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2024 Premier Lacrosse League season

The current season of the Premier Lacrosse League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The 2024 Premier Lacrosse League Season was the 6th season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The regular season began on June 3 and ran through August 17th. The playoffs ran from September 2 through September 15. This is the first season where PLL teams were assigned to home cities.

Quick facts League, Sport ...

The Atlas went 7-3 and earned the #1 seed on the back of Jeff Teat shattering the single-season points record with 64– the previous record being 44, and breaking the assists record with 28.

The Utah Archers were crowned champions on September 15th, beating the Maryland Whipsnakes 12-8, securing back-to-back championships for the first time since the Whipsnakes in 2019-2020.

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Home Cities

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On May 25, 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."[1]

Starting on June 3, PLL fans were able to vote on which cities should receive teams, but the league would also be considering previous pro-lacrosse ticket success, fan engagement, venues, and TV ratings.[1]

Home cities and team identities were announced on SportsCenter on November 14, 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, major changes came to the Maryland Whipsnakes and Chrome Lacrosse Club. The Whipsnakes changed their colors from red and green to red, black, and yellow to better match the Maryland Flag. The Chrome rebranded as the Denver Outlaws, sharing a name with Denver's former MLL team.[2]

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.[3]

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Player Movements

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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.[4] He was drafted 7th overall to the Charlotte Hounds in the 2014 MLL Draft.[5] 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.[6] Ehrhardt is widely considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, he retired on April 2.[5]
  • 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.[7] He retired on March 13.[8]
  • 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.[9] 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.” [10]
  • Kyle Hartzell (M)- Graduated from Salisbury in 2008. He was a Captain of Salisbury's 23-0 undefeated DIII National Championship in 2008.[11] 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.[12] Hartzell retired on September 18 and is now an assistant coach for the Boston Cannons.[13]

Other Retirements

Free Agency

Free Agency occurred from March 4 to May 10. 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.[14]

College Draft

The college draft took place on May 7 at 7 pm (ET) and was broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+.[15] 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.

More information Rnd., Pick # ...

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 15, the Redwoods traded their 2024 first round pick to the Atlas for Attackman Chris Gray and their 2024 third-round pick.[16]

Second Round

  1. No. 11: Whipsnakes → Outlaws (PD). On November 28, the Whipsnakes traded their Second and Third round picks to the Outlaws for Jackson Morrill and their Third Round Pick.[17]
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 28, 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.[18]

Summary

Selections by NCAA conference

More information Conference, Round 1 ...

Schools by number of draft selections

More information Selections, Schools ...

Selections by Position

More information Position, Round 1 ...

Notable mid-season player movement

Free-agency

Veteran Attackman and 6-year member of the New York Atlas, Eric Law was released by the Atlas on July 9. 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.[19]

The Whipsnakes released their 2023 leading scorer, Attackman Will Manny to the player pool as a part of their final round of training camp cuts on May 30.[20] Manny went unsigned through the All-Star break until the Boston Cannons signed him from the player pool on July 15. Manny was drafted 14th Overall by the Cannons in the 2013 MLL Draft and played 5 seasons for the team, making this the second homecoming for a PLL player to his former MLL team in the 2024 season.[21]

Trades

On June 12, 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.[22] He was activated from the Unavailable-to-travel list and debuted on June 28 against the New York Atlas.[23]

On August 6th, the Philadelphia Waterdogs traded midfielder Ryan Conrad to the Maryland Whipsnakes for a 2025 2nd-round pick.[24] Conrad spent 5 seasons with the Waterdogs and played in 7 games in 2024, scoring 5 goals and 1 assist.[25] This trade came after the Waterdogs were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention.[26]

On August 13th, the Maryland Whipsnakes traded midfielder Jackson Morrill to the Utah Archers for a 2025 3rd-round pick.[27] Morrill was traded to from the Chrome to the Whipsnakes in 2023[28] where he played 4 games, notching 2 goals and 8 assists.[29] This trade came at the trade deadline, Morrill was not activated for week 11.

