Draft:2024 Premier Lacrosse League Season

The 2024 Premier Lacrosse League Season is the ongoing 6th season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).The regular season began on June 3rd and will run through August 17th. The playoffs will occur from September 2nd through September 15th. This is the first season where PLL teams are assigned to home cities.

Home Cities
On May 25th, 2023 the PLL announced that the 8 teams will be assigned home cities for the 2024 season. The PLL's tour-based model would still be used with every team playing in one city every weekend (excluding byes), but the home team would play a weekend double-header in the new scheduling system. This move was explained by PLL co-founder and CEO, Mike Rabil in their announcement, “When we looked at our growth over the last five years, matched by our goals, objectives and expansion, tying our teams to home cities was a natural next step for the business."

Starting on June 3rd, PLL fans were able to vote on which cities should receive teams, but the league would also be considering previous pro-lacrosse ticket sucess, fan engagement, venues, and tv ratings.

Home cities and team identities were announced on SportsCenter on November 14th, 2023. The eight teams would be the Boston Cannons, California Redwoods, Carolina Chaos, Denver Outlaws, Maryland Whipsnakes, New York Atlas, Philadelphia Waterdogs, and Utah Archers. All eight teams were rebranded with new logos, fonts, and jerseys. However big changes came to the Maryland Whipsnakes and Chrome Lacrosse Club. The Whipsnakes received a color rebrand from red and green to red, black, and yellow to better match the Maryland Flag. The Chrome had a complete rebrand to the former MLL team, Denver Outlaws.

Home City Location Map

New League Structure

Alongside the addition of geographical teams, the PLL added conferences and a new playoff bracket for the 2024 season. In the new Eastern and Western Conference system, the top team from each conference will receive a first-round bye to the semifinals. The next best 4 teams, regardless of conference, will receive the final playoff spots, and subsequently the worst two teams, regardless of conference, will be eliminated from the playoffs.

Preseason
Notable Retirements
 * Michael Ehrhardt (LSM)- Graduated from Maryland in 2014 where he finished with 170 groundballs and 68 caused turnovers. He was a first-team All American and All-ACC in his senior season. He was drafted 7th overall to the Charlotte Hounds in the 2014 MLL Draft. Across his 10-year pro career with the Hounds in the MLL and the Whipsnakes in the PLL, Ehrhardt was a 6-time All Star, 5-time First Team All-pro, and 5-time LSM of the Year. He was a key piece to both of the Whipsnakes' PLL Championships and the USA's Gold Medal in the 2018 FIL World Championship. Ehrhardt is widely considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, he retired on April 2nd.


 * Tucker Durkin (D)- Graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2013. He was a two-time First Team All-American and two-time Schmeisser Award winner as the NCAA's best defender. Durkin was drafted 3rd overall by the Hamilton Nationals in the 2013 MLL Draft. With the Nationals and Florida Launch of the MLL and the  New York Atlas of the PLL, Durkin was a 6-time All-Star, 1st team All-Pro in 2019 and MLL DPOY in 2017. He retired on March 13th.


 * Tyler Warner (SSDM)- Graduated from Yale in 2018. He was a first-team All-American before being drafted 11th Overall to the Florida Launch of the MLL. In his 5-year career with the Launch and the Maryland Whipsnakes, Warner was a 2-time All-Star, the winner of the 2020 SSDMOY Award, and a Two-time PLL Champion with the Whipsnakes. Whipsnakes Head Coach, Jim Stagnitta, had this to say about Warner “I think he's defined the position, before Danny Logan and Ryan Terefenko, he was the first one that I’ve seen that was as dominant as he was. And I think he made people realize the value in that position because he was so versatile. He could do so many things.”
 * Kyle Hartzell (M)- Graduated from Salisbury in 2008. He was a Captain of Salisbury's 23-0 undefeated DIII National Championship in 2008. Hartzell started his MLL career with the San Francisco Dragons but spent time with several clubs before spending his last 5 MLL years with the New York Lizards. He was a 6-time MLL All-Star and a two-time champion. In 2019, Hartzell moved to the PLL and joined the Atlas where he was an All-Star in his first season. Hartzell finished his career with the California Redwoods and the Boston Cannons. Hartzell retired on September 18th and is now an assistant coach for the Boston Cannons.

