The 2021 Premier Lacrosse League season was the third season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The 2021 season represented a return to the tour-based format that the league followed in 2019 after playing a bubble tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 also represented a return to one unified professional Field Lacrosse format after Major League Lacrosse and the Premier Lacrosse League announced they were merging on December 16, 2020. This monumental merger saw the PLL adopt the naming rights to all former MLL teams, as well as Cannons Lacrosse Club moving from the MLL to the PLL as an 8th team set by expansion draft. The Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club were the two-time defending league champions. Chaos Lacrosse Club took revenge against Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club by defeating them in the championship game on September 19 at Audi Field by a score of 9–14.
Expansion The addition of an eighth team, the Cannons Lacrosse Club, allows for schedule flexibility and natural bye weeks to occur for each team throughout the season. While the MLL fielded six teams last season and the PLL fielded seven, the post-merger PLL chose to expand by only one team to maintain the highest level of competition. The Cannons will form their initial PLL roster core through an expansion draft of unprotected players from the other seven clubs. Former MLL players will have a chance to join a roster through a new player draft, occurring on March 25.
Player movement The 2021 PLL waiver wire and trading period began on February 9. On February 28, expansion draft protected rosters are due and the waiver wire closes. On March 11, the Cannons Lacrosse Club will conduct their expansion draft and on March 25, the entire league will participate in an entry draft for former MLL players. The waiver wire will then reopen for the Cannons on March 26 and for the rest of the teams on March 30. The 2021 collegiate draft will be held on April 6. The conclusion of player movement through trade windows and the waiver wire is set for April 30. + Positions keyAAttackDDefenseFOSFaceoff SpecialistGGoaltenderLSMLong Stick MidfieldMMidfieldSSDMShort Stick Defensive Midfield
Waiver wire The first league waiver wire period began on February 9. Notable players to change teams at this time included:
Trades The following notable trades were made during the 2021 league year: February 11: Atlas traded A Rob Pannell to the Redwoods for the third overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft and a second round pick in the 2022 College Draft. February 25: Chaos traded A Connor Fields to the Archers for M Ian MacKay. February 28: Atlas send M Paul Rabil and the sixth overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft to the Cannons for the ninth overall pick in the 2021 Entry Draft, eighth overall pick in the 2021 College Draft, and a 2022 College Draft first round selection. March 2: Atlas send A Ryan Brown to the Waterdogs for the eleventh overall pick in the 2021 College Draft.
Notable retirements The following notable players retired prior to the 2021 season: Kevin Buchanan (A) – Began his professional field career with the Los Angeles Riptide in 2008. Also spent time with the Bayhawks, Chicago Machine, and Boston Cannons. Buchanan spent the last two seasons with the Chaos Lacrosse Club. He retires with 282 career points outdoors. At the time of his retirement, Buchanan also had 421 points in the NLL. Matt Danowski (A) – Seven-time All-Star, Three-time All-Pro, and Co-Captain of the 2018 World Champion Team USA. Played for the Pride, Lizards, Hounds, Bayhawks, and Chrome during his 13-year career. Jeremy Sieverts (M) – Seven-time All-Star and five-time champion in both the MLL and PLL after going undrafted. Played eleven season with the Bayhawks, Outlaws, and Whipsnakes. Ty Warner (SSDM) – Drafted by the Florida Launch in 2018. Two-time PLL champion with the Whipsnakes and George Boiardi Hard Hat SSDM of the year (2020 PLL Championship Series). Warner announced he was stepping away from lacrosse to focus on medical school and his rights will be retained by the Whipsnakes through the 2022 season should he choose to return.
Other retirements
Retirements after season
John Galloway (G) – While in goal at Syracuse, he a two-time Division I Goalie of the year and a two-time national champion. Played for Team USA in the 2018 World Championships, winning a gold medal. In his last professional Lacrosse game with the Chrome on August 15, 2021, he had 12 GA, 14 saves, with a .538% save percentage. Joel White (LSM) – A two-time National Champion and three-time All-American at Syracuse. A gold medalist for Team USA at the 2018 World Championships. His last professional lacrosse game with the Chrome was on August 15, 2021. He ended his 113-game career with 31 goals, 39 assists, 612 ground balls (4th in pro lacrosse history). Kyle Harrison (M) – While at Johns Hopkins, he was a two-time National Champion, a Tewaaraton Award winner, NCAA Player of the Year, two-time Midfielder of the Year, and three-time All-American. He was also a two-time US National Team Player, seven-time All-Star and Professional Lacrosse Champion, He ended his career with the Redwoods on August 22, 2021, with 149 career goals, 82 assists, and 241 points. Paul Rabil (M) – He is the face of professional lacrosse for over a decade. He was a four-time All-American at Johns Hopkins and a two-time NCAA Division I Champion. During a decorated 14-year pro career, Rabil was a two-time World Champion (gold medalist), a three-time Pro Lacrosse Champion, a three-time Pro Lacrosse MVP, and a PLL All-Star with Atlas. He ended his playing career with the Cannons and is the all-time leading scorer in pro field lacrosse. Rabil, the co-founder of the PLL, would continue to run the league's day-to-day operations.
Expansion Draft
The Cannons Expansion Draft took place on Thursday, March 11 to select an initial roster from players left unprotected by their team on March 1.
