With Thanksgiving over and Christmas soon upon us, it will be time for the MLL Collegiate Draft in no time. After all, the draft occurs on January 11, 2014. As the date draws closer, I will try my best to be In Lacrosse We Trust’s Mel Kiper Jr. and highlight the names that fans should be looking out for among the college ranks.
This year’s draft class features a lot of offensive firepower and two game changers on defense. It may also feature a better crop of goalies than last year’s class did as all the goalies on this list found themselves in the Top 10 in save percentage and goals against average.
Below is the positional breakdown of the best prospects from this year’s class.
Midfield
Thomas Denapoli, Towson– (41G 19A, 60 pts) had big games against weak competition, five goals against marist, 10 points against UMBC and four goals against Loyola look nice but not when you put up one point each against Duke, Ohio State, Umass and John Hopkins.
Mike Chanenchuk, Maryland– (23G, 14A, 37 pts) Is a real difference maker from up top and had his best games against some of the Terrapins best competition. He also has an electric shot from deep and is usually the top concern of every defense.
Tom Schreiber, Princeton- (28G, 32A, 60 pts)-Honestly, probably the best middie prospect in this year’s class. Was the No. 1 option on the team and still put up big numbers against the best opponents. Three goals against Johns Hopkins, went four and two against UNC, three and two against Nova and totaled eight points in two games against Cornell.
Jim Marlatt, Notre Dame- (20G, 10A, 30 pts) The third team All-American opened last year scoring five goals and one assist against Duke. He is the top threat from up top for the Fighting Irish and while his statistics aren’t crazy, that has more to do with Notre Dame’s offensive style than his skill.
Rob Emery, Virginia- (22G, 6A, 28 pts) Like Marlatt, this third team All-American isn’t the top threat on the offense and won’t be with Mark Cockerton and Nick O’Reilly coming back. However, he is the top offensive threat from up top for Virginia on an offense who has four of its top five scorers on attack.
Brendan Fowler, Duke, FO- According to last year’s USILA All-American list, he was the best faceoff man. He certainly made a strong case by winning 339 faceoffs and being ranked No. 2 in the nation in both ground balls (209) and faceoff percentage (64.4%). What is scary, is that he will only be better this year. We may see two 70 percent faceoff men in 2014.
Kevin Massa, Bryant, FO- While Fowler was on the first team, Massa was inexplicably a third team All-American honoree despite leading the nation in faceoff win percentage (72.6) and ground balls (231). Is it impossible to think he could hit 75 percent this season?
Attack
Kieran McArdle, St. Johns– (36G, 44A, 80 pts) The second team All-American ranked fifth in the nation in points scored while leading St. Johns to nine wins. He also put up five and six points against Notre Dame and Syracuse respectively, so you know those statistics weren’t inflated. He will likely build on those numbers this year.
Miles Thompson, Albany-(43G, 30A, 73 pts)- An Honorable Mention All-American last year might have gotten snubbed because he benefits so much from playing with his brother Lyle and cousin Ty. However, there is no mistake that he can play as he ranked seventh nationally in points and should only see those numbers grow this season. I also forget to mention that he missed six games and still put up big numbers.
Ty Thompson, Albany– (54G, 14A, 68 pts) Like his cousin Miles, Ty was a Honorable Mention All-American. Like Miles, he probably isn’t as appreciated because he benefits from playing with Miles and Lyle but he still ranked 12th nationally in total points, so there is no mistaken that he can play as well. All of them will be a big reason why Albany will scare people this season.
Justin Ward, Loyola– (27G, 36A, 63 pts) Took over for Lusby as quarterback of offense and should only see statistics grow with increased role and Sawyer gone.
Brandon Mangan, Yale– (39G, 25A, 64 pts)- The Honorable Mention All-American probably flies under the radar because he plays at Yale, however, he was the biggest reason why they shocked Penn State in the NCAA Tournament last year and won the Ivy League as well. He was the main focus of the offense and still put up numbers in a defensive heavy Ivy League. Against the nation’s top ranked defense (Penn) he had six points and two points in both meetings.
Mark Cockerton, Virginia (49G, 7A, 56 pts)- The third team All-American was a goal scoring machine and had two or more goals in every game last year except for two. He will be the beneficiary of being the focal point of many of Nick O’Reilly’s passes and should make Virginia’s offense scary.
Alex Love, Hofstra- (45G, 10A, 55 pts)- Like Mangan at Yale, this Honorable Mention All-American probably flies under the radar because he doesn’t play at the best school. Regardless, he can play with the best of them as evidenced by his seven point performance against Syracuse. He will make opponents weary about playing Hobart and will be on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List at the beginning of the season.
Nick O’Reilly Virginia- (23G, 38A, 61 pts)- The honorable mention All-American was the quarterback of the offense and should only see his statistics grow as the offense only loses Matt White. Him and Cockerton will combine to be one of the best one-two punches in the nation and be one of the best attack lines as well.
Jordan Wolf, Duke– (57G, 28A, 85 pts) The second team All-American was a constant for Duke last season and did a wonderful job being the quarterback on the offense. He put his name on the map with by recording 17 points over the four games of the NCAA Tournament. 11 of those points came during Championship Weekend as well and Duke brings back its entire offense. With so many options he may not duplicate these numbers, but he will be the go-to-guy when the Blue Devils need something to happen.
Josh Dionne, Duke– (45G 5 A, 50 pts) The Honorable Mention All-American is a great finisher for Duke. He will likely be a third option on a team that features sophomore Case Matheis and fellow classmate Jordan Wolf. One stat to think about though, is that he put 75 percent of his shots on cage last year.
LSM/ Defense
Michael Ehrhardt, Maryland– Last season he was a USILA second team All-American and has the potential to be a first teamer on what should be a stacked Terp defensive unit.
Joe Fletcher, Loyola– Probably one of the top draft picks this year. Why? Well, he was a USILA first team All-American candidate last season. Oh, he is also the lone college player to make the 52-man Team USA roster cut.
Joe Meurer, Ohio State– Last year he was named the team’s Defensive MVP and was a USILA Honorable Mention All-American. He caused 18 turnovers last year and helped the Buckeyes to a Top 15 scoring defense.
Scott McWilliams, Virginia- The second team All-American will help lead Virginia back to their normal spot amongst the best teams in the nation. He ranked fourth in the nation with 36 caused turnovers and added five point as well.
John LoCascio, Villanova– The second best defensive prospect on the board can play either down at close or at LSM. Last season, he led the nation in caused turnovers with 53. The guy who was in second only had 38!
Goalie
Niko Amato, Maryland– Has been a mainstay in the starting lineup for the Terps and one of the many reasons they have been so successful during his tenure there. He was fifth in the nation last year in save percentage (.594) and ranked ninth in goals against average (7.98).
Austin Kaut, Penn State– This Nittany Lion was a game changer in Happy Valley as he made 10 or more saves 12 times. In those games, the Nittany Lions were 10-2. He also ranked fourth in save percentage. at .597 and saves 184 shots. He was also third in the nation in goals against average at 7.37.
Brian Feeney, Penn– Last season he posted a .589 save percentage and ranked third in the nation with a 7.29 goals against average. His best games came against some of the Quakers top competition in Duke and Lehigh. With numbers like that, it is no wonder that he is the leader of the nation’s top ranked defense.
