In three Lexus Championship Series, we’ve had three different types of Golden Stick Award winners.
The inaugural event in 2023 saw Romar Dennis score a ridiculous 15 two-point goals, a record that I’m not sure anyone but Dennis himself could beat.
In 2024, Philadelphia’s Kieran McArdle claimed the award with a balanced combination of one-point goals (14) and two-point goals (six) while converting over 50% of his shots.
And then last year, Boston’s Matt Campbell did most of his damage inside the two-point arc, scoring 19 one-point goals, the most across any Championship Series.
Which prototype will prevail this year? McArdle’s and Campbell’s teams didn’t qualify for the 2026 tournament. So, can Dennis reclaim his title with his two-point shooting prowess, or will we see a new winner emerge?
Spotlighting my top five candidates for the Golden Stick Award, which is given to the player with the most scoring points during the Lexus Championship Series:
Romar Dennis, California Redwoods
To score goals, you need to generate shots. And Dennis does that with ease.
How? His ability to shoot from behind the 13-yard two-point line with either hand, both with his feet set and on the move.
In the 2023 Championship Series, he led the event in shots with 46 (80.4% of which were from two) en route to winning the inaugural Golden Stick Award.
But in 2024, Dennis tallied just 12 points despite taking only 10 fewer shots. His shooting percentage dropped from 41.3% in 2023 to 20.6%. Part of the reason? After the 2023 Championship Series, Dennis had stress fractures in his vertebrae from the amount of shooting he did in the tournament.
Dennis is one of the most feared scorers in the Championship Series, but whether he can stay healthy and get the ball on frame will be his biggest question marks.
Dylan Molloy, California Redwoods
Dennis’ teammate is just as dangerous in Sixes, but for different reasons.
Molloy, who ranked fourth at the 2023 Championship Series with 17 scoring points, had a more balanced tournament with his ability to do a little bit of everything.
From a dodging standpoint in close, long poles couldn’t stop Molloy on his way to the net last summer, so it’s awfully difficult to imagine a short stick slowing him down. And he still has the ability to stretch a defense from the two-point arc, scoring five twos in 2023.
Molloy’s ceiling could be capped by having to split touches with the shot-dominant Dennis, but like we saw with Campbell last year, he could have a ton of success inside the two-point arc with his physical dodging style.
Bryan Costabile, New York Atlas
Costabile was an all-around points machine in 2023. Finishing as the Golden Stick Award runner-up, Costabile had 28 scoring points on a balanced stat line of 10 one-pointers and nine two-pointers. At the 2025 Championship Series, he finished third behind Campbell and Asher Nolting for the award — but had New York made the championship game, he could very well have won.
With his downhill dodging ability and righty hammer from the outside, will this be Costabile’s year to win the Golden Stick?
Jackson Eicher, Carolina Chaos
The points leader for Carolina last summer could very easily be the scoring points leader for this whole tournament.
Why? Eicher’s shooting prowess from the righty wing. With crafty creators Ross Scott and Shane Knobloch sure to draw a ton of attention throughout the tournament, Eicher could be the beneficiary of that attention with ample space to hammer shots.
Don’t discount his dodging either; Eicher had six unassisted goals last summer, more than guys like Matt Traynor and Connor Fields.
Graham Bundy Jr., Denver Outlaws
Denver’s top five goal scorers from the 2025 season aren’t playing in the Championship Series, but even if they were, there would still be a case for Bundy to lead the Outlaws in scoring points.
Only teammate Brennan O’Neill has more goals from beyond 13 yards since Bundy entered the PLL in 2024, and Bundy was second in the league in two-point goals (six) as a rookie. While those numbers dipped in 2025, he’s one of the best in the league from behind the two-point line, with a right-handed flamethrower clocking in well over 100 miles per hour.
So while he’s not the prolific midfielder dodger like Costabile, if Bundy can heat up from deep, he could rack up two-point goals in a hurry.
The biggest concern is whether Bundy’s game can translate to Sixes. This is his first Championship Series, so whether he needs an acclimation period to the different style is to be determined.
