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10 Man Ride: College Draft Recap

By Joe Keegan

PLL Analyst

Apr 27, 2021

CLEAR! The ride is on. The highly anticipated 2021 College Draft Presented by Champion is in the books.

All four rounds of results can be found here.

Let’s dive into 10 storylines, surprises, and steals from Monday night.

1. Jeff Teat goes #1

IL’s top-ranked incoming freshman in 2016. Team Canada’s leading scorer as a sophomore in college. Cornell’s go-to playmaker – so prolific that teams tossed shutoffs with man, shutoffs with zone, and the rest of the kitchen sink at the Big Red.

At every stage of his career, Jeff Teat has lived up to the hype.

It’s no secret that this pick was between Teat and Michael Sowers (Duke). Two very different attackmen who can both be MVP candidates in this league. Here’s why Atlas went with Teat:

The game unfolds for Teat in slow motion. He sees doubles from a mile away – and carries them for a second longer than most would ever dare.

Head coach Ben Rubeor has referenced the overlap between Rob Pannell and Eric Law over and over again this offseason. Both occupied X last summer; bank on Teat to live on the lefty wing.

Teat thrives in the two-man game. He’ll have plenty of lefty pick-and-roll partners on Atlas: Joel Tinney, Chris Cloutier, Mark Cockerton, and Dan Bucaro. 

Ultimately, the biggest reason: Teat impacts the game as an off-ball threat. He doesn’t need the ball in his stick. If you look at Atlas’ offseason in the rearview mirror, you’ll notice that Rubeor has moved away from ball dominant players. He didn’t trade Rob Pannell away to replace him with another quarterback; he wants this offense to look different.

2. The rest of Rubeor’s haul

  • Round 1, Pick 1: Jeff Teat, A, Cornell
  • Round 1, Pick 8: Dox Aitken, M, Virginia
  • Round 2, Pick 10: Jake Carraway, A/M, Georgetown
  • Round 2, Pick 11: Danny Logan, SSDM, Denver
  • Round 3, Pick 17: Peter Dearth, SSDM, Syracuse
  • Round 4, Pick 26: Gerard Arceri, FO, Penn State

Rapid reactions from Atlas' six-pick night: 

Dox Aitken (Virginia) is a steal at 8th overall. He’s a two-way midfielder built for this league – like Bryan Costabile, who the Bulls took 2nd overall in 2020.

Jake Carraway (Georgetown) fits into this attack like the last puzzle piece. A Teat-Eric Law-Carraway attack line has a beautiful balance of lefty/righty and dodging/finishing. Law is at his best at X – sneaking while downhill dodgers draw doubles, creeping above GLE for a finish or floating across the Z-line to facilitate a change in fields. Since 2015, Law has shot 16-for-29 (55.2%) off feeds from the lefty wing, where Teat will live – better than he has off feeds from X (48.1%) or from up top (43.2%). 

Danny Logan (DenveR) is a three-time captain for the Pios – and a lockdown SSDM.

Peter Dearth (Syracuse) will have to adjust to playing with five other defenders; Gerard Arceri (Penn State) might be better with his knee down than with the NCAA-enforced standing neutral grip.

(Reminder: Atlas LC has four picks in the first two rounds next year, too. They own Cannons LC’s 1st round pick and Redwoods LC’s 2nd round pick.)

3. Michael Sowers to the Waterdogs

As a team, the Waterdogs shot 15.0% on unassisted drives from X last summer.

Sowers changes that, immediately. Bigger defensemen cannot contain his shake. The crease might as well be covered in banana peels. Don’t be surprised when Sowers and Grant Ament feast – and then defenses across the league that wanted to get stronger to stop Matt Rambo and Zed Williams suddenly look to get quicker to contain these two.

The 2021 draft class was two-in-one. It’s only fitting that there are two #1 caliber players in Teat and Sowers.

4. First domino to fall: Chrome LC drafts JT Giles-Harris

Chrome LC took JT Giles-Harris third overall. Everyone expected Chrome head coach Tim Soudan to take TD Ierlan. But after receiving news about defenseman Tom Rigney’s military commitments, Soudan pivoted and addressed the defense.

And here’s the domino effect…

Ierlan then fell to the Redwoods, filling their biggest (and only) hole – more on that in a minute.

