Utah certain: Archers lacrosse membership seize former Park Metropolis star in 2024 PLL school draft

SALT LAKE CITY — Earlier than the opening of the 2024 Premier Lacrosse League school draft Tuesday afternoon, Utah Archers head coach Chris Bates mentioned it was “in all probability solely a matter of time” earlier than the newly situated membership started including homegrown expertise to its roster.

The previous Princeton and Drexel coach was referring primarily to the College of Utah, the state’s lone NCAA Division I males’s lacrosse program that has received back-to-back ASUN Match titles and can open the 2024 NCAA Match (12:30 p.m. MDT) Saturday in opposition to Duke.

“The Utes can play; they have some expertise,” Bates mentioned. “I do know Utah, and see the expertise arising by the ranks. The blokes who’re taking part in for coach (Andrew) McMinn, he is doing a hell of a job. We will look there yearly, and there could also be a second that is sensible.”

For no less than one homegrown product, Tuesday night made sense.

With the fifth choose of the second spherical, the PLL defending champion Utah Archers chosen Michigan short-stick defensive midfielder Beau Pederson, one in every of 5 picks by the newly named Utah membership.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound midfielder who had 4 targets and two assists in 16 video games in his lone season at Michigan since transferring from Princeton was an All-Large Ten second-team choice after back-to-back All-Ivy League second-team honors in 2022 and 2023.

The Park Metropolis native’s father, Chip, performed soccer at Michigan, and his mom, Kathy, was a university swimmer for Michigan State, nicely earlier than Pederson was a fourth-round choose by the Halifax Thunder within the Nationwide Lacrosse League school draft in September.

Now Pederson’s skilled lacrosse profession will begin along with his home-state membership after the PLL introduced a transfer to find groups throughout the nation, starting with the touring league’s 2024 season.

Raised in Park Metropolis after his father moved to Utah to earn his grasp’s in geochemistry from the U., Pederson lettered in lacrosse and hockey 4 instances and thrice in soccer at Park Metropolis Excessive. He led the Miners’ soccer workforce in receptions and yards in 2016 and 2017, incomes second-team all-state honors earlier than being named state lacrosse MVP in 2018.

The Archers had 5 whole draft picks, tied for essentially the most within the league. However the defending league champions did not have a range till the ultimate choose of the primary spherical.

With that first choose, Utah chosen defenseman Mason Woodward out of Marquette with the eighth total choice.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound native of Towson, Maryland, was a two-time unanimous All-Large East first-team choice and third-team All-American en path to a four-time workforce captaincy and a profession that finishes as Marquette’s all-time chief in floor balls and second-place end in triggered turnovers.

“From the start of our analysis, it is a man we have appreciated,” Bates instructed ESPN. “We really feel like he can play up prime, under, and simply good shut protection. There are different actually proficient defenseman that we predict extremely of, however we do not suppose there is a obvious gap at longstick midfield and Mason’s distinctive. He’ll be an ideal professional; we have now little question.”

Utah began the second spherical deciding on Pederson with the No. 13 total choose earlier than including Canadian worldwide and Duke assault Dyson Williams with the No. 16 choose.

The 6-foot-2 assault totaled 201 targets and 25 assists in 76 video games over 5 years for the Blue Devils earlier than being taken first total within the 2023 NLL draft by the Albany FireWolves again in September.

The brand new Utah aspect then boosted its shut protection with the ultimate choose of the third spherical, snatching Towson defender Colby Barsz at No. 24 total. The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder moved from longstick midfielder to shut protection in 2023, and earned All-CAA first-team honors after main the Tigers with 18 triggered turnovers and 22 floor balls.

Utah traded the ultimate choose of the draft to the California Redwoods in change for a third-round choose in 2025.

The Archers open the season June 1 in opposition to the Philadelphia Waterdogs (11 a.m. MDT, ABC).

Utah Archers: 2024 PLL school draft

• No. 8: Mason Woodward, DF, Marquette (Towson, Md.)
• No. 13: Beau Pederson, SSDM, Michigan (Park Metropolis, Utah)
• No. 16: Dyson Williams, ATK, Duke (Oshawa, Ontario)
• No. 24: Colby Bars, DF, Towson (Matthews, N.C.)
• No. 32: Traded to California Redwoods