Other Retirements
 * Eddy Glazener (D) (Redwoods)
 * Matt McMahon (D) (Machine and Archers)
 * Jordan MacIntosh (M) (Rattlers and Chrome)
 * Brian Phipps (G) (Machine, Bayhawks, and Whipsnakes)
 * Stephen Kelly (FO) (Archers and Cannons)
 * John Sexton (LSM) (Redwoods)
 * Max Adler (FO) (Outlaws and Chaos)
 * Jack Concannon (G) (Atlas)

Free Agency

Free Agency occurred from March 4th to May 10th. Eligible players were any player with an expired contract or any player who was not on an active roster for 30% of the clubs' games.
 * Attackmen: Jules Heninburg (Redwoods to Chaos).
 * Midfielders: Sergio Perkovic (Redwoods to Chaos), Ronan Jacoby (Archers to Atlas), Jake Richard (Atlas to Waterdogs), and Colin Heacock (Outlaws to Whipsnakes).
 * Defenders: Garrett Epple (Redwoods to Cannons).
 * Goalies: Tim Troutner (Redwoods to Atlas).

College Draft
The college draft took place on May 7th at 7 pm (ET) and was broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+. The newest PLL team, the Denver Outlaws made the most selections with 5, including the number one overall pick, Duke Attackman Brennan O'Neill. The Boston Cannons made the fewest selections with 3.

Trades
In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2024 draft.

First Round

 * 1) No. 5: Redwoods → Atlas (PD). On March 15th, the Redwoods traded their 2024 first round pick to the Atlas for Attackman Chris Gray and their 2024 third-round pick.

Second Round

 * 1) No. 11: Whipsnakes → Outlaws (PD). On November 28th, the Whipsnakes traded their Second and Third round picks to the Outlaws for Jackson Morrill and their Third Round Pick.

Third Round

 * 1) No. 17: Outlaws → Whipsnakes (PD). See Pick 11.
 * 2) No. 18: Atlas → Redwoods (PD). See Pick 5.
 * 3) No. 19: Whipsnakes → Outlaws (PD). See Pick 11.
 * 4) No. 22: Cannons → Whipsnakes (PD). On November 28th, the Cannons traded their 2024 and 2025 Third round picks and LSM Matt Rees to the Whipsnakes for Midfielder Connor Kirst and Defender Bryce Young.

Free-agency
Veteran Attackman and 6-year member of the New York Atlas, Eric Law was released by the Atlas on July 9th. He spent the first half of the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list but was removed from the PUP list the day prior. Law was signed from the player pool by the Denver Outlaws the same day. Law was drafted out of the University of Denver to the Outlaws and played 6 seasons with them in the MLL.

Trades
On June 12th, the California Redwoods traded Saint Joseph's rookie, Levi Anderson, to the Maryland Whipsnakes for a 2025 4th round pick. Anderson was the Redwoods' 3rd round pick in the 2024 draft. He was activated from the Unavailable-to-travel list and debuted on June 28th against the New York Atlas.

Rule Changes
3 rule changes came into effect for the 2024 season.
 * A player cannot use a long pole on the faceoff. This rule change eliminated the strategy, used most by the Cannons and Waterdogs, of a long pole immediately contesting possession after the faceoff to drain the :32 second shot clock. This change was met with immense criticism that the PLL was changing the faceoff too much and harming the game.
 * Expanded Definition of a Defenseless Player. The expanded definition now includes players who have just released a shot, and players who have received a pass before establishing possession. A defender may hit a player on the shot only up until their first step. A player has established possession after receiving a pass by taking two steps, cradling, or makes a move to avoid contact.
 * Updated replay procedures. Coaches now have two challengers per game and will be granted a third if the first two are successful. There are no coaches challengers in overtime. Officials can initiate reviews in the final two minutes and in overtime. Out-of-bounds plays, run outs, and shot clock resets are now reviewable plays.

Training camp
The Premier Lacrosse League's 2024 training camp was held from May 24, 2024 to May 31, 2024 in Albany, New York hosted at Tom and Mary Casey Stadium at The University of Albany. Teams began camp with a 30-man roster that was finalized on May 23. Teams were required to finalize their 25-man rosters on May 29. Training camp consists of individual and multi-team practices, as well as scrimmages between the teams.

