When Kevin Leveille, Joe Walters, Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison don their Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame gold jackets on Saturday, they’ll join a group that represents the game’s rich history and that establishes a standard of greatness for the following generations of pro players to strive for.
Those four will grow the Hall of Fame to 25 players strong in its fourth year of establishment. Each of those legends was voted in by the Hall of Fame Committee, which is comprised of a collection of the game’s all-time greats.
The committee includes esteemed coaches and former players such as Tony Resch (current Utah Archers defensive coordinator), Gerry Byrne (Harvard men’s lacrosse head coach) and Bill Daye (former Boston Cannons head coach) and a number of other all-timers. In addition to that committee, all previously inducted Hall-of-Famers also vote around the New Year.
That group has its finger on the pulse of the history of the professional game, and it ensures that all eras, player skill, and milestone moments are appropriately appreciated when considering who should be a Hall of Famer.
“It’s really special to have the opportunity to recognize some of the pioneers of our game,” Rachael DeCecco, the Vice President of Lacrosse at the PLL and chair of the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame Committee, said. “There was pro lacrosse in the MLL before the PLL. We want to make sure that the guys who played in the early days of professional lacrosse get their due.”
To be eligible for induction, a player must have played five seasons of professional lacrosse and have retired three full seasons prior. That means that Walters, Harrison and Rabil (who all retired following the 2021 season) are first-ballot Hall of Famers who are being inducted the first year that they became eligible for consideration.
There are two rounds of voting to determine the new inductees each year. It’s a selective process that only yields the number of Hall of Famers who meet those requirements, meaning there’s no set number that the committee targets each year. Rather, it’s about the players who match the committee’s standard who enter the Hall of Fame.
“Obviously all of these guys excel on the field, but there are other intangibles that make them Hall of Famers. Beyond their on-field talents, they are great teammates, leaders, and stewards of our game,” DeCecco said.
In the first round of voting, every voting member submits three names for consideration. Players who receive at least 20% of the vote and are in the top-20% of vote-getters move onto the second round.
On the second ballot, each player is voted on individually and those who hit a 75% approval mark are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The players who are inducted receive a call from DeCecco and Seth Tierney, the PLL’s Head of Competition, who officially welcome them to the Hall. This year’s class including the first three former PLL players to be inducted and one of the league’s co-founders made those calls particularly special for DeCecco and Tierney.
“To see how much it meant to Paul, it goes to show how difficult it is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” DeCecco said. “This is the highest honor in professional lacrosse. To see his reaction, knowing that he’s built this league, made it extra, extra special.”
Brodie Merrill, Scott Ratliff, Matt Abbott and a handful of other potential future inductees retired following the 2022 season and will be eligible for the first time this winter. Yet there are still plenty of previously-retired legends such as, Ned Crotty, Matt Poskay, Matt Danowski, Drew Westervelt, Jesse Schwartzman, Drew Snider, Drew Adams, John Galloway, Greg Gurenlian and others who will also be up for consideration.
While the Hall of Fame only consists of players right now, there’s also potential to induct coaches and other lacrosse personnel in the future as it continues to acknowledge the greats who’ve shaped the professional game into what it is today.
“It’s about legacy, remembering where the game has been,” DeCecco said. “There are 25 years of professional lacrosse history. As we continue to raise the bar for professional lacrosse, we want to make sure we don’t forget the roots of it. We want to make sure that we’re recognizing the greats and giving players something to aspire to.”
