The 2025 Premier Lacrosse League season was the 7th season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The regular season began on May 30 and ran through August 9. The playoffs ran from August 22 through September 14. The New York Atlas defeated the Denver Outlaws 14–13 in the championship game.
Player movements Retirements Chris Gray (Atlas, Redwoods) 2x All-Star, NCAA All-time Points Leader Kyle Bernlohr (Whipsnakes) 6x All-Star, 1x first-team All-Pro, 1x Goalie of the Year, 2x PLL champion (2019, 2020) Mike Channenchuck (Whipsnakes) 5x All-Star, 1x first-team All-Pro, 1x second-team All-Pro, 2x PLL champion (2019, 2020)
Free agency Free agency occurred from March 3 to May 7. 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.
Notable movements include: Rob Pannell (Redwoods to Whipsnakes) Dylan Molloy (Atlas to Redwoods) CJ Costabile (Chaos to Atlas) Zach Geddes (Chaos to Outlaws)
College Draft The college draft took place on May 6 at 7 pm (ET) and was broadcast on ESPN+. The Philadelphia Waterdogs had the first pick, selecting the NCAA career goals record holder, CJ Kirst. The Denver Outlaws and California Redwoods made the most selections with five, including California making two first-round selections. The Boston Cannons and the Carolina Chaos made the fewest selections with three.
+Rnd.Pick #PLL TeamPlayerPos.CollegeConferenceNotes11Philadelphia WaterdogsCJ KirstAttackCornellIvy League12 California Redwoods Andrew McAdoreyMidfieldDukeAtlantic Coast Conference13 California Redwoods Sam EnglishMidfieldSyracuseAtlantic Coast ConferenceFrom Denver via Boston14Boston CannonsCoulter MackesyMidfieldPrincetonIvy League15Utah ArchersBrendan LavelleDefensePennIvy LeagueFrom Carolina16New York AtlasMatt TraynorMidfieldPenn StateBig Ten17Maryland WhipsnakesAidan CarrollAttackGeorgetownBig East18Carolina ChaosOwen HiltzAttackSyracuseAtlantic Coast ConferenceFrom Utah29Philadelphia WaterdogsJake TaylorAttackNotre DameAtlantic Coast Conference210California RedwoodsChris KavanaughAttackNotre DameAtlantic Coast Conference211Denver OutlawsLogan McNaneyGoalieMarylandBig Ten212Boston CannonsMic KellyMidfieldDenverBig East213Carolina ChaosLevi VerchDefenseSaint Joseph'sAtlantic 10214New York AtlasMax KrevskyMidfieldYaleIvy League215Philadelphia WaterdogsDylan HessSSDMFloridaSouthEastern Lacrosse ConferenceFrom Maryland216Carolina ChaosJack McDonaldMidfieldMarylandBig TenFrom Utah317Maryland WhipsnakesScott SmithDefenseJohns HopkinsBig TenFrom Philadelphia318Utah ArchersSam KingAttackHarvardIvy LeagueFrom California319Denver OutlawsPace BillingsDefenseMichiganBig Ten320Maryland WhipsnakesEmmet CarrollGoaliePennIvy LeagueFrom Boston321Utah ArchersMitchell DunhamDefenseRichmondAtlantic 10From Carolina322New York AtlasMike GraceLSMSyracuseAtlantic Coast Conference323Philadelphia WaterdogsBen WayerLSMVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferenceFrom Maryland324Maryland WhipsnakesChristian MazurSSDMArmyPatriot LeagueFrom Utah425Philadelphia WaterdogsJimmy FreehillDefenseDenverBig East426Denver OutlawsKevin ParnhamDefensePenn StateBig TenFrom California427Denver OutlawsJack GraySSDMDukeAtlantic Coast Conference428Boston CannonsBen RamseySSDMNotre DameAtlantic Coast Conference429California RedwoodsCarter RiceSSDMSyracuseAtlantic Coast ConferenceFrom Carolina430New York AtlasHugh KelleherMidfieldCornellIvy League431California RedwoodsGriffin SchultzMidfieldVirginiaAtlantic Coast ConferenceFrom Maryland432Utah ArchersBryce FordMidfieldMarylandBig Ten
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 2025 draft. First round No. 3: Outlaws → Cannons (PD). On November 7, the Cannons traded Pat Kavanaugh for the 2025 3rd overall pick and Denver's earliest 2026 second round pick. Cannons → Redwoods (PD). On March 21, the Redwoods traded Owen Grant to the Cannons for the 3rd overall pick and their 2026 4th. No. 5: Chaos → Archers (D). During the 2025 Draft, the Archers traded the 8th and 16th overall picks to the Chaos for the 5th and 21st overall picks. No. 8: Archers → Chaos (D). See pick 5. Second round No. 15: Whipsnakes → Waterdogs (PD). On August 6, the Waterdogs traded Ryan Conrad to the Whipsnakes for a 2025 2nd. No. 16: Archers → Chaos (D). See pick 5.
