After a disappointing 3-7 season for the California Redwoods, there are a few questions head coach and general manager Nat St. Laurent and company have to answer this offseason to get the Woods back into the playoffs. 

The most important question surrounds Rob Pannell. 

After 13 professional lacrosse seasons, the Pannell question has remained the same over the past few years: Is he going to retire? 

After the Woods’ final game of 2024, Pannell made it clear that if he returns for another season, he wants a realistic shot at the one thing missing from his illustrious resume – a Premier Lacrosse League championship.

“I’ll have a long offseason to think about [retirement]. If I do come back, it’s not about the milestones,” the 600-point scorer said. “If I come back, I want to win a championship. … At this point in my career, I’m playing to win a championship.”

With that in mind, Woods’ decision-makers need to honestly assess whether they can compete for a title next year.

In 2024, it was apparent they would be rebuilding on the defensive side, but the letdowns on offense were unexpected. So, to get back into title contention, they’ll have to solidify both sides of the ball in one offseason. 

With seven players set to hit free agency and California owning the second overall pick in the 2025 College Draft, retooling the Redwoods will rest on making the right moves in both aspects of roster construction. 

Key free agents

Romar Dennis, M

BJ Farrare, LSM

Ryan Lee, A

Nakeie Montgomery, M

Rob Pannell, A

Kevin Rogers, M

Ryan Tierney, A

Redwoods offseason re-signing decisions

As mentioned above, the Pannell decision looms large. 

As much as it might seem like a “no-brainer” to bring back Pannell if he doesn’t retire, the Woods and RP3 need to have an honest conversation about whether their timelines still fit each other. 

The future Hall of Famer (deservingly) wants to win a championship to put a bow on his career. The Woods weren’t close to achieving that in 2024. In 2025, is it realistic that they will go from second-to-last place in the standings to the top of the league?

The no-brainer case for re-signing Pannell is that parity is abundant in the PLL, and the Redwoods were technically only a game out of the playoffs this season, so they may be closer to competing for a title than recency bias allows their fans to think. 

But if the Woods brass feels they are more than a season away from the chip, it may be worth letting the legend find a place to wrap his career up with the ultimate prize. If this is the chosen path, it would allow the Woods to architect a post-Pannell offense, which will have to occur eventually — whether in 2025 or shortly thereafter.  

With or without Pannell, to become a championship contender, the team will need players like Montgomery to accelerate their progression.

Montgomery should be extended. And with that extension, there will be elevated expectations. 

In 2024, Montgomery started the year playing wings on faceoffs and sparse offense before being moved back to his do-it-all role from 2023. Then, he was exclusively a D-mid before finally getting only offensive runs at the end of the season. 

Coming into 2025 with an extension, his role needs to be defined, and he needs to be put into positions that make him successful as an offensive middie. The coaching staff will have to take a closer look to see if any actions from the last two games should be explored more in 2025 and if there are any unconventional looks that the offense could use to get him to put more pressure on opposing defenses. 

After the Montgomery decision, Dennis seems like the other “must-have” on the re-signing board. There isn’t a more consistent two-point threat on the roster, and range shooting has been a persistent concern for this team.

Farrare’s ability to push in transition was “nice to have,” and the Redwoods undoubtedly want his speed and athleticism back in the mix. However, they face the challenge of integrating him into an already young, talent-laden defense featuring first-round picks Owen Grant and Arden Cohen, Long-Stick Midfielder of the Year candidate Jared Conners, an emerging Chris Fake, and incoming 6-foot-7 rookie Cole Kastner. 

Kastner was selected with the last pick in the 2024 draft due to his upcoming commitment to the Stanford basketball team, but he would have likely been the top defensive prospect in this year’s class.

Offseason addition priorities

Oddly, despite the 3-7 record, the Woods have only one need that pops off the page. 

They have one of the best faceoff specialists in the world, TD Ierlan, and he and Conners complement each other well at the stripe. 

Defensively, they were a young group, but Fake’s potential as a cover man against bigger attackmen was evident. With Grant returning and Kastner joining the team next year, it’s hard to imagine that group not gelling into something positive in the near term. 

When looking at the stats, Jack Kelly’s performance might suggest the goalie position should be a bigger question. His 50.4% save percentage was last among all goalies who appeared in five or more games. 

That said, he was put in precarious situations throughout the year due to defensive breakdowns and live-ball turnovers from the offense. Based on that, he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt that he’s better than his 2024 numbers.

That leaves the offense. 

After not having a pick in the first two rounds of one of the most offensively talented drafts in recent memory, trading away Levi Anderson after training camp and getting inconsistent play from Chris Gray, the outlook for the future of California's offense is significantly murkier compared to other units on the squad.

Finding more offensive weapons that complement initiators like Pannell and Ryder Garnsey, who upped his passing prowess in exchange for his electric goal-scoring last season, will be a top priority for improving in 2025 and beyond. 

Here are some potential names that’ll be worth pursuing for the Woods, even if they’re longshots: Dhane Smith, Ryan Drenner, Mike Chanenchuk, Justin Anderson, Connor Kelly.

With the second pick in the upcoming 2025 draft—likely meaning CJ Kirst will be off the board—Adam Lamberti’s way-too-early big board highlighted some intriguing prospects for Redwoods fans to watch this college season. Names to keep an eye on include Duke’s Andrew McAdorey, Notre Dame’s Chris Kavanagh, Syracuse’s Sam English and Princeton’s Coulter Mackesy.

This offseason is critical for the Redwoods, who have an opportunity to retool their roster and redefine their path to contention. By making smart moves in free agency and the draft, they can bolster the foundation that’ll be responsible for fulfilling the franchise's championship aspirations in 2025.