The Utah Archers are the class of the Premier Lacrosse League. As the adrenaline from their second consecutive title wears off and the Gatorade is washed out of their clothes, the Archers will look forward to achieving something no team ever has in professional lacrosse:

A three-peat. 

Entering the 2024-25 offseason, Utah is sitting pretty after extending the majority of its 2024 free agents before this past summer. Brett Dobson, Tom Schreiber, Connor Fields, Mac O’Keefe, Tre Leclaire and Latrell Harris all signed deals through 2026 (or 2027 in Dobson’s case) and are committed to the club for the long haul. 

The Archers do have four players from their 19-man roster currently set to hit free agency. Grant Ament, Matt Moore, Graeme Hossack and Jon Robbins will all be looking for new deals when their contracts expire in March. Expect Utah to be aggressive in re-signing these four. 

“Those guys are Archers. Each and every one of them are Archers,” Utah head coach Chris Bates said. “We want our guys back. I don’t think there’s a question, and I don’t think anybody on our current roster is going to want to go elsewhere because of the unique opportunity that we have in front of us.”

Each of those four players is a core piece of the Archers roster. Hossack is the club’s lockdown No. 1 defender who can guard players from Asher Nolting to Michael Sowers. Robbins has been a stable presence at long-stick midfielder and stepped up in 2024 after Utah traded Jared Conners to the California Redwoods. 

Ament became the second player ever (after Gary Gait) to be an All-Pro at both attack and midfield following a league-leading 28-point season as a midfielder. Moore, despite a slow start and a late-season injury, remains a valuable component of the Archers offense who scored four and three points, respectively, in the club’s two Cash App Championship victories. 

Should Utah bring each of those four back, there will be few if any holes on the Archers’ 2025 roster. Their only other free agents are offensive depth options Ryan Aughavin, Challen Rogers, Cole Williams, Jackson Morrill and Jacob Morin. 

Aughavin and Rogers each contributed to Utah’s 2023 run. Then Rogers missed all but one game in 2024 due to injury while Aughavin had his spot on the 19-man roster poached by rookies Dyson Williams and Jack VanOverbeke after shooting 1-for-12 in his six regular-season appearances. 

After Utah traded for him in December of 2023, Cole Williams missed the entirety of the 2024 regular season due to an injury suffered during the Championship Series in February. Meanwhile, Morrill (whom the Archers acquired by trade late in the season) and Morin (a post-draft pickup from the player pool) have yet to suit up for Utah.

The Archers have a stacked offense with a loaded top seven – assuming Ament and Moore re-sign. So, realistically, there will likely only be one gameday roster spot open on the offensive side of the ball (barring injury). Dyson Williams and VanOverbeke provided quality depth as rookies and could have the inside track to that spot.

As for other clubs’ free agents, the Archers will do their due diligence. But they’re confident in their current roster and their drafting ability to ensure they enter 2025 in a good spot.

“I don’t know how active we need to be in the free agent [market],” Bates added, noting he’d yet to dive deep into who will be available. “There may be one guy, who knows,” he said.

After Utah extended five core players last offseason, look for them to potentially do the same for guys who have just one more year on their current contracts. 

The Archers’ 2023 rookie class of Mike Sisselberger, Piper Bond, Connor Maher and Cam Wyers could all be extension-worthy, with Sisselberger and Bond arguably the top two options after being All-Stars in their first two seasons. Close defender Warren Jeffrey is another name to watch after a pair of stellar seasons playing as Utah’s No. 2 cover defenseman.

Looking way ahead to the 2025 College Draft next May, the Archers are in a privileged position. If one or more of their big four free agents goes elsewhere, the hole(s) they leave will be the priority in the draft. If they’re all back, Utah can go about supplementing the depth that has been so crucial in its back-to-back titles. 

“We’ve got some depth, so there’s not a lot of wiggle room we have on this roster,” Bates said. “Obviously, we want to get better and we think we probably can. The core remains intact and we feel like the guys who are available to others will want to be a part of us. I think we’re positioned pretty well.”

The Archers have built the best roster in lacrosse over the past few years, and it looks unlikely that they’ll relinquish that crown entering 2025. Whether they’ll make history and accomplish the three-peat is another thing. But the club is set up for sustained success as Utah looks to establish a pro lacrosse dynasty.