College Lacrosse's Top Senior Face-off Specialists in 2020

Sports as we know it has temporarily been put on pause.

Over the past week, the NBA, NHL, NCAA, NLL, and other sports league’s around the country and around the world have dropped like dominos amid COVID-19 outbreak and pandemic concerns. PLL Co-Founder and CEO Mike Rabil released a statement on the league’s behalf on March 12 detailing the league’s response, which includes a “work from home” policy that began this past Friday and will extend until Friday, March 20. Although the PLL season does not start until the end of May, it is reasonable to predict that the league schedule might be impacted in some way. We can expect to hear more from the league over the next couple of weeks and as other leagues, specifically the MLB and MLS, release statements regarding their course of action. The MLB has already postponed the start of the regular season “at least two weeks.”

The larger conversation in our sport is the status of April’s College Draft. On Friday, amid a social media storm, the NCAA agreed to grant another season of eligibility to senior student-athletes who participated in spring sports in 2020. Although there are other factors that need to be addressed over the next couple weeks, including scholarship/financial aid ramifications and certain conferences, like the Ivy League and NESCAC, who do not allow graduate students to participate in athletics, this is a step forward for college athletes that did not finish their senior season. For professional lacrosse, specifically the 2020 PLL College Draft, it is unknown at this time as to which players will be available in April, and we should find out over the next couple of weeks as to which players will be returning for another season of college lacrosse and which will be joining professional lacrosse and possibly the Premier Lacrosse League.

Despite all of this, we still have a College Draft to prepare for. Over the past week, I have introduced to you the best attackmen, midfielders, defensemen, and goalies that might be available in April’s draft, and today, we will talk about the best faceoff specialists. As a result of the league’s unique playoff format, which features a competitive bracket to determine college draft seeding, the first round is set to have Chris Bates and the Archers select first overall, followed by the Atlas, Waterdogs, Chrome, Chaos, Redwoods and the defending champion Whipsnakes. The Waterdogs are projected to have the first pick in rounds two, three and four, and the rest of the pack will be in the same order as round one with exception to the handful of picks swapped in the eight trades that we’ve seen so far leading up to this draft.

The faceoff play was as competitive as we imagined in the PLL’s first season. Five of the league’s six starting specialists had a faceoff win percentage over 50%, with the Archers Stephen Kelly finishing at 48.9%. Going into the 2020 offseason, five of the league’s six teams protected a faceoff specialist and all six brought back at least one specialist from 2019, and the Waterdogs added Drew Simineou in the Expansion Draft in February.

With the loss of Greg Gurenlian to retirement, the Redwoods are the frontrunner to pursue and land a faceoff specialist sometime between now and May 29 after being the only team to not protect one prior to expansion. The Waterdogs, Chrome, and Whipsnakes also could be in the market for a faceoff specialist, as each team only has one on their current roster. With only one specialist available in the Entry Draft on Monday, March 16, these seven names could find their way onto a PLL roster in April if they choose to forgo the extra season of collegiate eligibility.

TD Ierlan’s name has been thrown around in early first overall pick conversations. The NCAA record holder in career ground balls (810) and faceoff wins (1,159), as well as the NCAA single-season record holder in ground balls (293 in 2019), faceoff wins (393 in 2019), and faceoff winning percentage (79% in 2018) transferred to Yale after spending his first two seasons at Albany. As a freshman with the Great Danes, Ierlan won the America East Rookie of the Year and was selected to the All-Conference Second Team after winning 70% of his faceoffs. He collected 11.22 ground balls per game, which led all of Division I lacrosse, and secured 202 groundballs and won 323 faceoffs, which ranked as the fourth- and second-highest marks in Division I lacrosse history. As a sophomore, he set Division I single-season records for faceoff percentage, faceoff wins, and ground balls on his way to securing a First Team All-America East selection. A Tewaaraton nominee, Ierlan also won the America East Defensive Player of the Year and the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He won 100% of his draws in three separate games, and in the America East tournament, he won 48 out of 49 faceoffs. He scored 10 goals and 21 points in his two seasons at Albany.

Ierlan won Ivy League Player of the Year in 2019 in his first season with the Yale Bulldogs. He led the NCAA in faceoff win percentage and groundballs, breaking his own NCAA single-season records in faceoff wins (393) and grounds balls (293). A First Team All-Ivy selection, Ierlan set the NCAA single-game record against Harvard by going a perfect 26 for 26 and he set NCAA tournament records with 31 faceoff wins and 29 ground balls against Georgetown. In just four games this season, Ierlan had an unprecedented faceoff winning percentage of 76% and 61 ground balls, and in those four games, he set the NCAA career ground ball record and the NCAA faceoff wins record.

Ierlan has been dominant throughout his career, but possibly his best outing was against former-Denver and Atlas LC faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste in the 2018 NCAA Quarterfinal while Ierlan was with Albany. Ierlan managed to split Baptiste, who is highly regarded as one of the best faceoff specialists in college lacrosse history, in faceoff wins as Albany went on to beat Denver 15-13. Baptiste and Ierlan each won 15 faceoffs, and that battle could be a small portion of what we can expect from Ierlan in 2020.

