Following Monday’s blockbuster trade between the Boston Cannons and the California Redwoods, the first round of the 2025 College Draft has been upended. Here’s how I expect Round 1 to play out now:

No. 1: Philadelphia Waterdogs - CJ Kirst (Attack - Cornell)

Kirst is the best player in this draft class. He’s a certified bucket-getter who will lift the Waterdogs’ offense the moment he steps on the field. The Cornell attackman is on pace to graduate as college lacrosse’s all-time leader in goals scored. He is an elite dodger who has a deep bag to pull from. 

I don’t hold any concerns about Kirst’s fit within the Philadelphia offense in the short term. Kirst starting at attack alongside Michael Sowers and Kieran McArdle should work well. Zed Williams’ move to the PUP list makes that trio the likeliest starting attack. While Kirst and McArdle are both at their best on the lefty wing, I expect playing together will only make each player more effective, not less.

The last four PLL champions started a pair of lefties at attack, including the Waterdogs in 2022. Granted, Ethan Walker is a less ball-dominant player than Kirst is. But the threat of McArdle and Kirst working together on the lefty wing should be a terrifying prospect for opposing defenses. Then, as McArdle is 32 and approaching his 12th season of professional lacrosse, Kirst can be a long-term replacement who projects to be an elite player alongside Sowers for years to come.

No. 2: California Redwoods - Sam King (Attack - Harvard) 

With Rob Pannell signing with the Maryland Whipsnakes and Chris Gray retiring this offseason, the Redwoods need a quarterback. King is the closest thing to Pannell in this draft and, for my money, is the second-best player in this class.

The Harvard product can do everything, dodge from anywhere with either hand, feed from any angle and punish defenses from the outside, as well. He fits the mold of the ideal modern X attackman.

King can fill in at attack immediately for California, presumably alongside Ryder Garnsey. He’ll add both a scoring punch and a facilitating presence to help create offense for the Woods’ selection of midfield shooters including Romar Dennis, Charlie Bertrand, Garrett Degnon, Cole Kirst and Ryan Aughavin. 

No. 3: California Redwoods - Andrew McAdorey (Midfield - Duke) 

Well, that didn’t take long. Just weeks into his tenure as the Redwoods’ general manager, Joe Spallina (or “Trader Joe,” as he’s affectionately known) made a deal to majorly shake up the 2025 College Draft. 

When he took the job, Spallina noted his confidence in the California defense and said the team would “kick the tires on how we can turn some of that defense into offense if the right deal is out there.” 

The right deal happened to be out there. By sending Owen Grant – the second overall pick in 2023 – to the Cannons, Spallina picked up the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft and Boston’s fourth-rounder in 2026. Now, California gets to make the second and third selections in the draft and will most likely look to bolster its offense with those picks.

“I’ve got to make it so this team can score goals and take a little pressure off that defense,” Spallina told Redwoods beat writer Phil Shore on March 18. “The defense, the talent is elite.” 

So, with defenders including Jared Conners, Chris Fake, Arden Cohen, Holden Garlent and Cole Kastner already on the roster, I have California doubling down on the offensive side of the ball with a matchup-beater out of the box in McAdorey. 

McAdorey has unmatched boogie and can separate from just about any defender out there. Plus, similar to King, McAdorey can dodge from anywhere and can play both attack and midfield. He also has a long-standing relationship with Spallina as he played for his Team 91 club team in high school. Connections like that matter.

No. 4: Boston Cannons - Coulter Mackesy (Attack - Princeton) 

Not having a sufficient option at lefty attack cost the Cannons last season, and Mackesy feels like the guy to solve that issue. There’s a world where the Woods or the Waterdogs surprise and take Mackesy. Barring that or CJ Kirst surprisingly falling, Mackesy and the Cannons would make a perfect match. 

Mackesy is such a clean dodger. There is no wasted movement, no unnecessary frills, just goals. He’s a slippery dodger who bounces off contact well and knows how to create an angle for himself. Mackesy can also play well off-ball, which he’ll need to do next to Asher Nolting. He’d give Boston a dodging presence on the lefty wing that it hasn’t had in this iteration of the club. 

