2024 Premier Lacrosse League season

Last updated
2024 Premier Lacrosse League season
League Premier Lacrosse League
Sport Field Lacrosse
Defending champions Utah Archers (2023)
DurationJune 1 – September 15
Number of teams8
6th Season
League champions Utah Archers (2nd Title)
  Runners-up Maryland Whipsnakes
Season MVP Jeff Teat
Finals MVP Brett Dobson
PLL seasons
  2023
2025  

The 2024 Premier Lacrosse League Season was the 6th season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The regular season began on June 3 and ran through August 17th. The playoffs ran from September 2 through September 15. This is the first season where PLL teams were assigned to home cities.

Contents

The Atlas went 7-3 and earned the #1 seed on the back of Jeff Teat shattering the single-season points record with 64– the previous record being 44, and breaking the assists record with 28.

The Utah Archers were crowned champions on September 15th, beating the Whipsnakes 12-8, securing back-to-back championships for the first time since the Whipsnakes in 2019-2020.

Home Cities

On May 25, 2023 the PLL announced that the 8 teams will be assigned home cities for the 2024 season. The PLL's tour-based model would still be used with every team playing in one city every weekend (excluding byes), but the home team would play a weekend double-header in the new scheduling system. This move was explained by PLL co-founder and CEO, Mike Rabil in their announcement, “When we looked at our growth over the last five years, matched by our goals, objectives and expansion, tying our teams to home cities was a natural next step for the business." [1]

Starting on June 3, PLL fans were able to vote on which cities should receive teams, but the league would also be considering previous pro-lacrosse ticket success, fan engagement, venues, and TV ratings. [1]

Home cities and team identities were announced on SportsCenter on November 14, 2023. The eight teams would be the Boston Cannons, California Redwoods, Carolina Chaos, Denver Outlaws, Maryland Whipsnakes, New York Atlas, Philadelphia Waterdogs, and Utah Archers. All eight teams were rebranded with new logos, fonts, and jerseys. However, major changes came to the Maryland Whipsnakes and Chrome Lacrosse Club. The Whipsnakes changed their colors from red and green to red, black, and yellow to better match the Maryland Flag. The Chrome rebranded as the Denver Outlaws, sharing a name with Denver’s former MLL team. [2]

Home City Location Map

New League Structure

Alongside the addition of geographical teams, the PLL added conferences and a new playoff bracket for the 2024 season. In the new Eastern and Western Conference system, the top team from each conference will receive a first-round bye to the semifinals. The next best 4 teams, regardless of conference, will receive the final playoff spots, and subsequently the worst two teams, regardless of conference, will be eliminated from the playoffs. [3]

Player Movements

Preseason

Notable Retirements

Other Retirements

Free Agency

Free Agency occurred from March 4 to May 10. Eligible players were any player with an expired contract or any player who was not on an active roster for 30% of the clubs' games. [14]

College Draft

The college draft took place on May 7 at 7 pm (ET) and was broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+. [15] The newest PLL team, the Denver Outlaws made the most selections with 5, including the number one overall pick, Duke Attackman Brennan O'Neill. The Boston Cannons made the fewest selections with 3.