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Rule Changes

3 rule changes came into effect for the 2024 season.[30]

  • 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.[31] This change was met with immense criticism that the PLL was changing the faceoff too much and harming the game.[32]
  • 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.[30]
  • 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.[30]

Training camp

The Premier Lacrosse League's 2024 training camp was held from May 24, 2024 to May 31, 2024 in Albany, New York 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.[33] Training camp consists of individual and multi-team practices, as well as scrimmages between the teams.

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Tour map

Tour locations for the 2024 PLL season
Legend:
: Home City Location
: Neutral Cite Tour Location
: All-Star Game Location
: Quarterfinals Location
: Semifinals Location
: Finals Location

Tour venues

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More information Week, Venue ...
Notes
  1. Capacity may not reflect the capacity for the PLL's purposes due to various areas of the stadium potentially being closed for lacrosse games
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Schedule

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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.[3]

More information Week, Date ...
Notes
  1. All games broadcast on ESPN+ alongside the network listed.

Source:[35]

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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.[36]

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Regular Season Standings

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More information Team, W ...
More information Team, W ...
Top Team in Each Conference Receive a first-round bye
Top 6 Teams Qualify for the 2024 Playoffs
Bottom 2 Teams Miss 2024 Playoffs
Y = Qualified for the Championship Series

Source:[37]

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Postseason

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With the new Home Cities format, the playoff bracket was changed to have two first-round byes for the conference winners and 6 teams total making the playoffs. The one seed plays the winner of the four and five seeds and the two seed plays the winner of the 3 and 6 seeds. The first-round games took place in Foxbourough, MA in Gillette Stadium, the semifinals on Long Island, NY, and the Championship in West Chester, PA.[38]

Bracket

Quarterfinals
September 4
(Boston)
Semifinals
September 10
(Long Island)
PLL Championship Game
September 24
(Philadelphia)
#1   Atlas 11
#4   Whipsnakes 11 #4   Whipsnakes 12 OT
#5   Outlaws 10 #4   Whipsnakes 8
#2   Archers 12
#6   Chaos 1
#3   Cannons 4 #2   Archers 10
#6   Chaos 8

Boxscores and game summaries

Quarterfinals

More information Team, Final ...
More information Team, Final ...

Semifinals

More information Team, OT ...
More information Team, Final ...

PLL Championship Game

Boxscore
More information Team, Final ...

Championship Game Most Valuable Player

Utah Archers goalie, Brett Dobson won back-to-back Championship Game MVP after a 17 saves and 68% performance. He is the first player in PLL history to win back-to-back Championship MVPs.[39]

Broadcast

The 2024 PLL championship game was broadcast on ABC and ESPN+ with Paul Carcaterra, Ryan Boyle, and Drew Carter in the booth, and Quint Kessenich reporting on the field.[40]

Injuries

Pre-game

3x MVP and 5x Midfielder of the Year, Tom Schreiber missed all of the playoffs after suffering a fractured clavicle in the Archers' final game of the regular season. He went on to win his fifth Midfielder of the Year this season.[41]

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
  • 11:34- Whipsnakes Matt Rambo Goal, 1-0 Whipsnakes
  • 7:51- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 2-0 Whipsnakes
  • 2:35- Whipsnakes Adam Poitras Goal, 3-0 Whipsnakes
  • 0:50- Archers Matt Moore Goal, 3-1 Whipsnakes
Second Quarter
  • 11:49- Whipsnakes Adam Poitras Goal, Assisted by Joe Nardella, 4-1 Whipsnakes
  • 10:54- Archers Mason Woodward 2-point Goal, 4-3 Whipsnakes
  • 10:18- Archers Tre Leclaire Goal, Assisted by Connor Fields, 4–4 tie
  • 9:06- Archers Grant Ament Goal, 5-4 Archers
  • 2:51- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 5–5 tie
Third Quarter
  • 9:05- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, 6-5 Archers
  • 7:22- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 6–6 tie
  • 7:02- Archers Matt Moore Goal, 7-6 Archers
  • 0:01- Archers Dyson Williams Goal, Assisted by Ryan Ambler, 8-6 Archers
Fourth Quarter
  • 11:12- Archers Tre Leclaire Goal, Assisted by Matt Moore, 9-6 Archers
  • 10:36- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, 10-6 Archers
  • 6:01- Whipsnakes Zed Williams Goal, 10-7 Archers
  • 5:28- Archers Connor Fields Goal, 11-7 Archers
  • 3:19- Whipsnakes Mike Chanenchuk Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 11-8 Archers
  • 0:49- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, Assisted by Grant Ament, 12-8 Archers