Tour venues

 * Notes:

Schedule
The addition of home cities and conferences brought slight changes to the schedule. Every team has one weekend where they are the home team and play a weekend doubleheader. There are two weekends (Minneapolis and Fairfield) when there is no home team and every team plays. Each team will play in-conference opponents twice and out-of-conference opponents once.
 * Notes:

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PLL on TV
For the 3rd season, the PLL is on ESPN platforms. Every game can be streamed on ESPN+, while 9 games will be broadcast on ESPN's linear platforms. Additionally, 7 games will be broadcast on ABC, a one-game decrease from 2023.

Opening Weekend

The PLL had a record-setting opening weekend with the best merchandise sales weekend and the highest ever amount of active users on the PLL app. TV ratings also improved as ESPN engagement was up 23% and viewership from the 18-34 demographic was up 71%, both compared to last year. Additionally, the Archers vs Waterdogs game on ABC was the 3rd most-viewed game in PLL history.

Regular Season Standings
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Regular-season statistical leaders
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+Ties PLL record (2023 Marcus Holman Boston Cannons) Source:

Offseason Changes
On March 28, 2024 it was announced that Legendary Denver Coach, Bill Tierney would take over the Waterdogs Head Coach vacancy. Tierney had spent the last 14 seasons coaching the University of Denver, taking them to the tournament 10 times and winning the National Championship in 2015. Tierney is taking over the Waterdogs from 4-year Head Coach Andy Copelan.

Home City Uniforms
Every team was given two new uniforms for the 2024 season showcasing the new assigned cities.

The PLL continued its partnership with Champion, while six teams displayed additional jersey advertisements. Source:
 * The Waterdogs have a Dude Wipes patch on the right side of the chest for both uniforms.
 * The Whipsnakes have a Whirlpool patch on the right side of the chest for both uniforms.
 * The Redwoods have a Progressive patch on the right sleeve for both uniform.
 * The Chaos have a Rebel Bourbon patch on the right sleeve for both uniforms.
 * The Atlas have a Charlotte's Web patch on the right sleeve for both uniforms.
 * The Archers have a Progressive patch on the right sleeve and a Utah Sports Commission patch on the left sleeve for both uniforms.

Callum Robinson Death
Former 6-year pro-lacrosse player Callum Robinson, his brother Jake, and their friend Jack Rhoad were killed during a surfing trip in Mexico on April 27th. An outpouring of support and stories came from the entire lacrosse community after news broke. Callum was a loved and respected member of pro lacrosse for his entire career and beyond. Callum played for the Atlas for 2 seasons and the team is showing a tribute to him by displaying a "CR" patch on the left chest of both uniforms and a "Big Koala" (Callum's Nickname) sticker on all helmets.

Alternate Uniforms
July 8th-9th in Eagan, Minnesota, was the PLL's Indigenous Heritage Weekend for the 2024 Season. This included unique jerseys designed by Patrick Hunter "a 2Spirit, Ojibwe artist, graphic designer, and award-winning entrepreneur", on-air analysis from Jeremy Thompson, and orange chip straps dedicated to Every Child Matters, a movement memorializing the thousands of children killed in Canadian Residential Boarding Schools. July 19th-20th in Fairfield, CT will be the PLL's Throwback Weekend. The annual throwback jerseys have been announced but not released yet.

All-Star Game
The 2024 PLL All-Star Game was held at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium on July 13th. New in 2024, the All-Star teams were be divided by conference. The West Team was coached by Archers coach, Chris Bates, and the East Team was coached by Waterdogs coach, Bill Tierney. Just as in years prior, there was a variety of skills challenges before the All-Star game, also on July 13th.

The East defeated the West 15-12.

In the skills challenges, there were 5 competitions, some including women's lacrosse players from Unleashed Women's Lacrosse, the women's training and content arm of the PLL.

4 PLL players and 4 Unleashed players competed in the Accuracy Challenge where players hit various targets on an open net. 4 PLL players and 4 Unleashed players competed separately in the Fastest Shot Competition. The Goalie Challenge included 4 PLL goalies and the new "Air-Gait Challenge" had 4 PLL players attempt their best "Air-Gait" crease dive style goal. Finally, teams of 2 PLL players and 2 Unleashed Players competed East against West in the Derby Challenge which included a sprint, agility and dodging course, wall ball, and accuracy shot.

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