Rnd.Pick #PLL TeamPlayerPos.CollegeConferenceNotes
11 Denver Outlaws Brennan O'Neill Attack Duke Atlantic Coast Conference
12 New York Atlas Connor ShellenbergerAttack Virginia Atlantic Coast Conference
13 Maryland Whipsnakes Ajax ZappitelloDefense Maryland Big Ten
14 Carolina Chaos Shane KnoblochMidfield Rutgers Big Ten
15 New York Atlas Liam EntenmannGoalie Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference From California
16 Boston Cannons Pat KavanaghAttack Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference
17 Philadelphia Waterdogs Matt BrandauAttack Yale Ivy League
18 Utah Archers Mason WoodwardDefense Marquette Big East
29 Denver Outlaws Jake PisenoLSM Albany America East
210 New York Atlas Jake StevensMidfield Syracuse Atlantic Coast Conference
211 Denver Outlaws Graham Bundy Jr.Midfield Georgetown Big East From Maryland
212 Carolina Chaos Eric DobsonMidfield Notre Dame Atlantic Coast Conference
213 Utah Archers Beau PedersonSSDM Michigan Big Ten
214 Boston Cannons Alexander VardaroMidfield Georgetown Big East
215 Philadelphia Waterdogs Kenny BrowerDefense Duke Atlantic Coast Conference
216 Utah Archers Dyson WilliamsAttack Duke Atlantic Coast Conference
317 Maryland Whipsnakes TJ MaloneAttack Penn State Big Ten From Denver
318 California Redwoods Garrett DegnonAttack Johns Hopkins Big Ten From New York
319 Denver Outlaws Josh ZawadaAttack Duke Atlantic Coast Conference From Maryland
320 Carolina Chaos Ross ScottAttack Rutgers Big Ten
321 California Redwoods Levi AndersonAttack Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10
322 Maryland Whipsnakes Stephen ZupicichLSM Villanova Big East From Boston
323 Philadelphia Waterdogs Marcus HudginsDefense Ohio State Big Ten
324 Utah Archers Colby BarszDefense Towson Coastal Athletic Association
425 Denver Outlaws Luke WiermanFaceoff Maryland Big Ten
426 New York Atlas Tyler CarpenterDefense Duke Atlantic Coast Conference
427 Maryland Whipsnakes Adam PoitrasAttack Loyola (MD) Patriot League
428 Carolina Chaos Dylan HessMidfield Georgetown Big East
429 California Redwoods Chayse IerlanGoalie Johns Hopkins Big Ten
430 Boston Cannons Scott SmithDefense Johns Hopkins Big Ten
431 Philadelphia Waterdogs Michael BoehmAttack Michigan Big Ten
432 California Redwoods Cole KastnerDefense Virginia Atlantic Coast Conference

Trades

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2024 draft.

First Round

  1. No. 5: Redwoods → Atlas (PD). On March 15, the Redwoods traded their 2024 first round pick to the Atlas for Attackman Chris Gray and their 2024 third-round pick. [16]

Second Round

  1. No. 11: Whipsnakes → Outlaws (PD). On November 28, the Whipsnakes traded their Second and Third round picks to the Outlaws for Jackson Morrill and their Third Round Pick. [17]
Third Round
  1. No. 17: Outlaws → Whipsnakes (PD). See Pick 11.
  2. No. 18: Atlas → Redwoods (PD). See Pick 5.
  3. No. 19: Whipsnakes → Outlaws (PD). See Pick 11.
  4. No. 22: Cannons → Whipsnakes (PD). On November 28, the Cannons traded their 2024 and 2025 Third round picks and LSM Matt Rees to the Whipsnakes for Midfielder Connor Kirst and Defender Bryce Young. [18]

Summary

Selections by NCAA conference

ConferenceRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Total
America East 01001
ACC 441211
Atlantic 10 00101
Big East 12115
Big Ten 214411
CAA 00101
Ivy League 10001
Patriot League 00011

Schools by number of draft selections

SelectionsSchools
5 Duke
3 Notre Dame, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins
2 Virginia, Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan
1 Albany, Yale, Marquette, Syracuse, Penn State, Saint Joseph's, Villanova, Ohio State, Towson, Loyola (MD)

Selections by Position

PositionRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Total
Attack415212
Defense21238
Defensive

Midfield

01001
Faceoff00011
Goalie10012
LSM01102
Midfield14016

Notable mid-season player movement

Free-agency

Veteran Attackman and 6-year member of the New York Atlas, Eric Law was released by the Atlas on July 9. He spent the first half of the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list but was removed from the PUP list the day prior. Law was signed from the player pool by the Denver Outlaws the same day. Law was drafted out of the University of Denver to the Outlaws and played 6 seasons with them in the MLL. [19]

The Whipsnakes released their 2023 leading scorer, Attackman Will Manny to the player pool as a part of their final round of training camp cuts on May 30. [20] Manny went unsigned through the All-Star break until the Boston Cannons signed him from the player pool on July 15. Manny was drafted 14th Overall by the Cannons in the 2013 MLL Draft and played 5 seasons for the team, making this the second homecoming for a PLL player to his former MLL team in the 2024 season. [21]

