. He has started all 50 games since joining the Buckeyes as a freshman and has 100 groundballs and 38 caused turnovers in his career. Last season, Haus had 31 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers when the Buckeyes were second in the Big Ten in team defense and held nine opponents to eight or fewer goals.
4) Michael Quinn, Yale Quinn is one of the best in the nation and the anchor of the Bulldogs defense. He he led the team with 19 caused turnovers and was second with 36 ground balls. Quinn led a defense that was an Ivy League best holding teams to an 8.11 goals against average.
3) Matt Dunn, Maryland Dunn earned All-American honors leading the Terps defense that was ranked first overall in the nation in scoring defense. Not only is Dunn big and physical, and has natural leadership abilities as well.
2) Brandon Mullins, Syracuse Mullins was an integral piece of an Orange defense that allowed less than 10 goals per game and held seven nationally ranked opponents to single-digit scores. He will be the shutdown defender for the Orange who will compete for a national title.
1) Matt Landis, Notre Dame Landis was named the 2015 USILA’s William C. Schmeisser Award winner as the nation’s top defender. In the NCAA Quarterfinals vs. Albany, Landis shut down the Great Danes’ Lyle Thompson. He held the NCAA’s all-time career points leader (400) to just one goal and four assists in helping lead his team to back-to-back appearances in Championship Weekend for the first time in school history.
Goalies
5) Blaze Riorden, Albany Riorden made headlines last season during the NCAA Tournament with his goalie-goal. He is very athletic as he plays attack indoors. Riorden was 11th in save percentage in 2015, but he is much better than his statistics show. He is in the mold of former Great Dane Brett Queener.
4) Mike Nugent, Mercer Although Mercer is not known for its lacrosse talent yet, they have developed the possible sleeper of the draft. He was sixth in the nation in saves per game with 12.6 in 2015. He plays with a defense that gives up a lot of shots so if he was on an ACC team, he would be considered one of the best in the country.
3) Jack Kelly, Brown Kelly is a four-year starter and a natural leader. He has the ability to take over games and he may be the most efficient clearing passer in the nation. In the fast paced MLL, Kelly could be a great weapon starting the transition game.
2) Tyler White, Towson White was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year last season. He set the Towson single-season goals against average record with 7.57, which ranked in top five in NCAA last season. White finished with a 12-6 record, second-most wins for a keeper at Towson since 1980.
1) Kyle Bernlohr, Maryland It is clear that Bernlohr is far and above the best netminder in college lacrosse. He led the nation in goals against average with 6.95 and sixth in save percentage with .571 in 2015. Bernlohr sat behind four-time All-ACC honoree Niko Amato, before getting the chance to be the full-time starter between the pipes for Maryland in 2015. In his first collegiate start at Navy on February 14 last year, he made 12 saves and allowed just one goal en route to being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. He has great instincts, quick hands, and a solid clear. He should be the first goalie off the board.
Up next: First Round Mock Draft
Brendan McDaniels is a color analyst for the MLL Television broadcasts. Follow Brendan on Twitter @McDanielsSports.
