How Mason Woodward’s highlight tape convinced Archers to draft him
By Zach Carey | Apr 11, 2025
The 2023 Cash App Championship was a crowning achievement for the Archers. Following four years of postseason disappointment and a rebuild of sorts the previous offseason, the club hoisted its first Cash App Championship Trophy in Philadelphia after beating the Waterdogs in a back-and-forth thriller.
Amid the celebrations as the team loaded onto its bus, rookies Piper Bond and Connor Maher sat together considering the club’s future and odds of running it back the following summer. Shortly beforehand, they’d learned that veteran defenseman Matt McMahon planned to hang up his cleats after 10 years in the pros and five seasons as the voice of the Archers defense. The loss of McMahon weighed heavily on their minds, so the two began brainstorming where the Archers defense would turn next.
“Who’s really good that could play [for us]?” they asked each other.
After going back and forth for a few minutes, they nearly simultaneously came to the same conclusion: Mason Woodward had to be the guy. As Baltimore natives, Maher and Bond had known of the Marquette defender for years and played together occasionally in college when home during the offseason.
“He's the man, and he's really, really good,” they agreed. “He could be a great fit.”
Inspired by their joint idea, the two made their way to the front of the bus to plant the seed of drafting Woodward in the minds of the coaching staff. Turning to head coach Chris Bates and assistant Brian Kavanagh, they relayed their idea.
“Hey, Matt's retiring,” they said. “We’ve got to go get Mason Woodward.”
Fast forward to the following spring, and the Utah coaching staff was deep in draft prep. Bates, Kavanagh and Tony Resch knew they wanted to target a close defender to replace McMahon with the No. 8 overall pick. Prospects including Woodward, Ajax Zappitello, Kenny Brower and Jake Piseno were on the Archers’ board. But they didn’t have a concrete idea of who their top guy was.
Their concern with Woodward regarded his ability to cover one-versus-one. Marquette’s defensive scheme made compiling a comprehensive scouting report difficult.
“The thing that was a little bit troublesome was just how much zone Marquette played,” Kavanagh explained.
“We didn’t see him cover a ton because they played some zone,” Bates added. “Sometimes they put him on the off-ball guy, and you’re like, ‘Wait a second, this guy [seemed] like he could shut down a matchup.’”
Intrigued by what they had seen but unsure whether Woodward had all the tools they wanted, Kavanagh had Bond and Maher reach out to Woodward about sending them film of him covering elite attackmen.
Woodward compiled a highlight reel dating back to his freshman season. From takeaway checks, transition goals, crease collapses, blocked shots and plays where Woodward stuffed top stars such as CJ Kirst and Tucker Dordevic, the reel provided a comprehensive overview of his entire career at Marquette.
“He covered CJ Kirst,” Kavanagh noted. “He covered Dordevic. We really kind of dug up a lot of film where we thought he had better individual matchups.”
For instance, this play where Woodward navigated a pick before helping strip Kirst stood out. His physicality was evident in clip after clip.
Woodward’s defense against Dordevic from 2023 also flashed. Watch how, starting on the righty wing, Woodward effectively tracked Dordevic through off-ball picks, helped to goal line extended, then recovered to Dordevic on the perimeter, drop-stepped to defend Dordevic’s face dodge and got on his hands to lock down the roll.
Woodward sent the compilation to Bond and Maher, who forwarded it to the Utah coaching staff. Upon studying the 119 clips Woodward included, the Archers’ coaches came to a shared verdict:
“Okay, confirmed. This is our guy,” Kavanagh said.
For Bates, the tape put everything that makes Woodward a complete defender on display. Crucially, it gave them enough confidence that he could guard professional players in isolated situations.
“He’s great on the ground. He can cover. He's good off-ball," Bates said. "It just gave us a little bit more peace of mind that this was who we thought he was."
Beyond his fluidity both on and off the ball, Woodward’s effort and skills when the ball was on the ground were prevailing themes from the highlight tape. The first play in the compilation came from his seventh career game when he hounded Michigan’s Bryce Clay off a ground ball, knocked down Clay’s pass, scooped up the ball, ran it down the field and then scored on a nifty give-and-go. It was Woodward’s first career goal.
The tape also included multiple examples of Woodward diving to block step-down shots from getting to his goalie – a habit that Utah adores in its defenders.
Confident in their evaluation of Woodward given their detailed scout off his highlight tape, Utah entered the draft expecting to select the Marquette defender eighth overall.
Woodward, on the other hand, was uncertain about his destination and how soon he’d be off the board. The Philadelphia Waterdogs were an option at No. 7. The New York Atlas had also expressed some interest in him. But, sitting in the Marquette film room and looking around at all his teammates milling around him, the nerves built.
“Oh, wow, this might be a long day,” he thought to himself. “Hopefully these guys don’t have to stay here all night.”
When Philadelphia was on the clock at No. 7, the room buzzed with anticipation. But the Waterdogs took Matt Brandau at that spot, and the energy dissipated. Fortunately for Woodward and his future team, though, he didn’t have to wait much longer, as the Archers drafted him with the very next pick.
“It all sort of came together very well,” Bates said.
With the lengthy look the staff got at Woodward’s game via his highlight reel, and Bond and Maher vouching for him personally, the fit between him and the Archers was ideal.
That process paid off massively for Utah in 2024. Woodward was a Day 1 starter at close defense and grew more and more comfortable throughout the summer. In particular, the Archers’ game against the California Redwoods in Fairfield was a turning point for Woodward. While he’d fit well into the team’s settled defense, he hadn’t yet impacted games as a threat in the middle of the field like he did at Marquette, going scoreless through five games.
Right before faceoff against the Woods, Tom Schreiber approached Woodward with a simple message.
“Hey, we're halfway through the season,” Schreiber said. “You're not really a rookie anymore. Just go out and just play.”
Resch expressed a similar sentiment.
“Just shoot the ball,” Utah’s defensive coordinator told his first-year defender.
For Woodward, that was a turning point in his rookie season, giving him the confidence to play free. No longer feeling the pressure of avoiding mistakes, he notched five scoring points in the Archers’ final five regular-season contests.
Then, at a crucial moment early in the 2024 Cash App Championship, Woodward ripped the ball away from Ryan Conrad at midfield and canned a deep two-pointer to give Utah life after a slow start. He also held Rookie of the Year TJ Malone to 0-for-10 shooting (including one blocked shot from Woodward) to help limit the Maryland Whipsnakes to just eight points and help lead Utah to a second consecutive title.
A year after Bond and Maher pitched Woodward as the McMahon replacement, he made good on their endorsement, putting everything from his college highlight reel on full display on the biggest stage.
“That is the perfect encapsulation of the machine. The organization rolls on.” McMahon said, praising the Archers’ complementary, organization-wide operations.
“Immediately, they replaced me with a better player who's a great teammate and loved in the locker room,” he added. “Somebody that's going to contribute his own element to the culture in a way that makes it even better. That's the dream of leaving something. You get to see it just get better and better."
Utah has become the standard for success in the PLL. Seamlessly plugging Woodward in for McMahon is another illustration of that status. What was a need last April has become a strength. That, of course, wouldn’t have been possible without Woodward sending the Archers staff such a comprehensive breakdown of his game.
Now, Woodward is a part of Utah’s young core that is primed to keep building.
“He had a sick year,” Bond said of his teammate and friend. “I think he's just going to continue to get better and better, and I'm really happy for him.”