Trades

On June 12, the California Redwoods traded Saint Joseph's rookie, Levi Anderson, to the Maryland Whipsnakes for a 2025 4th-round pick. Anderson was the Redwoods' 3rd round pick in the 2024 draft. [22] He was activated from the Unavailable-to-travel list and debuted on June 28 against the New York Atlas. [23]

On August 6th, the Philadelphia Waterdogs traded midfielder Ryan Conrad to the Maryland Whipsnakes for a 2025 2nd-round pick. [24] Conrad spent 5 seasons with the Waterdogs and played in 7 games in 2024, scoring 5 goals and 1 assist. [25] This trade came after the Waterdogs were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention. [26]

On August 13th, the Maryland Whipsnakes traded midfielder Jackson Morrill to the Utah Archers for a 2025 3rd-round pick. [27] Morrill was traded to from the Chrome to the Whipsnakes in 2023 [28] where he played 4 games, notching 2 goals and 8 assists. [29] This trade came at the trade deadline, Morrill was not activated for week 11.

Rule Changes

3 rule changes came into effect for the 2024 season. [30]

Training camp

The Premier Lacrosse League's 2024 training camp was held from May 24, 2024 to May 31, 2024 in Albany, New York at Tom and Mary Casey Stadium at The University of Albany. Teams began camp with a 30-man roster that was finalized on May 23. Teams were required to finalize their 25-man rosters on May 29. [33] Training camp consists of individual and multi-team practices, as well as scrimmages between the teams.

Tour map

Usa edcp location map.svg
Tour locations for the 2024 PLL season
Legend:
Gold pog.svg : Home City Location
Cyan pog.svg : Neutral Cite Tour Location
Blue pog.svg : All-Star Game Location
Purple pog.svg : Quarterfinals Location
Red pog.svg : Semifinals Location
Green pog.svg : Finals Location

Tour venues

WeekVenueHome TeamLocationCapacity [lower-alpha 1] ImageNotesRef
1 Tom & Mary Casey Stadium New York Atlas Albany, NY 8,500
2 American Legion Memorial Stadium Carolina Chaos Charlotte, NC 10,500
AmericanLegionMemorialStadiumMay2021.jpg
3 Villanova Stadium Philadelphia Waterdogs Villanova, PA 12,500This was the first year the PLL held an event at this venue.
4 TCO Stadium Neutral Site Eagan, MN 6,000
5 Harvard Stadium Boston Cannons Cambridge, MA 25,000This was the first year the PLL held an event at this venue.
6

(All-Star Game)

Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium All-Star Louisville, KY 5,300 [34]
7 Rafferty Stadium Neutral Site Fairfield, CT 3,500
Rafferty Stadium Aerial.jpg
8 Torero Stadium California Redwoods San Diego, CA 6,000
Torero stadium soccer game.jpeg
9 Homewood Field Maryland Whipsnakes Baltimore, MD 8,500
HomewoodFIeld2008.jpg
10Barton Stadium Denver Outlaws Denver, CO 2,000
11 Zions Bank Stadium Utah Archers Herriman, UT 5,000
Zions Bank Stadium.jpeg
12

(Quarterfinals)

Gillette Stadium Playoffs Foxborough, MA 65,878
Gillette Stadium (Top View).jpg
13

(Semifinals)

Shuart Stadium Playoffs Uniondale, NY 11,929
14

(Championship)

Subaru Park Playoffs Chester, PA 18,500
PPL Park Interior from the River End 2010.10.02 (cropped).jpg
Notes
  1. Capacity may not reflect the capacity for the PLL's purposes due to various areas of the stadium potentially being closed for lacrosse games

Schedule

The addition of home cities and conferences brought slight changes to the schedule. Every team has one weekend where they are the home team and play a weekend doubleheader. There are two weekends (Minneapolis and Fairfield) when there is no home team and every team plays. Each team will play in-conference opponents twice and out-of-conference opponents once. [35]