Brendan Krebs ended with 12 saves and a 52.2% save percentage. Brett Dobson won his second-straight Championship MVP with 20 saves and a 71.4% save percentage.[42]

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Regular-season statistical leaders

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More information Statistic, Player ...

Source:[43]

^ New PLL single-season record

+ Ties PLL single-season record

More information Statistic, Team ...

Source:[43]

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Awards

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Individual Season Awards

On August 22, the PLL announced the finalists for the 2024 End of Season Awards via Instagram. The Winners were announced on September 13th, two days prior to the Championship Game in Philadelphia. The players voted on the nominees and the winners were selected by the PLL Coaches and Front Office, Award Namesakes, and members of the media.[44]

Award Winners

More information Award, Winner ...

List of awards and finalists

The winner of the award are highlighted in Bold.

Jim Brown Most Valuable Player
Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year
  • Matt Dunn
  • JT Giles-Harris
  • Garrett Epple - Led the league in caused turnovers (20).
  • Gavin Adler
Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year
  • Blaze Riorden - Led the league in save percentage (59.4%)
  • Brett Dobson - Led the league in saves (147).
  • Liam Entenmann
  • Colin Kirst
Paul Cantabene Face-Off Athlete of the Year
  • Trevor Baptiste - Led the league in face-off wins (174), T-led FO in points and goals.
  • Joseph Nardella - Led the league in face-off percentage (67.5%), T-led FO in goals.
  • TD Ierlan
Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the Year
  • Tyler Carpenter - Led LSMs in ground balls (41).
  • Ethan Rall - Led LSMs in caused turnovers (12)
  • Jared Conners
George Boiardi Hard Hat Award - Awarded to the SSDM of the year
2024 Rookie of the Year
  • TJ Malone - Led rookies in points, goals, and assists.
  • Liam Entenmann - 2nd in save percentage (58.7%)
  • Tyler Carpenter - Won LSM of the Year.
  • Connor Shellenberger
  • Brennan O'Neill - Led rookies in scoring points (21).
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
Dave Huntley Sportsmanship Award
Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award
  • Romar Dennis
  • Mike Sisselberger
  • Nakeie Montgomery
  • Brett Makar
Jimmy Regan Teammate Award
  • Ryan Ambler
  • Cole Kirst
  • Austin Kaut
Brendan Looney Leadership Award

Coaching Changes

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.[45]

Uniforms

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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:[46]

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 27. 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.[47] Callum played for the Atlas for 2 seasons and the team showed 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.[48]

Alternate Uniforms

July 8–9 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",[49] 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.[49] The PLL held their annual Throwback Weekend for the 2024 season July 19–20 in Fairfield, CT.[50] Each team was given a new retro-designed logo and throwback style porthole jerseys.[51]

All-Star Game

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The 2024 PLL All-Star Game was held at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium on July 13. New in 2024, the All-Star teams were 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 13.[52]

The East defeated the West 15-12.[53]

Skills Challenge

The All-Star Skills Challenges included 5 competitions,[54] some including women's lacrosse players from Unleashed Women's Lacrosse, the women's training and content arm of the PLL.[55]

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.[52]

More information Challenge, Winner ...

Source:[56]

Viewership

The PLL posted a 35% increase in All-Star Game viewership on ESPN. This increase coincided with other increases at the midseason point of the season. Both online and in-person stats increased. The PLL posted a 47% raise in PLL App users and an increase of 159% in social media views. Alongside a 16% increase in attendance and a 32% raise in merchandise sales.[57]

References

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