Earlier last week, we took a look at where the NLL draftees came out of the most. But today we are going to do something a little bit different.
What about the top college system overall at creating pros? We took a look over the last two drafts of the NLL and MLL, and came up with a ranking for the top prospect developing program.
Something we also took a look at is player quality. If a player was cut from his team before playing a game, that system would go down a rank compared to if a player was rookie of the year etc.
1 Maryland Terps
Joe Cummings played MLL this year while Jake Bernhardt didn’t with Boston. Drew Snider performed very well in Denver. In 2011, Brian Farrell, Brett Schmidt, Dan Burns, Grant Catalino and Ryan Young were drafted in one of the best draft classes in MLL history. Catalino was also drafted to the Knighthawks in 2011.
2 Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia is known as one of the best programs in the country. But how does that compare to the pro level? Steele Stanwick was solid with Ohio in MLL this season while Chris Bocklet was a solid part of the Denver Outlaws. Collin Briggs played with Denver but was recently traded to Long Island, while Matt Lovejoy played with Hamilton. Chris Clements was the only 2012 drafted player who did not play. Three players were selected in 2011; The Bratton brothers, neither of which have played MLL, and Adam Ghitelman, who became the starting goalie in Charlotte. Meanwhile, no NLL players in the past two years have come out of Virginia.
3 Syracuse Orange
Kevin Drew was alright in Rochester in 2012 and will now be on Charlotte. Tommy Palasek played with Long Island and Bobby Eilers in Ohio. In 2011, Joel White, Jeremy Thompson, Jovan Miller, Josh Amido, John Lade, John Galloway and Stephen Keogh were selected. Keogh was the second overall pick in the NLL in 2011 to Rochester, while Thompson, White and Miller were all drafted as well.
4 Stony Brook Seawolves
The Seawolves have one big claim to fame, and that is Kevin Crowley who was a top pick in the NLL and MLL. He performed well with Philly and Hamilton in his first years, and again with Hamilton in his second year. Robert Campbell and Kevin Moehler were no impact in 2012, while Jordan McBride became a solid player with Colorado and Denver in MLL. Adam Rand was also a 2011 draftee.
5 Duke Blue Devils
In 2012, Duke produced Mike Manley, CJ Costabile, Justin Turri and Rob Rotanz. All four players played in the 2012 MLL season. Costabile was also drafted to the Philadelphia Wings of the NLL. Two players, Zach Howell and Tom Montelli, were drafted to MLL in 2011; neither have played in the league. Jesse Fehr was selected to Edmonton in 2011, and he was their only 2012 rookie.
6 Denver Pioneers
Denver has emerged into a top program. Mark Matthews was the top overall pick to both Edmonton and the Denver Outlaws. Alex Demopolous was selected to the Colorado Mammoth and Ohio Machine. However, he did not play MLL. Andrew Lay went to the Outlaws in 2011, but has only played two games. Todd Baxter went to the Minnesota Swarm in 2011, but did not play.
7 Princeton Tigers
Chad Weidmeyer was a high pick to Hamilton and played in nine games this season. Tyler Fiorito did not play a game due to Kip Turner being good for Chesapeake, and John Cunningham did not play for Denver. Meanwhile, only Jack McBride was selected in 2011; he did not play in 2012.
8 Cornell Big Red
Cornell has produced some drafted players, at the very least. Roy Lang to Rochester (now with Ohio), Rob Pannell, Chris Langton and JJ Gilbane in just 2012. However, that draft isn’t as good as you might think. Langton, Gilbane and Pannell did not play a game. Pannell will be with Long Island in 2013, so that may be a bit unfair, but Cornell did not contribute a whole lot. Meanwhile, zero players were drafted to MLL in 2011 from the Big Red. One NLL player was selected out of Cornell in 2011, Jesse Gamble of the Toronto Rock, who stayed on the roster the entire season.
9 Massachusetts Minutemen
Anthony Biscardi played in just one game with Ohio, while Tom Celentani saw some time with the Denver Outlaws. No one in the NLL the past two years have been drafted, and the same goes for MLL 2011.
10 North Carolina Tar Heels
2012 was a big year for the ‘Heels. They saw Jimmy Dunster, Jack McBride, Mark Staines, Charlie McComas and Tommy Wood drafted. Except, none of them were an impact. In 2011, they saw Billy Bitter, Ryan Flanagan and Michael Burns drafted. Both Bitter and Flanagan have become good pro players.