WeekDateGamesTime(EST)Broadcast [lower-alpha 1] VenueCityNotes
1June 1 Utah Archers

12–11

Philadelphia Waterdogs

1 PM ABC Tom & Mary Casey Stadium Albany, NY
Boston Cannons

12–19

New York Atlas

3:30 PM ESPN+
June 2 Denver Outlaws

11–16

Carolina Chaos

1 PM ESPN+
Whipsnakes

13–17

New York Atlas

3:30 PM ESPN+
2June 7 California Redwoods

11–12 Carolina Chaos

6 PM ESPN+ American Legion Memorial Stadium Charlotte, NC
Utah Archers 17–18 (OT)

Denver Outlaws

8:30 PM ESPN+
June 8 New York Atlas 15–12

Carolina Chaos

5 PM ESPN2
Maryland Whipsnakes

9–13 Boston Cannons

7:30 PM ESPN+
3June 15 Philadelphia Waterdogs

11–12 (OT) Boston Cannons

12:30 pm ABC Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA
Utah Archers

9–7 Carolina Chaos

7 PM ESPN+
June 16 California Redwoods

15–20 New York Atlas

12:30 PM ABC
Maryland Whipsnakes

15 (OT)–14 Philadelphia Waterdogs

3 PM ESPN+
4June 28 New York Atlas 12–16

Maryland Whipsnakes

7 PM ESPN+ TCO Stadium Eagan, MN

(Minneapolis)

Boston Cannons 14–9

Utah Archers

9:30 PM ESPN+
June 29 California Redwoods 8–13

Denver Outlaws

6 PM ESPN2
Philadelphia Waterdogs 10–6

Carolina Chaos

8:30 PM ESPN+
5July 5 California Redwoods 9–7

Boston Cannons

6 PM ESPN+ Harvard Stadium Cambridge, MA
Denver Outlaws

4–17 New York Atlas

8:30 PM ESPN+
July 6 Utah Archers

16–11 Maryland Whipsnakes

4:30 PM ESPN+
Philadelphia Waterdogs 14–11

Boston Cannons

7 PM ESPN2
6

(PLL All-Star Game)

July 13Skills Challenge1:15 PM ESPN+ Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium Louisville, KY
East 15–12 West3:00 PM ESPN
7July 19 Denver Outlaws 15–13

