The Carolina Chaos have three picks in the 2025 PLL College Draft presented by Q-Collar, and their first pick at No. 5 overall is the most intriguing. 

The California Redwoods' third overall pick is the biggest domino waiting to fall and will dictate Carolina’s draft options. 

Zach Carey’s, Kevin Brown’s and Adam Lamberti’s mock drafts all have the same constants: 

• No. 1, Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2 or 3, California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke

The biggest question is: Which other player will Redwoods general manager Joe Spallina take with his back-to-back selections?

• Sam King, A, Harvard
• Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• Sam English, M, Syracuse

Here are some of the current mock draft scenarios and some I can see happening, ranked in my opinion from best to worst for Carolina:

Scenario A: Redwoods select Sam King

Probability: Very Unlikely

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Sam King, A, Harvard
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton 
• No. 5. Carolina Chaos: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame

Kavanagh could be a game-changer down low for the Chaos, who had the league’s worst offense in 2024 and have been bottom-three for the last three seasons. He is the No. 2 prospect according to Paul Carcaterra and Adam Lamberti. Inside Lacrosse’s Kevin Brown has him listed as the No. 4 overall prospect. 

In new Chaos head coach Roy Colsey’s unstructured offense, Kavanagh can play the finisher or flex role on the righty wing. The “flex” position is supposed to draw a shorty, and most defenses aren’t going to want to put a short stick on such a dynamic offensive threat. 

In the finisher role, Kavanagh would be able to occupy the righty wing like he has in his time at Notre Dame, and he would receive similar matchups to what he’s used to, allowing him to tap into his scoring and feeding game. 

Scenario B: Redwoods select Sam English

Probability: Low to moderate chance

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Sam English, M, Syracuse
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton
• No. 5. Carolina Chaos: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame

This is nearly No. 1 for me, but the idea of English slipping out of the top five and consequently out of the top eight, like in Zach Carey’s mock, is way too intriguing because, as Paul Carcaterra put it, “Sam English is the true unicorn of this draft.”

Carolina also has pick No. 13 in the draft, and I don’t foresee English falling out of the top 10, but the sheer sliver of a chance that he could land with the Chaos makes Scenario A the ideal outcome despite the small probability. 

Scenario C: Redwoods select Chris Kavanagh; Chaos select Sam English

Probability: On the table

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton
• No. 5. Carolina Chaos: Sam English, M, Syracuse

I agree with Carc’s sentiments on English and think whoever lands him is getting a player who will later be labeled as a “consummate professional” because he’s willing to do anything across the field for his team and does so at a high level. 

In the Colsey offense, the Chaos will need versatile players who can fill multiple roles, and English is the most versatile player in the draft. He’d likely find his footing in the free-flowing feel quickly and could elevate the entire righty wing from multiple positions within the offense. 

The added aspect of Carolina having holes to fill at short-stick defensive midfield makes English even more intriguing. 

English’s collegiate career started at Princeton, where he played SSDM for the Tigers before developing into a top two-way midfielder in the country. New York Atlas midfielder Jake Stevens had a similar collegiate path and role. English’s athletic ability makes him more intriguing Stevens, who was the 10th overall pick and second midfielder off the board last year.

The Canadian righty has great speed and lateral quickness, which makes him an extremely dangerous dodger because he has a great feel for his body to avoid contact from defenders on his way to the rack, and an equally solid defender to match the foot speed and lateral movements of midfielders out of the box. 

Scenario C: Redwoods select Chris Kavanagh; Chaos select Sam King

Probability: On the table

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton
• No. 5. Carolina Chaos: Sam King, A, Harvard

I don’t think King is a bad option. I’m just unsure about his fit within the Chaos offense as a natural righty X attackman. In the new Colsey offense, Carolina already has players who would be in his presumptive roles as the righty “flex” or “finisher.” 

Taking King out of his natural X role and placing him in a free-flowing, unscripted offense could create too many early growing pains, resulting in his role diminishing. 

Scenario C: Redwoods select Chris Kavanagh; Chaos select Owen Hiltz

Probability: Low chance

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton
• No. 5 Carolina Chaos: Owen Hiltz, A, Syracuse

Scenario C: Redwoods select Chris Kavanagh; Chaos select Jake Taylor

Probability: Low chance

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton
• No. 5 Carolina Chaos: Jake Taylor, A, Notre Dame

I think Hiltz and Taylor are more likely to be available in the second round, and approaching them as first-rounders could be a reach. 

Both players thrive in off-ball roles, and Hiltz is an excellent distributor with wicked release points. I think he’d have a greater impact as a first-round pick for Carolina than Taylor because the Notre Dame attackman needs an elite distributor to unlock his full potential inside eight yards.

Carolina doesn’t have an “elite” distributor in its lineup but has a few proficient ones. 

Scenario D: Cannons select Owen Hiltz; Chaos select Coulter Mackesy

Probability: Black swan event that could have a dual success outcome

• No. 1. Philadelphia Waterdogs: CJ Kirst, A, Cornell
• No. 2. California Redwoods: Andrew McAdorey, M, Duke
• No. 3. California Redwoods: Chris Kavanagh, A, Notre Dame
• No. 4. Boston Cannons: Owen Hiltz, A, Syracuse
• No. 5. Carolina Chaos: Coulter Mackesy, A, Princeton

There hasn’t been much discussion about Hiltz to the Cannons, and it's Carolina’s peak outcome with Kavanagh also going third. 

Mackesy is predominantly expected to be drafted ahead of his Canadian counterpart, Hiltz, because he has all the same tools as Hiltz and is a much larger dodging threat from the lefty wing. 

Hiltz to Boston isn’t a terrible option because he wouldn’t need to be a dominant ball-handler with Marcus Holman (381 touches in 2024), Asher Nolting (316) and Matt Campbell (261) carrying the load. In turn, Boston would get a lefty to fill that wing who can catch and score and thread defenses with skips to Campbell (five two-point goals in 2024), Holman (three) and Ryan Drenner (two). 

Rather than getting a player like Mackesy, who’s accustomed to seeing the most touches in an offense and having multiple chances to dodge, with Hiltz, you get a player who can enhance an entire system off-ball with little to no touches spent on dodges. 

Carolina then would have the option to take Mackesy, who’d fill the largest current hole in the Chaos offense: a dominant lefty ball-handler. 

Mackesy can play off-ball attack and find success, but to reach his full potential, he needs to have a dodging element in his game to showcase how intelligent of a player he is on the lefty side.