No. 5: Carolina Chaos - Chris Kavanagh (Attack - Notre Dame)

The Chaos are probably the losers of the recent Woods-Cannons trade because it most likely means four offensive players will go before they pick at No. 5. 

Getting Kavanagh is hardly a consolation prize, however, as Carolina’s new regime can nab a proven winner to provide offensive firepower on the righty wing opposite Josh Byrne. Kavanagh is at his best when he can focus on scoring the rock, and that’s what playing alongside Byrne and new trade acquisition Josh Zawada should allow him to do. Kavanagh can act as a facilitator, as well, and will, ideally, help bring the Chaos offense (now led by new head coach Roy Colsey) to a higher standard.

No. 6: New York Atlas - Ben Wayer (LSM - Virginia) 

After adding to their offense in player movement, the Atlas can further bolster their defense should Wayer fall to them at pick No. 6. Wayer seemed like a fit for Boston, but now that the Cannons have picked up Grant, the Virginia product could fall as Philadelphia, California and Boston aim to add to their offenses.

Pairing Wayer with Tyler Carpenter would be straight-up unfair in the middle of the field as they both wreak havoc between the arcs. On faceoff wings and in transition, New York would have two of the very best in the league should they add Wayer. Plus, Wayer would continue the Virginia-to-New York pipeline, joining former college teammates Connor Shellenberger, Xander Dickson and Payton Cormier alongside fellow former Cavalier Dox Aitken. 

No. 7: Maryland Whipsnakes - Ben Ramsey (SSDM - Notre Dame) 

The Whips’ No. 1 need this offseason is at SSDM. So, with their first-round pick, I have them getting the best shorty in this class with Ramsey. He’s a two-time national champion and a two-time USILA All-American, including a first-team selection from 2024. 

At 6 feet, 200 pounds, Ramsey brings a unique balance of physicality and lateral quickness. He uses his stick well for a shorty with an array of effective checks. He’s also a playmaker in the middle of the field as a converted offensive midfielder who can rip from 12 yards on the run. 

Maybe the Whips could wait until the second round to add a shorty. But I suspect Jim Stagnitta will want to add to his SSDM room as soon as possible, similar to how he identified close defense as a need last year and took Ajax Zappitello third overall. 

No. 8: Utah Archers - Brendan Lavelle (Defense - Penn)

There’s been some thought that the Archers will look to bolster their midfield depth with a two-way option like Sam English. I don’t see that happening. Don’t get me wrong, English is an awesome player. But Utah is all but locked and loaded at midfield. Their short-stick trio of Piper Bond, Connor Maher and Beau Pederson is elite. Then Tom Schreiber, Grant Ament, Tre Leclaire and Ryan Ambler are all written into the 19-man roster in ink. And, although Inside Lacrosse’s Chris Rosenthall reported that Utah’s Jack VanOverbeke has signed with Denver through 2026, the club really likes Dyson Williams as that eighth offensive player who can make an impact without the ball in his stick.

Instead, I suspect close defense is where the Archers feel like they have the greatest need. This is a club that drafts to its needs, forever and always. Graeme Hossack (32 years old) signed a one-year deal this offseason, and with Warren Jeffrey (28) also only having one year left on his contract, Utah could benefit from getting younger down low. Mason Woodward was a great building block last year, and the Archers already have a string of options including Cam Wyers (who played LSM the past two years), Colby Barsz and Patrick Shoemay.

But drafting Lavelle to play alongside Woodward would give the Archers one of the best young cover duos in the league, probably only second to New York’s Gavin Adler-Brett Makar pair. Lavelle is a physical on-ball defender who can absorb punishing contact and has gone head-to-head with dominant dodgers like Kirst and Brennan O’Neill as Penn’s No. 1 defender the last couple of years. Plus, he’s a former teammate of Bond.

The Archers are a hard team to nail down, though. They typically stray from the consensus and have success doing so. It would not surprise me if they feel like Scott Smith (Johns Hopkins), Levi Verch (St. Joe’s) or Colin Mulshine (Princeton) is the best option at pick No. 8.