Philadelphia Waterdogs

6 PM ESPN+ Rafferty Stadium Fairfield, CT
Carolina Chaos 10–9

Maryland Whipsnakes

8:30 PM ESPN+
July 20 New York Atlas 12–17

Boston Cannons

3 PM ABC
Utah Archers 15–8

California Redwoods

5:30 PM ESPN+
8July 27 Denver Outlaws 10–12

Boston Cannons

3 PM ESPN Torero Stadium San Diego, CA
Carolina Chaos 8–10

California Redwoods

5:30 PM ESPN+
July 28 Philadelphia Waterdogs 11–12

New York Atlas

3 PM ABC
Maryland Whipsnakes 18–13

California Redwoods

5:30 ESPN+
9August 3 Philadelphia Waterdogs 6–12

Maryland Whipsnakes

1 PM ABC Homewood Field Baltimore, MD
Denver Outlaws 18–5

California Redwoods

3:30 PM ESPN+
August 4 Carolina Chaos 15–14

Utah Archers

12:30 PM ESPN+
Boston Cannons 14–16

Maryland Whipsnakes

3 PM ABC
10August 9 Maryland Whipsnakes 16–9

Denver Outlaws

8 PM ESPN+ Barton Stadium Denver, CO
Philadelphia Waterdogs 12–13

California Redwoods

10:30 PM ESPN+
August 10 New York Atlas 15–11

Utah Archers

2:30 PM ESPN+
Carolina Chaos 4–10

Denver Outlaws

7 PM ESPN2
11August 16 California Redwoods 12–13 Utah Archers 8 PM ESPN+ Zions Bank Stadium Herriman, UT
(Salt Lake City)
Boston Cannons 11–10 Carolina Chaos 10:30 PM ESPN+
August 17 New York Atlas 12–13 Philadelphia Waterdogs 6:30 PM ESPN+
Denver Outlaws 9–13 Utah Archers 9 PM ESPN2
12
Quarterfinals
September 2#3 Boston Cannons 4–8 #6 Carolina Chaos 4 PM ESPN2 Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA
(Boston)
#4 Maryland Whipsnakes 11–10 #5 Denver Outlaws 6:30 PM ESPN+
13 SemifinalsSeptember 7#1 New York Atlas 11–12 (OT) #4 Maryland Whipsnakes 5 PM ESPN+ Shuart Stadium Uniondale, NY
(Long Island)
#2 Utah Archers 10–1 #6 Carolina Chaos 7:30 PM ESPN+
14
PLL Championship
September 15#4 Maryland Whipsnakes 8-12 #2 Utah Archers 3 PM ABC Subaru Park Chester, PA
(Philadelphia)
Notes
  1. All games broadcast on ESPN+ alongside the network listed.

Source: [36]

PLL on TV

For the 3rd season, the PLL is on ESPN platforms. Every game can be streamed on ESPN+, while 9 games will be broadcast on ESPN's linear platforms. Additionally, 7 games will be broadcast on ABC, a one-game decrease from 2023.

Opening Weekend

The PLL had a record-setting opening weekend with the best merchandise sales weekend and the highest ever amount of active users on the PLL app. TV ratings also improved as ESPN engagement was up 23% and viewership from the 18-34 demographic was up 71%, both compared to last year. Additionally, the Archers vs Waterdogs game on ABC was the 3rd most-viewed game in PLL history. [37]

Regular Season Standings

2024 Western Conference Standings
TeamWLSFSADiff
Utah Archers Y641291209
Denver Outlaws 55117121-4
Carolina Chaos 46100110-10
California Redwoods 37104136-32
2024 Eastern Conference Standings
TeamWLSFSADiff
New York Atlas Y7315112427
Boston Cannons Y7312611511
Maryland Whipsnakes Y6413512411
Philadelphia Waterdogs 28111123-12
Top Team in Each Conference Receive a first-round bye
Top 6 Teams Qualify for the 2024 Playoffs
Bottom 2 Teams Miss 2024 Playoffs
Y = Qualified for the Championship Series

Source: [38]

Postseason

With the new Home Cities format, the playoff bracket was changed to have two first-round byes for the conference winners and 6 teams total making the playoffs. The one seed plays the winner of the four and five seeds and the two seed plays the winner of the 3 and 6 seeds. The first round games took place in Foxbourough, MA in Gillette Stadium, the semifinals on Long Island, NY, and the Championship in West Chester, PA. [39]

Bracket

Quarterfinals
September 4
(Boston)
Semifinals
September 10
(Long Island)
PLL Championship Game
September 24
(Philadelphia)
#1   Atlas 11
#4  Whipsnakes 11#4  Whipsnakes 12 OT
#5   Outlaws 10 #4   Whipsnakes 8
#2  Archers 12
#6   Chaos 1
#3   Cannons 4 #2  Archers 10
#6  Chaos 8

Boxscores and game summaries

Quarterfinals

Game 1 - 4 PM #3 Cannons v.s. #6 Chaos
Team1234Final
#3 Cannons12014
#6 Chaos22318
Game 2 - 6:30 PM #4 Whipsnakes v.s. #5 Outlaws
Team1234Final
#4 Whipsnakes333211
#5 Outlaws333110

Semifinals

Game 1 - 5:00 PM #1 Atlas v.s. #4 Whipsnakes
Team1234OTFinal
#1 Atlas6203011
#4 Whipsnakes3233112
Game 2 - 7:30 PM #2 Archers v.s. #6 Chaos
Team1234Final
#2 Archers450110
#6 Chaos00011

PLL Championship Game

Boxscore
Team1234Final
#2 Archers143412
#4 Whipsnakes32128

Championship Game Most Valuable Player

Utah Archers goalie, Brett Dobson won back-to-back Championship Game MVP after a 17 saves and 68% performance. He is the first player in PLL history to win back-to-back Championship MVPs. [40]