Suddenly, LSM Jared Conners (Virginia) – Jake Watts’ favorite player in the entire class – had fallen to five?! 

The Archers, who added defensemen Graeme Hossack and Warren Jeffrey in the Entry Draft, selected Conners. They have a ton of quality defensemen at this point. So head coach Chris Bates got on the phone.

Bates sent Eli Gobrecht to Waterdogs LC in exchange for the 18th overall pick.

With the 18th pick, Bates drafted Jeff Trainor (UMass) – who Ryan Boyle correctly guessed would’ve been Chaos LC head coach Andy Towers’ pick at 19.

That is a draft day domino.

5. Eli Gobrecht traded to Waterdogs LC for the 18th overall pick

In the 2018 MLL Championship, the Outlaws were struggling to stop Jordan Wolf. Their halftime adjustment? Put Eli Gobrecht on Wolf.

In the 2019 MLL Semifinals, the Outlaws were struggling to stop Zed Williams. Their halftime adjustment? Put Eli Gobrecht on Zed. 

The Outlaws came back to win both of those games. Gobrecht kept Wolf and Zed quiet. He’s surgical with his checks.

6. Best pick: TD Ierlan to the Redwoods 

Did any team stand to upgrade at any one position more than the Woods did at FO? 

The Woods faced off at 36.2% in 2020. TD Ierlan has faced off at 75.3% during his collegiate career.

7. Other picks I like…

Kyle Thornton (Notre Dame/Penn) should start for Chaos LC on defense. He’s an organizer; IL’s Terry Foy has him neck and neck with Will Bowen for the Schmeisser Award. He’s earning his master’s degree in help defense from Notre Dame this spring. Thornton could help Blaze Riorden see less than 75 shots per game – and he’ll pluck one pass per game out of thin air.

Ryan Terefenko (Ohio State) has an all-time motor. Some mock drafts had him going third overall to Chrome – not crazy – yet they landed him at 12 overall. Head coach Tim Soudan was chuckling while he made the pick, seemingly stunned that Terefenko was available.

Ethan Walker (Denver) is one of the nastiest hitch-and-go shooters in college lacrosse history. He resets his feet so quickly. Walker could fit this Waterdogs offense better than Ben Reeves or Michael Kraus on the lefty side.

8. Whipsnakes Stay Kings 

The Whips somehow landed Connor Kirst (Rutgers) and Ryan Tierney (Hofstra). Two top-10 players on Paul Carcaterra’s big board.

Then they scooped Colin Squires (Denver) and Nick Grill (Maryland) on the defensive end. Squires can play close or pole – key to keeping Michael Ehrhardt fresh after Brett Schmidt’s retirement. Head coach Jim Stagnitta mentioned that Billy Tierney raved about him. If Bill Tierney recommends a defender, you take him – especially if you’re on a “Billy” basis with Bill Tierney.

9. Chaos adds more Canadians 

Chaos’s six picks:

  • Round 1, Pick 6: Mac O’Keefe, A, Penn State
  • Round 2, Pick 14: Kyle Gallagher, FO, Notre Dame/Penn
  • Round 2, Pick 15: Tanner Cook, M, UNC
  • Round 3, Pick 19: Jared Bernhardt, A, Maryland
  • Round 3, Pick 22: Kyle Thornton, D, Notre Dame/Penn
  • Round 4, Pick 30: Ryan Smith, A, Robert Morris

Head coach Andy Towers grinned after each one. He was shocked to land Gallagher in the second – and even mentioned that he considered taking him in the first.

Plus, he landed two Canucks in Cook and Smith. Hat tip to friend of the 10MR Pat Gregoire for the tweet of the night.

10. Cannons draft Kielty and Rehfuss

Jack Kielty (Notre Dame) may be the best close defender in this class – a steal in the second round. Stephen Rehfuss (Syracuse) gives the Cannons a feeding presence on the lefty side.

Sidenote: Cannons LC had two picks: 9th and 25th. Offensive coordinator Sean Kirwan – also the OC at the University of Virginia – saw Dox Aitken selected 8th overall and Charlie Bertrand at 24th. Right before the Cannons were on the clock.

Thanks for reading!

Spread the word, submit any questions you want to see answered in this space to me on Twitter (@joekeegs), and I’ll talk to you next week!

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