Third round No. 17: Waterdogs → Whipsnakes (PD). The Whipsnakes traded Zed Williams and the 23rd overall pick to the Waterdogs for Matt Brandau and the 17th overall pick. No. 18: Redwoods → Archers (PD). During the 2024 PLL Draft, the Archers traded the 2024 32nd pick to the Redwoods for their 2025 3rd. No. 20: Cannons → Whipsnakes (PD). On November 28, 2023, the Cannons traded Matt Rees, the 2024 22nd pick, and their 2025 3rd for Connor Kirst and Bryce Young. No. 21: Chaos → Archers. See pick 5. No. 23: Whipsnakes → Waterdogs (PD). See pick 17. No. 24: Archers → Whipsnakes (PD). On August 13, the Whipsnakes traded Jackson Morrill for a 2025 3rd.
Fourth round No. 26: Redwoods → Outlaws (PD). On March 28, the Outlaws traded Brendan Nichtern to the Redwoods for the 26th overall pick. No. 29: Chaos → Redwoods (PD). On April 9, the Redwoods traded Garrett Degnon to the Chaos for the 29th overall pick. No. 31: Whipsnakes → Redwoods (PD). On June 11, the Redwoods traded Levi Anderson to the Whipsnakes for a 2025 4th.
Summary Selections by NCAA conference +ConferenceRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4TotalACC322411Atlantic 1001102Big East11013Big Ten12227Ivy League31217Patriot League00101Non-Division I01001
Schools by number of draft selections +SelectionsSchools4Syracuse3Notre Dame, Maryland2Cornell, Duke, Penn, Penn State, Denver, Virginia 1Princeton, Georgetown, Saint Joseph's. Yale, Florida, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Michigan, Richmond, Army
Selections by position +PositionRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4TotalAttack32106Defense11327Defensive Midfield01135Faceoff00000Goalie01102LSM00202Midfield430310 Notes
Mid-season player movement Jared Bernhardt On May 29, the PLL reported that former Tewaaraton Award winner, Jared Bernhardt, was meeting with PLL teams to discuss a return to lacrosse. After graduating from Maryland, Bernhardt chose to play football at Ferris State, and pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. After winning the DII National Championship, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, making their 53-man roster in 2022. Bernhardt appeared in two games before he suffered a groin injury and was placed on IR. He was waived for the final time in 2024.
After meeting with several teams, Bernhardt signed with the Denver Outlaws on June 2nd. He joined fellow Tewaaraton Award winners Logan Wisnauskas, Brennan O'Neill, and Pat Kavanaugh in Denver.
Free agency On July 9, Jules Heningburg signed with the Boston Cannons. He spent the 2024 season with the Chaos and was waived after training camp. The four-time All-Star returned to the PLL with 3 points in his debut.
On July 15, Dox Aitken made his return to lacrosse, moving from the hold-out list to the New York Atlas' 25-man roster. Aitken previously chose to pursue football, playing for the semi-pro Ohio Valley Ironmen of the International Football Alliance. On June 26, they canceled the remainder of their season after starting the season 3-0 with a combined score of 166-0.
Trades On June 9, the Outlaws traded Sam Handley to the Redwoods for a 2026 third-round pick. The 2023 fourth-overall pick scored 30 points in his first two seasons, but was pushed out of the offensive rotation by the arrival of Jared Bernhardt.
Tour map
Tour venues +WeekVenueHome teamLocationCapacityImageNotesRef1Tom & Mary Casey StadiumNew York AtlasAlbany, NY8,5002American Legion Memorial StadiumCarolina ChaosCharlotte, NC10,5003Villanova StadiumPhiladelphia WaterdogsVillanova, PA12,5004Homewood FieldMaryland WhipsnakesBaltimore, MD8,5005Torero StadiumCalifornia RedwoodsSan Diego, CA6,0006 (All-Star Game)CPKC StadiumAll-StarKansas City, MO11,5007Martin StadiumNeutral SiteEvanston, IL 12,023 8Rafferty StadiumNeutral SiteFairfield, CT3,5009Zions Bank StadiumUtah ArchersHerriman, UT5,00010Peter Barton StadiumDenver OutlawsDenver, CO2,00011Harvard StadiumBoston CannonsBoston, MA25,00012 (Quarterfinals)TCO StadiumNeutral SiteEagan, MN6,00013 (Semifinals)Subaru ParkNeutral SiteChester, PA18,50014 (Championship)Sports Illustrated StadiumNeutral SiteHarrison, NJ25,000 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 (Chicago 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. All games are streamed on ESPN+ during the season.
Note: All times in the table below are EDT (UTC−4).