Broadcast

The 2024 PLL championship game was broadcast on ABC and ESPN+ with Paul Carcaterra, Ryan Boyle, and Drew Carter in the booth, and Quint Kessenich reporting on the field. [41]

Injuries

Pre-game

3x MVP and 5x Midfielder of the Year, Tom Schreiber missed all of the playoffs after suffering a fractured clavicle in the Archers' final game of the regular season. He went on to win his fifth Midfielder of the Year this season. [42]

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
  • 11:34- Whipsnakes Matt Rambo Goal, 1-0 Whipsnakes
  • 7:51- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 2-0 Whipsnakes
  • 2:35- Whipsnakes Adam Poitras Goal, 3-0 Whipsnakes
  • 0:50- Archers Matt Moore Goal, 3-1 Whipsnakes
Second Quarter
  • 11:49- Whipsnakes Adam Poitras Goal, Assisted by Joe Nardella, 4-1 Whipsnakes
  • 10:54- Archers Mason Woodward 2-point Goal, 4-3 Whipsnakes
  • 10:18- Archers Tre Leclaire Goal, Assisted by Connor Fields, 4-4 tie
  • 9:06- Archers Grant Ament Goal, 5-4 Archers
  • 2:51- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 5-5 tie
Third Quarter
  • 9:05- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, 6-5 Archers
  • 7:22- Whipsnakes Ryan Conrad Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 6-6 tie
  • 7:02- Archers Matt Moore Goal, 7-6 Archers
  • 0:01- Archers Dyson Williams Goal, Assisted by Ryan Ambler, 8-6 Archers
Fourth Quarter
  • 11:12- Archers Tre Leclaire Goal, Assisted by Matt Moore, 9-6 Archers
  • 10:36- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, 10-6 Archers
  • 6:01- Whipsnakes Zed Williams Goal, 10-7 Archers
  • 5:28- Archers Connor Fields Goal, 11-7 Archers
  • 3:19- Whipsnakes Mike Chanenchuk Goal, Assisted by TJ Malone, 11-8 Archers
  • 0:49- Archers Mac O'Keefe Goal, Assisted by Grant Ament, 12-8 Archers

Brendan Krebs ended with 12 saves and a 52.2% save percentage. Brett Dobson wins his second-straight Championship MVP with 20 saves and a 71.4% save percentage. [43]

Regular-season statistical leaders

Individual
StatisticPlayerPositionTeam
Points Jeff Teat (64)^Attack New York Atlas
One-point goalsJeff Teat (28)AttackNew York Atlas
Two-point goalsRomar Dennis (7)+Midfield California Redwoods
Scoring PointsJeff Teat (28)AttackNew York Atlas
AssistsJeff Teat (36)^AttackNew York Atlas
Shots Brennan O'Neill (82)Attack Denver Outlaws
Shot PercentageTre Leclaire (50%)Midfield Utah Archers
Faceoff PercentageJoseph Nardella (67.5%)Face-off Maryland Whipsnakes
Save Percentage Blaze Riordan (59.4%)Goalie Carolina Chaos
Caused TurnoversGarrett Epple (20)+Defense Boston Cannons

Source: [44]

^ New PLL single-season record

+ Ties PLL single-season record

Team
StatisticTeam
Offensive
Scores per Game New York Atlas (15.1)
Shots per GameNew York Atlas (44.2)
Shot PercentageNew York Atlas (32.8%)
One-point goalsNew York Atlas (139)
Two-point goals Boston Cannons (16)
Turnovers (High) Utah Archers (200)
Turnovers (Low)Boston Cannons (160)
Defensive
Scores Against Average (Low) Carolina Chaos (11)
Scores Against Average (High) California Redwoods (13.6)
Two-Points Goals Against (Low) Boston Cannons (4)
Two-Point Goals Against (High) New York Atlas (15)
Caused Turnovers Philadelphia Waterdogs (84)
Groundballs recoveredNew York Atlas (389)
Saves Per Game Utah Archers (14.1)
Save PercentageCarolina Chaos (57.3%)
Power Play and Penalty Kill
Power Play Goal Percentage New York Atlas (45.8%)
Power Play Goals Archers and Atlas (11)
Penalty Kill Percentage Maryland Whipsnakes (100%)
Penalty KillsNew York Atlas (22)
Penalties (Low)Maryland Whipsnakes (11)
Penalties (High)New York Atlas (35)
Penalty Minutes (Low)Maryland Whipsnakes (8)
Penalty Minutes (High) Carolina Chaos (28)