Baptiste was a senior and Ierlan just a sophomore the last time these two met. With Ierlan and Albany ending Denver’s season, and Baptiste’s career, back in 2018, this matchup has had lacrosse fans waiting for two years. With Ierlan possibly receiving another year of eligibility, they might need to wait another season longer.

I put the word possibly in italics because although the NCAA has granted another year of eligibility to its spring student-athletes, the Ivy League does not allow graduate students to participate in athletics. This could lead Ivy League players like Ierlan, Michael Sowers, and Jeff Teat to pursue professional lacrosse instead of transferring to a different school to play out the added year of eligibility. If he joins the PLL, Ierlan would join Baptiste, the Whipsnakes’ Joey Nardella, and Chrome’s Connor Farrell as one of the best faceoff specialists in the league.

We mentioned the Redwoods, Waterdogs, Whipsnakes, and Chrome as teams that are in need of a faceoff specialist, but the Archers could also be in the market for one with the first overall pick. Stephen Kelly ranked last among the league’s six starting specialists last season, so if the Archers are looking to upgrade in the department and get one of the best players at the position, Ierlan could be the name that they target. The Redwoods and head coach Nat St. Laurent could also consider trading up from the number six spot to leapfrog the Waterdogs who are at number three to try and grab Ierlan.

Moving on from Ierlan, we still have a handful of PLL hopefuls that could be available in April’s draft. Penn’s Kyle Gallagher, like Ierlan, transferred after his sophomore season. He began his career at Hofstra, where he was a CAA All-Rookie Team selection in 2017 and an All-CAA Second Team selection in 2018. He scored five goals and two assists and recorded 156 ground balls with a faceoff winning percentage of 52% over his two seasons at Hofstra. In 2019 with Penn, he set Penn single-season records with 270 faceoff wins and 432 faceoffs taken while making the All-Ivy Second Team. He ranked number four in the country in ground balls per game with 10.56 and number

two all-time at Penn with 169 ground balls,

adding four goals and five assists.

Gallagher could be the second specialist off the board. In five games in 2020, he had 92 ground balls and a faceoff win percentage of 59.9%, and in three head-to-head matchups against TD Ierlan, he is a combined 48 for 95. The Redwoods at the end of round one and the Waterdogs and Archers at the top of round two could be possible destinations for Gallagher.

Gerard Arceri has started at Penn State since stepping foot on campus in 2017. As a freshman, he won 61.8% of his faceoffs, scored five goals, and won Big Ten Specialist of the Week twice. In 2018, he won 68% of his faceoffs and secured 145 ground balls on his way to winning Big Ten Specialist of the Year and a First Team All-Big Ten selection. In 18 games as a junior, he won 61% of his faceoffs, which ranked second in the Big Ten, and ranked first in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in ground balls per game (10.39). He faced off against Ierlan and Gallagher, going a combined 17 for 60 against Ierlan (4 for 23 in their first meeting) and 17 for 31 against Gallagher. In 2020, Arceri had a 55% faceoff percentage and 74 ground balls in seven games, including a 10 for 25 day against TD Ierlan and 17 for 31 against Gallagher a week later. Arceri owns the Penn State record for faceoffs won (779) and ground balls (509)

Lehigh’s Conor Gaffney is the next name on this list. Gaffney took 228 faceoffs as a freshman, putting together a faceoff percentage of 61% that ranked eighth nationally. In 2018 and 2019, he won the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a First Team All-Patriot League selection, and in 2018, he ranked first in the Patriot League and 14th nationally with a faceoff percentage of 59.4%. In 17 games in 2019, he set the Patriot League and Lehigh program record with a 69.7% faceoff win percentage and 152 ground balls, winning the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, and over six games in 2020, Gaffney had 42 ground balls and won 65.7% of his faceoffs.

Dan O’Connell transferred to Holy Cross after spending his freshman season at the University of South Carolina. In 2018, he took all but six faceoffs and ranked fourth in the Patriot League with a faceoff percentage of 57.4%. A Second Team All-Patriot League selection as a junior in 2019, he ranked second in the Patriot League and sixth nationally with a 66.5% faceoff percentage, and he led the Patriot League and ranked seventh nationally in ground balls per game (9.38). In seven games in 2020, he had a 66.2% faceoff percentage and recorded 51 ground balls, including a game against Lehigh’s Conor Gaffney where O’Connell won 17 of 27 faceoffs.

Marist’s Peyton Smith and Syracuse’s Danny Varello are the final two names on our list. Smith did not play much as a freshman in 2017, but he still won 54.3% of his draws, and in 2019, he won 63% of his faceoffs in 17 games, which ranked 11th in the NCAA. In six games in 2020, he had 54 ground balls and won 63.8% of his faceoffs. Despite sharing faceoff duties throughout his career, Varello has still managed a 51% career faceoff percentage, including 52.4% as a junior in 2019 and 63% through four games in 2020.

This concludes our breakdown of the best college lacrosse players by their respective positions. As we near the PLL’s College Draft in April, we will continue our coverage of these college stars as we wait to see which players will play on their extra year of eligibility and which choose to join pro lacrosse.

As a reminder, on Monday, March 16, Willy and I will have a bonus episode of Behind the Back as we prepare for the Entry Draft later that evening, so make sure to stay tuned for that. We will be closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and will provide updates from the league as we get them. We hope that everyone stays safe through this troubling time.