2021 PLL College Draft Prospects: Faceoff

The 2021 PLL College Draft is right around the corner! To prepare, we’re spotlighting the top prospects in each position group and sharing former pro lacrosse players and coaches’ thoughts on the top PLL prospects.

The NCAA threw a wrench into things for faceoff athletes last year when they announced the move to "Standing Neutral Grip" effective immediately for the 2021 season. Even with the changes, the usual suspects stayed atop most faceoff draft boards in preparation for the upcoming PLL draft. 

There will be many factors that contribute to prospects' success at the stripe at the next level. They'll have the option to the return back to knee-down, while also adjusting to the rule and setup differences in PLL comparative to the NCAA. Faceoff rules are going play a major factor as this group of athletes look to make the jump to the professional ranks. 

With a potential draft class full of athletes that seem to be cut from a similar cloth, their success could come down to who is able to adapt their game to fit the PLL rules and field the quickest this summer. 

Lacrosse Playground connected with arguably the best faceoff man in professional field lacrosse history and founder of The Faceoff Academy, Greg Gurenlian, to get his take on some of the top faceoff prospects available in the upcoming PLL College Draft. 

TD Ierlan - Albany/Yale/Denver

If you don’t know who TD Ierlan is by now, you likely haven’t been paying attention to college lacrosse for the last five years. The Victor, NY native was the first overall pick in the 2020 MLL Draft and is projected to be a top pick once again during Monday night's PLL College Draft. A three-time All-American and Tewaaraton Finalist, Ierlan has been nothing short of dominant at the stripe during his career. He held ten different NCAA records before even suiting up for Denver for his final collegiate season. With the shift to SNG faceoffs in the college game, Irelan has continued to have success in his lone season for the Pios, winning 37-of-52 draws through five games.

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: TD’s a kid who doesn’t get enough respect for how strong he really is. I’m interested to see how his game translates to the PLL. He’s made his living on out-rotating, using his wrestling ability and dominating the column, very similar to me earlier in my career. Yet, in the past five years I haven’t seen him purposely pop the ball out to a wing or space. Ierlan can be if he’s able to adapt and add to that part of his game as far as spreading the ball out and countering physically.

Kyle Gallagher - Hofstra/Penn/Notre Dame

Part of Notre Dame’s two-headed monster at the stripe this season, Gallagher joined the Fighting Irish after spending seasons at both Hofstra and Penn. During his college career, Gallagher has won 58.9% of draws (682-of-1156) including 67-of-101 with the Irish. Prior to the pandemic ending his senior season at Penn, Gallagher led the nation averaging 15.4 groundballs per game. The former All-Ivy selection has proven himself to be a game-changer and workhorse at the college level, setting the Penn record for faceoff wins (270) and faceoffs taken (432) during his lone full season with the Quakers in 2019. Gallagher finished that season ranked second in the NCAA faceoff wins behind only TD Ierlan.

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: When I look at guys I think might immediately be able to make an impact in the PLL, I think of a Kyle Gallagher. He likes to get the ball in and out quickly and he has demonstrated his ability to do that time and time again. Even with the new standing rules, he has shown his ability to use his wings. One thing you can absolutely say about Gallagher is that he’s a phenomenal teammate. If you’re a PLL coach, character is obviously a huge thing and if you have one bad apple it can ruin your whole season. That’s not an issue for Gallagher or Leonard. They’re both very good teammates. 

Charles Leonard - Notre Dame

The second part of Notre Dame’s two-headed monster this season, Leonard has earned high marks as the consummate teammate while welcoming Gallagher to South Bend. The new faceoff rules have seemed to work in Leonard’s favor so far this season, as he’s posted the highest win percentage of his career, winning 66.2% of faceoffs through the first six games. 

A guy who might be flying slightly under the public’s radar because he’s sharing the spotlight with Gallagher, Leonard has taken the new rules and utilized them to position himself as an even more exciting and promising prospect for the PLL. 

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: Everything I need to know about a PLL guy is about their ability to swallow their ego and change something... I’ve been watching so closely on film their whole careers and I’ve coaches almost all these guys at some point and I don’t see anyone really changing anything except Charlie Leonard. He’s been throwing in counters, he’s starting to rake. I think he’s the only one that I can sit there and say “Okay I know for a fact that his game will correlate to any team in the PLL except the Waterdogs and the Cannons because those teams have a guy like that. There’s a Withers and there’s a Fowler. If Charlie can demonstrate his ability to rake and counter and be an athletic guy for ground balls he will be the most draftable faceoff guy because every team already has a knee-down guy. He can come into camp and be that change-up guy. 

Conor Gaffney - Lehigh

The Lehigh product hasn’t seen as many opportunities during his final season with the Mountain Hawks, splitting time with Mike Sisselberger, who has flourished under the new NCAA faceoff rules. While this season has looked a bit different, don’t discount the success Gaffney had during his first four seasons at Lehigh, where he consistently ranked in the nation’s top ten and set Patriot League records during his junior season. Gaffney is on track to finish his college career having won over 63% of draws and scooping up well over 400 ground balls.

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: Conor Gaffney is the biggest dark horse. I think people are forgetting how incredibly good he was on a knee. He’s strong, he rotates really fast, he’s good at moving body between his feet and his hands, and getting around the ball quickly.

Bailey Savio - Loyola

Bailey Savio is the youngest of the faceoff prospects, not utilizing the fifth season of eligibility granted due to the pandemic. Really coming into his own nationally as a sophomore, Savio set Loyola records in faceoffs taken, wins, and ground balls while pushing the Greyhounds into the NCAA quarterfinals. In a shortened junior season last year, Savio continued his dominance ranking in the top six in the nation in both win percentage (.687) and ground balls per game (10.33).

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: He’s just a man-child. Even as a freshman, he was strong enough to push guys off the ball at Loyola and he just hasn’t stopped. He’s a very strong athlete like all these guys and that’s going to bode well for them in the PLL.

Gerard Arceri - Penn State

A big-time prospect who returned to Penn State to use his final year of eligibility, the two-time USILA All-American started his final season already the Nittany Lions all-time leader in ground balls and ranking among the top ten in NCAA history in face-off wins and ground balls. Another dominant physical presence weighing in at 6’0”, 200lbs, Arceri has outmuscled and forced his will on opponents since arriving in Happy Valley. In addition to his prowess at the stripe, he is one of the higher-scoring face-off athletes in this draft class having scored 20 goals, including eight in his junior season.

Greg Gurenlian’s Take: He’s got super fast hands and can take the ball to the rack. He always pops the ball to himself and he’s been very successful doing that in college. This guy is just an absolute manimal.

For more draft analysis, check out Greg Gurenlian's detailed breakdown video!