Source: [44]

Awards

Individual Season Awards

On August 22, the PLL announced the finalists for the 2024 End of Season Awards via Instagram. The Winners were announced on September 13th, two days prior to the Championship Game in Philadelphia. The players voted on the nominees and the winners were selected by the PLL Coaches and Front Office, Award Namesakes, and members of the media. [45]

Award Winners

2024 Premier Lacrosse League Season Award Winners
AwardWinnerTeamNotable StatisticsNotable notes
Jim Brown Most Valuable Player Jeff Teat New York Atlas 64 points (28 goals and 36 assists)Broke the single-season points and assists records.
Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year Jeff Teat New York Atlas
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year Tom Schreiber Utah Archers 27 points (10 goals, 1 two-point goal, and 15 assists)Third straight season winning Midfielder of the year and five out of the last six seasons.
Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the YearMatt Dunn Maryland Whipsnakes 11 caused turnovers, 13 ground balls, and 4 points.Third DPOY, second in the PLL.
Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year Blaze Riorden Carolina Chaos 92 saves, 59% save percentage, 9.8 scores against average, and 3 points.Fifth win in 6 seasons.
Paul Cantabene Face-Off Athlete of the Year Trevor Baptiste New York Atlas 66% face-off percentage, 109 ground balls, and 6 points.Fourth win in a row, longest active streak in the PLL.
Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the YearTyler Carpenter New York Atlas 6 caused turnovers, 41 ground balls, and 7 points.
George Boiardi Hard Hat Award - Awarded to the SSDM of the year Danny Logan New York Atlas 3 caused turnovers, 9 ground balls, and 2 points.Third win in 4 seasons.
2024 Rookie of the YearTJ Malone Maryland Whipsnakes 37 points (19 goals and 18 assists)Led all rookies in points, goals, and assists as a third-round pick.
Dick Eddell Coach of the Year Mike Pressler New York Atlas Second-season as coach of the Atlas. Improved from 2-8 to 7-3 this season, securing the #1 overall seed.
Dave Huntley Sportsmanship AwardJT Giles-Harris Denver Outlaws
Welles Crowther Humanitarian AwardRomar Dennis California Redwoods
Jimmy Regan Teammate AwardRyan Ambler Utah Archers
Brendan Looney Leadership Award Tom Schreiber Utah Archers Back-to-back wins.
References: [45]

List of awards and finalists

The winner of the award are highlighted in Bold.

Jim Brown Most Valuable Player
Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year
  • Matt Dunn
  • JT Giles-Harris
  • Garrett Epple - Led the league in caused turnovers (20).
  • Gavin Adler
Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year
  • Blaze Riorden - Led the league in save percentage (59.4%)
  • Brett Dobson - Led the league in saves (147).
  • Liam Entenmann
  • Colin Kirst
Paul Cantabene Face-Off Athlete of the Year
  • Trevor Baptiste - Led the league in face-off wins (174).
  • Joseph Nardella - Led the league in face-off percentage (67.5%)
  • TD Ierlan
Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the Year
  • Tyler Carpenter - Led LSMs in ground balls (41).
  • Ethan Rall - Led LSMs in caused turnovers (12)
  • Jared Conners
George Boiardi Hard Hat Award - Awarded to the SSDM of the year
2024 Rookie of the Year
  • TJ Malone - Led rookies in points, goals, and assists.
  • Liam Entenmann - 2nd in save percentage (58.7%)
  • Tyler Carpenter - Won LSM of the Year.
  • Connor Shellenberger
  • Brennan O'Neill - Led rookies in scoring points (21).
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
Dave Huntley Sportsmanship Award
Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award
  • Romar Dennis
  • Mike Sisselberger
  • Nakeie Montgomery
  • Brett Makar
Jimmy Regan Teammate Award
  • Ryan Ambler
  • Cole Kirst
  • Austin Kaut
Brendan Looney Leadership Award

