The PLL’s player movement cycle is underway with the open discussion period starting on Wednesday. Next week, on Dec. 17, players with expiring contracts will be able to sign deals with new teams.
The group has both star power at the top and some depth pieces who could make a real difference on a new team in the right situation. Where these guys sign could play a major role in how the 2026 season unfolds.
These are the superlatives for the top targets in this class of unsigned players:
The most important piece to a repeat: Gavin Adler
If the Atlas want to repeat, retaining No. 77 is the No. 1 move they have to make this offseason.
Adler is the Michael Sowers stopper. Sowers is the best player in the East who doesn’t play for New York. He’s one of the hardest players to guard in the world, and Adler is the best equipped to limit his impact. Teams that don’t have a defender who can match feet with Sowers have to fundamentally alter how they defend the Philadelphia Waterdogs.
Adler, Jack Rowlett and Ajax Zappitello are the only close defensemen built to win with speed against Sowers. Other, bigger defenders such as JT Giles-Harris and Graeme Hossack can get by guarding the Sowers type. But even those two former Defensive Players of the Year are susceptible to Sowers’ elite speed and change of direction.
If Adler leaves New York, it would leave the reigning champs without the player most responsible for giving them an edge over their top competition in the East.
The low-maintenance lefty: Thomas McConvey
The Atlas discovered Reid Bowering was the ideal foil to Jeff Teat on the lefty wing in 2025. McConvey could be the next low-maintenance lefty midfielder to find his perfect fit in 2026.
The No. 8 pick in the 2023 College Draft had the best season of his career in 2025. He scored 13 goals on 43.3% shooting in the regular season. A closer look at his game-to-game performances reveals that 10 of those goals came in the first five games of the season.
The shift in the Waterdogs offense halfway through the regular season was the arrival of CJ Kirst. Kirst bumped attackman Jake Taylor out of the lineup, meaning McConvey lost a partner to work with on the inside and saw fewer touches on the lefty wing with Kirst occupying space alongside Kieran McArdle.
Philly wants more on-ball production from its midfield in 2026. McConvey could return and be effective on a low volume of touches alongside the Waterdogs’ stars. But he might be more valuable elsewhere.
Pairing McConvey with Owen Hiltz on the Carolina Chaos is an intriguing proposition reminiscent of the Bowering and Teat combo. Carolina didn’t have a lefty midfielder to play in the two-man game with Hiltz on the wing in 2025. McConvey and Hiltz could elevate each other’s games.
At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, McConvey has both the frame and the IQ to create advantages as a picker with the craftiness and stepdown shot to work well with another Canadian on the lefty wing.
The midfielders most likely to get Philly over the top: Bryan Costabile and Connor Kirst
The Waterdogs’ offensive midfield was not productive enough in 2025. The group shot 22.8% (49-for-215) across the team’s 12-game season. Philly attackmen shot 33.6% (75-for-223). There’s also the reality that Zach Currier (31), Connor Kelly (30) and Mikie Schlosser (30) are all in their early 30s. The Waterdogs could afford to get younger around their young stars in Sowers and CJ Kirst.
The best offensive midfielder on the market is New York’s Costabile. He’s a high-volume scorer out of the box who’s effective dodging downhill and getting his hands free. He’s also a stretch shooter with nine career two-pointers. Costabile might not be the sniper that Kelly is at his best, but he’s still a real threat from distance.
Costabile has also played with the last two league MVPs and embedded himself within an offense where he’s not the go-to guy. As Philly builds an offense around Sowers and Kirst to mirror the Atlas’ Connor Shellenberger-Teat pairing, Costabile’s a logical fit.
Connor Kirst presents the two-way threat that general manager Dave Cottle wants to prioritize this offseason. The eldest of the Kirst brothers has five years of professional lacrosse experience and could give Philly a boost in the middle of the field. He can take on one-on-one matchups defensively and jump-start the offense on the other end. Kirst would also get to play with younger brother CJ for the first time if he signed with the Waterdogs.
The Boston midfield is a bit crowded with young players Mic Kelly and Alex Vardaro competing with veterans who are on expiring deals, including Ryan Drenner and Jules Heningburg. The Cannons could look to shake up who they surround Midfielder of the Year Matt Campbell with.
The best available physical defender: Chris Fake
Good cover defenders are hard to find. Fake fits the mold of a defender who can battle with attackmen who want to win with size and power. He’s been fighting with Brennan O’Neill for years. Like how Adler is the key for New York to handle Sowers in the East, Fake is a critical piece for the California Redwoods to try to contain O’Neill in the West.
Fake is not in the Defensive Player of the Year tier, at least not yet. But he’s comfortably on the line below the best physical cover guys, including Giles-Harris, Hossack and Matt Dunn.
CJ Kirst is going to become a real problem in the East. Do the Maryland Whipsnakes want to get younger down low and add another pole who can handle that matchup? Could Fake be the heir apparent to Hossack’s role as the O’Neill stopper for the Utah Archers? Or maybe the Denver Outlaws see Fake as the right guy to add to their aging defense.
His best fit – and the team that needs him most – is probably still California. With Cole Kastner handling matchups against speedsters and Fake bruising with the boulders, that’d be a nice, young core for the Woods to build around defensively.
The goalie worth bringing to camp: Brendan Krebs
Krebs lost the Whipsnakes’ goalie battle to Emmet Carroll in 2025. Just a year earlier, he made 17 saves in the 2024 semifinals against the Atlas to help lead Maryland to a championship appearance. He stopped 53% of the shots he saw that season. While the elite tier of goalies is pushing close to 60% save percentages, Krebs fits in the tier below and should have a chance to compete for a starting job in 2026.
Philadelphia (50%) and California (49.6%) were both hindered by goalie play in 2025. Chayse Ierlan stepped up for the Woods late in the year. Matt DeLuca and Dillon Ward each had their moments for the Dogs. None of those three have proven to be better than Krebs at this point in their respective careers.
Krebs is a good, high-floor, low-cost goalie who is worth bringing to camp. Both the Waterdogs and the Redwoods should look to add a keeper in the draft. Krebs can provide insurance at the position and another dart throw as those teams try to find their franchise goalie.
The veteran with gas left in the tank: Myles Jones
Jones fell out of the New York lineup after the first two games of 2025. The 2016 No. 1 pick had his best year with the Atlas in 2022, scoring 18 points in 10 regular-season games.
At 32, Jones is still a physical freak of nature who can move well for a guy who’s 6-foot-5, 250 pounds. He’s a ball-dominant midfielder who can create his own shot and stretch opposing defenses. For a team that needs some oomph in the midfield, like Philly or Maryland, he could be a welcome addition as a depth piece who can take pressure off the stars around him.
Jones also put up 19 points in four games in the 2025 Championship Series. He could be a quality signing for a team looking to add some power to its offensive lineup in February.
