Connor Shellenberger is dominating in a breakout season. The second-year attackman currently leads the league in points with 35, and his emergence as the catalyst of the New York Atlas has propelled the team to a five-game win streak and the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Atlas offensive coordinator Steven Brooks credits Shellenberger’s Year 2 leap to him taking more risks in the game instead of playing conservatively.
“I’ve had to challenge Shellenberger a bit, especially early on, to get that ‘college edge’ back — the passion, that chip on his shoulder,” Brooks said. “Last year, he was trying to find his footing as a rookie. Now this year, it’s like, ‘You need to take over.’ The crazy thing is, you look at the box score after a game and think, ‘Wow, Shellenberger had seven assists,’ and he’ll still feel like he didn’t play well enough.”
Shellenberger has embraced the challenge set by Brooks. Rather than letting the game come to him, he is now dictating the pace of play. Shellenberger’s vision to create offense for both himself and his teammates has helped New York lead the league in shooting percentage this season (29.2%) while ranking second in both total scores and scores per game.
What made Shellenberger stand out in college as a four-time first-team All-American was his ability to play anywhere in a system. If he was asked to dodge and be the party-starter, it was no problem. If teams started to scout him as a scorer, he could become a distributor from behind the cage when called upon.
Even when Shellenberger had trouble with the ball in his stick, he still managed to find ways to create offense off-ball by stretching the field with his shooting.
What sets Shellenberger apart from other attackmen is not just his production, but his ability to make players around him better. At Virginia, Shellenberger and lefty attackman Payton Cormier were considered one of the best 1-2 punches in the NCAA. The duo accumulated a combined 506 points together in Charlottesville. As Shellenberger finished his career as Virginia’s all-time leading scorer, Cormier ended his tenure as the NCAA’s all-time leading goal-scorer (prior to CJ Kirst breaking the record in 2025).
Drafted second overall in the 2024 College Draft, Shellenberger showed signs of his full potential by scoring 18 points in his first three games as a pro. He then dealt with a lower-body injury that limited his availability, and his production gradually decreased for New York. While a promising future seemed near, it was not the start many expected from a player like Shellenberger, who finished his rookie season with 15 goals and 11 assists.
This season, New York’s attack revolves around Shellenberger as the primary initiator, flanked by one of the league’s best finishers in Xander Dickson and the high-IQ mind of reigning Jim Brown MVP Jeff Teat. With Shellenberger at his best, the trio has spearheaded one of the league’s top offenses.
With Teat drawing heavy attention after a 2024 season in which he shattered the PLL’s single-season points record, Shellenberger has taken charge of New York’s offense and has put himself in serious contention to win league MVP.
Shellenberger credits Teat’s presence as a key factor in his own dominance this season.
“Not only can he dodge and beat you one-on-one, but he’s also one of the best off-ball players in the world,” Shellenberger said. “Anything you throw at him, he catches. He finishes from ridiculous angles with defenders draped on him. It’s like playing with a lefty finisher who catches everything but can also run two-man game and shoot from distance. There’s no weakness to his game.”
Playing with Teat has been an eye-opening experience for Shellenberger to see how he views the game from a completely different perspective.
“One of the coolest things about playing with Jeff is hearing how he sees the game and communicates it,” Shellenberger said. “Anytime he says something in the huddle, it’s almost always right and leads to a goal. The way he sees the game is insane.”
Brooks could not be happier with how the chemistry between his offensive stars has developed. As dominant as both players can be on the field — Shellenberger and Teat have combined for 88 points through eight games, the most of any teammate duo this season — Brooks loves that they prioritize the No. 1 goal of winning each week.
“They’re both complete team players. They’ll put aside any personal accolades if it means the team wins,” Brooks said. “When you have two true quarterbacks like that — guys who are great teammates, super high IQ and have zero ego — you create a buzzsaw. They let the game come to them. They’re smart enough to read defenses and adapt. Like, Teat will go to Shellenberger and say, ‘Hey, I saw this look, try this next time,’ and Shellenberger’s like, ‘OK.’ Or vice versa. That’s their relationship.”
Both attackmen have played different roles within New York’s offense to put the team in the best position to win each week.
“The beauty of Teat and Shellenberger is that they’re versatile,” Brooks said. “If defenses take away their dodging, they’ll feed. If defenses take away passing lanes, they’ll score. I give them the framework — motion concepts, reads — but it’s fluid. Every game is different. I’ll tweak things after the first quarter based on what I see.”
New York has two former MVPs on its star-studded roster in Teat and Trevor Baptiste, but the Atlas still have yet to even play in a PLL championship game. Another MVP-caliber player in Shellenberger could be the missing piece to the puzzle.
The combination of a true quarterback who can dodge, distribute and score, alongside a high-IQ attackman who can dominate defenses off-ball, has been the X-factor of New York’s success in 2025.
After beating the Maryland Whipsnakes last Friday in Salt Lake City, New York has clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference and has its eyes set on a first-round bye. If Shellenberger can continue to produce the way he has, the dream of winning a championship could very well become a reality for the Atlas.