Coaching Changes

Offseason Changes

On March 28, 2024 it was announced that Legendary Denver Coach, Bill Tierney would take over the Waterdogs Head Coach vacancy. Tierney had spent the last 14 seasons coaching the University of Denver, taking them to the tournament 10 times and winning the National Championship in 2015. Tierney is taking over the Waterdogs from 4-year Head Coach Andy Copelan. [46]

Uniforms

Home City Uniforms

Every team was given two new uniforms for the 2024 season showcasing the new assigned cities.

The PLL continued its partnership with Champion, while six teams displayed additional jersey advertisements.

Source: [47]

Callum Robinson Death

Former 6-year pro-lacrosse player Callum Robinson, his brother Jake, and their friend Jack Rhoad were killed during a surfing trip in Mexico on April 27. An outpouring of support and stories came from the entire lacrosse community after news broke. Callum was a loved and respected member of pro lacrosse for his entire career and beyond. [48] Callum played for the Atlas for 2 seasons and the team showed a tribute to him by displaying a "CR" patch on the left chest of both uniforms and a "Big Koala" (Callum's Nickname) sticker on all helmets. [49]

Alternate Uniforms

July 8–9 in Eagan, Minnesota, was the PLL's Indigenous Heritage Weekend for the 2024 Season. This included unique jerseys designed by Patrick Hunter "a 2Spirit, Ojibwe artist, graphic designer, and award-winning entrepreneur", [50] on-air analysis from Jeremy Thompson, and orange chip straps dedicated to Every Child Matters, a movement memorializing the thousands of children killed in Canadian Residential Boarding Schools. [50] The PLL held their annual Throwback Weekend for the 2024 season July 19–20 in Fairfield, CT. [51] Each team was given a new retro-designed logo and throwback style porthole jerseys. [52]

All-Star Game

The 2024 PLL All-Star Game was held at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium on July 13. New in 2024, the All-Star teams were divided by conference. The West Team was coached by Archers coach, Chris Bates, and the East Team was coached by Waterdogs coach, Bill Tierney. Just as in years prior, there was a variety of skills challenges before the All-Star game, also on July 13. [53]

The East defeated the West 15-12. [54]

Skills Challenge

The All-Star Skills Challenges included 5 competitions, [55] some including women's lacrosse players from Unleashed Women's Lacrosse, the women's training and content arm of the PLL. [56]

4 PLL players and 4 Unleashed players competed in the Accuracy Challenge where players hit various targets on an open net. 4 PLL players and 4 Unleashed players competed separately in the Fastest Shot Competition. The Goalie Challenge included 4 PLL goalies and the new "Air-Gait Challenge" had 4 PLL players attempt their best "Air-Gait" crease dive style goal. Finally, teams of 2 PLL players and 2 Unleashed Players competed East against West in the Derby Challenge which included a sprint, agility and dodging course, wall ball, and accuracy shot. [53]

Skills Challenge Results
ChallengeWinnerTeam
Air-Gait CompetitionRyder Garnsey California Redwoods
Accuracy Competition Marcus Holman Boston Cannons
Goalie SkillsTim Troutner New York Atlas
Fastest ShotJarrod Neumann Carolina Chaos
Charlotte North Boston College
Derby ChallengeWest (Tom Schreiber, Piper Bond, Izzy Scane, and Emily Hawryschuck) Utah Archers, Northwestern, and Syracuse

Source: [57]

Viewership

The PLL posted a 35% increase in All-Star Game viewership on ESPN. This increase coincided with other increases at the midseason point of the season. Both online and in-person stats increased. The PLL posted a 47% raise in PLL App users and an increase of 159% in social media views. Alongside a 16% increase in attendance and a 32% raise in merchandise sales. [58]

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