Expansion Draft Format:
18 Round Draft Max 3 players selected per existing PLL team Existing teams will protect 14 players (1-2 goalies + 12-13 field players) Teams must protect players selected in the 2020 College Draft
Player Entry Draft
All former MLL players, totaling more than 100 athletes, are currently without teams. Some of these players, along with NLL and other non-collegiate athletes without professional field experience, will be selected to team rosters in a specially formulated three-round draft on March 25. The expansion Cannons will be selecting first in each round and the selection slot of other teams was determined by lottery draw on February 10.
+Draft resultsRnd.Pick #PLL TeamPlayerPos.College11CannonsLyle ThompsonAttackAlbany12ArchersGraeme HossackDefenseLindenwood13AtlasDaniel BucaroAttackGeorgetown14WaterdogsLiam ByrnesDefense Marquette15ChromeRandy StaatsAttackSyracuse16CannonsZach GoodrichShort Stick Defense Towson17WhipsnakesChris AslanianAttack/Midfield Hobart18ChaosMax AdlerFace-off Bentley21AtlasMichael RexrodeDefense Rutgers22ArchersRyan McNamaraMidfield Marquette23RedwoodsRyan LeeAttackRIT24WaterdogsMikie SchlosserMidfield Michigan25ChromeSean ScononeGoalieUMass26AtlasAndrew NewboldDefense Sacred Heart27WhipsnakesCharlie HayesSSDM Detroit Mercy28ChaosChallen RogersMidfield Stony Brook31CannonsNick MarroccoGoalie Georgetown32ArchersWarren JeffreyDefense Vermont33RedwoodsIsaiah Davis-AllenSSDMMaryland34WaterdogsBen RandallDefenseOhio State35ChromeColin HeacockMidfieldMaryland36AtlasBrendan SundayAttack Towson37WhipsnakesBryan ColeMidfieldMaryland38ChaosKyle JacksonMidfield Michigan
College Draft
Due to NCAA eligibility rules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many college seniors returned for a fifth year of eligibility in the spring 2021 season. As a result, this year's draft on April 26 was expected to be among the most talent saturated in years. It once again aired on NBCSN beginning at 10:30 EDT and hosted by Paul Burmeister, along with analyst Ryan Boyle on the broadcast. PLL coaches called in via video call for breakdowns of their draft picks.
Format: Each club was awarded four picks, with the exception of Atlas LC and Chaos LC, which own six picks each. Eligible players must currently be in their senior season. Rnd. Pick # PLL Team Player Pos. College Conf. 1 1 Atlas Jeff Teat Attack Cornell Ivy League 1 2 Waterdogs Michael Sowers Attack Duke Atlantic Coast Conference 1 3 Chrome JT Giles-Harris Defense Duke Atlantic Coast Conference 1 4 Redwoods TD Ierlan Face-off Denver Big East Conference 1 5 Archers Jared Conners LSM Virginia Atlantic Coast Conference 1 6 Chaos Mac O'Keeffe Attack Penn State Big Ten Conference 1 7 Whipsnakes Connor Krist Midfield Rutgers Big Ten Conference 1 8 Atlas Dox Aitken Midfield Virginia Atlantic Coast Conference 2 1 Cannons Jack Kielty Defense Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference 2 2 Atlas Jake Caraway Attack Georgetown Big East Conference 2 3 Atlas Danny Logan SSDM Denver Big East Conference 2 4 Chrone Ryan Terefenko SSDM Ohio State Big Ten Conference 2 5 Archers Tre Leclaire Midfield Ohio State Big Ten Conference 2 6 Chaos Kyle Gallagher Face-off Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference 2 7 Chaos Tanner Cook Midfield North Carolina Atlantic Coast Conference 2 8 Whipsnakes Ryan Tierney Attack Hofstra Colonial Athletic Conference 3 1 Atlas Peter Dearth SSDM Syracuse Atlantic Coast Conference 3 2 Archers Jeff Trainor Midfield UMass Colonial Athletic Conference 3 3 Chaos Jared Bernhardt Attack Maryland Big Ten Conference 3 4 Chrome Justin Anderson Attack North Carolina Atlantic Coast Conference 3 5 Archers Conor Gaffney Face-off Lehigh Patriot League 3 6 Chaos Kyle Thornton Defense Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference 3 7 Whipsnakes Colin Squires Defense Denver Big East Conference 3 8 Redwoods Charlie Bertrand Attack Virginia Atlantic Coast Conference 4 1 Cannon Stephen Rehfuss Attack Syracuse Atlantic Coast Conference 4 2 Atlas Gerard Arceri Face-off Penn State Big Ten Conference 4 3 Waterdogs Ethan Walker Midfield Denver Big East Conference 4 4 Chrome Jackson Morrill Attack Denver Big East Conference 4 5 Redwoods Jamie Trimboli Midfield Syracuse Atlantic Coast Conference 4 6 Chaos Ryan Smith Attack Robert Morris Independent 4 7 Whipsnakes Nick Grill Defense Maryland Big Ten Conference 4 8 Redwoods Charlie Leonard Face-off Notre Dame Big Ten Conference
Coaching changes Cannons Lacrosse Club – Following weeks of uncertainty, Sean Quirk was officially named the head coach of Cannons Lacrosse Club on January 19. Quirk served from 2016 through the 2020 season as the head coach of the MLL's Boston Cannons. In 2020, he was named MLL Coach of the Year. On February 9, the Cannons announced the return of John Klepacki (Boston Cannons) and addition of Sean Kirwan (Virginia) to the assistant coaching staff.
Tour Map
Schedule
The 2021 tour schedule will run eleven weeks long, including three playoff weekends and an All-Star game. A total of 43 games will take place in this time frame.