Examining the career length of PLL draft picks

It’s a familiar talking point that there is just so much talent available in the PLL. Draft classes are loaded! So much new talent joins the league every year! We’ll surely get plenty of that type of talk over the next month leading up to the PLL Draft. But a look at draft classes should tell you that most years, they aren’t as deep as you might think. More than that, it will tell you that pro careers are short, guys don’t stick long either because they choose another career path or they get replaced by another new young player very quickly. After about five years, the drop off is steep.

The PLL draft has happened annually since 2019. That isn’t all that long ago. But if you go back to the inaugural draft of 24 players, 19 of them are currently unsigned, on Holdout Lists, or in the player pool already. I’m not considering things like individual honors or titles won by these players, simply noting who is still playing in the league at this point. Here’s how the draft looks year by year.

2019

Almost the entire draft is out of the league. From rounds three and four, no players remain. None. Tim Troutner is currently an unsigned free agent, he’s the most recently rostered member of the back half of that draft. In total, the 2019 draft saw 24 players taken, five of them are currently signed and active. Just two of them are with the team that drafted them.

Ryan Conrad - Drafted by Atlas, left unprotected and drafted by Waterdogs, traded to Whipsnakes

Zach Goodrich - Drafted by Chrome, played MLL instead, joined PLL with Cannons

Jack Rowlett - Drafted by Chaos, still starting for Chaos.

Brad Smith - Drafted by Whipsnakes. Injury issues, but still playing for Whipsnakes

Chris Sabia - Drafted by Chrome, left unprotected and taken by Waterdogs, still on Waterdogs

2020

Only two rounds of draftees in the COVID Year. Chaotic times. One exception or at least acknowledgement needs to be made assessing this group, which is that Jeff Teat was drafted and returned to school. He’s obviously an active player now, but he did not play in the 2020 season after being drafted; he returned to Cornell. In total, 14 players were drafted. Three of them are currently signed and active if you do not count Teat. Of note, all three are still with the team that drafted them and have been very successful pro players.

Grant Ament - Drafted by Archers, still signed with Archers

Bryan Costabile - Drafted by Atlas, still signed with Atlas

Matt DeLuca - Drafted by Waterdogs, still signed with Waterdogs

2021

Back to four rounds, and now with eight picks per round as the Cannons joins the league. Seven players from rounds three and four are still signed and active (Jeff Trainor, Justin Anderson, Colin Squires, Charlie Bertrand, Ethan Walker, Jackson Morrill, and Nick Grill). In total, of the 32 players selected in 2021, 20 are still signed and active. Since it’s easier, the players drafted who are either on Holdout or no longer signed to a team:

Jake Carraway - Drafted 10th by Atlas, retired

Kyle Gallagher - Drafted 14th by Chaos, released

Tanner Cook - Drafted 15th by Chaos, plays summer box

Peter Dearth - Drafted 17th by Atlas, released

Jared Bernhardt - Drafted 19th by Chaos, pursued football

Conor Gaffney - Drafted 21st by Archers, released

Kyle Thornton - Drafted 22nd by Chaos, released

Stephen Rehfuss - Drafted 25th by Cannons, now technically on Holdout

Gerard Arceri - Drafted 26th Atlas, released

Jamie Trimboli - Drafted by 29th by Redwoods, released

Ryan Smith - Drafted 30th by Chaos, plays summer box

Charlie Leonard - Drafted 32nd by Redwoods, released

2022

Getting to be more recent, so you’d expect more players to stick on rosters. Two first round picks have either retired (Chris Gray) or are unsigned (Brett Kennedy). Eight players from the back half of the draft are currently signed (I’m counting Justin Inacio though his deal has not been announced), meaning another eight are out of the league or on Holdout. In total, of the 32 players, 21 are still signed and active, and 13 of those are from the first two rounds. As above, it’s easier to list the players no longer signed or active.

Chris Gray - Drafted 2nd by Atlas, traded to Redwoods, retired

Brett Kennedy - Drafted 6th by Chaos, released, signed by Whipsnakes, currently a free agent

Brendan Curry - Drafted 13th by Atlas, technically currently on Holdout

Keegan Khan - Drafted 20th by Whipsnakes, currently a free agent

Jake Higgins - Drafted 22nd by Waterdogs, currently a free agent

Bryan McIntosh - Drafted 23rd by Cannons, released

Jackson Reid - Drafted 26th by Whipsnakes, playing box

Mitch Bartolo - Drafted 27th by Redwoods, released

Jason Reynolds - Drafted 30th by Waterdogs, released

Colin Hinton - Drafted 31st by Whipsnakes, released

Kevin Lindley - Drafted 32nd by Chaos, released

2023

It’s now recent enough that most of these players are the guys you’ll see on a weekly roster. Only one player taken in the first two rounds is currently unsigned. In the second half of the draft, it’s a little dicier. Ten of the 16 drafted players are still signed and active. The players taken this year currently unsigned:

Troy Hettinger - Drafted 12th by Chrome/Outlaws, released

Brian Minicus - Drafted 15th by Chaos, retired

Garrett Leadmon - Drafted 22nd by Whipsnakes, currently on Holdout

Grant Ammann - Drafted 25th by Cannons, released

Zach Cole - Drafted 26th by Redwoods, released

Kyle Long - Drafted 27th by Atlas, released

Elijah Gash - Drafted 30th by Whipsnakes, released

James Reilly - Drafted 32 by Waterdogs, currently a free agent

2024

The Greatest Draft, and we’re only a year removed. To no surprise, basically this entire draft is still in the league. Some guys are dealing with injuries (Kenny Brower), others may not be in star level roles yet (Matt Brandau, Eric Dobson, Garrett Degnon, Stephen Zupicich, Colby Barsz, Chayse Ierlan, and Michael Boehm didn’t have a massive immediate impact on game day). But only three players from this draft aren’t currently signed and active. One of them is Cole Kastner, who is expected to join the Redwoods this summer after a year on holdout while he played college basketball. The other two are Scott Smith and Dylan Hess, who returned to school and will almost certainly be taken in the upcoming 2025 draft.

Taking a step back to look, the drop off is clear. After about five years, many drafted players find themselves removed from active rosters. Sometimes it’s retirement, sometimes it’s pursuit of another career, and sometimes it’s as simple as being pushed out by the younger talent. Taking the info above, by year, the number of drafted players still rostered:

2019 - 5 of 24 players

2020 - 3 of 14 players

2021 - 20 of 32 players

2022 - 21 of 32 players

2023 - 24 of 32 players

2024 - 29 of 32 players (all 32 are expected to be rostered this summer)

As eyes turn to the 2025 draft, it may be worth looking back at 2021. Coaches and GMs may need to begin evaluating just how much time players drafted in 2021 have left on the team. If you go to a year before the PLL and review the 2018 MLL draft, it’s even more stark. In that year, there were seven rounds and nine teams - 63 players drafted. Of those 63, just nine still play in the PLL, and only one player taken after round three is still playing. Greg Weyl was taken at the end of round five, he’s the latest 2018 draft pick still in the league.

Some drafts are loaded, some aren’t. But as is true in most pro sports, the career of an athlete is short. For now, the balance between players entering the league via the draft and exiting the league via retirement or otherwise is a good one. In fact, it’s a great case AGAINST expansion. Why add teams to dilute the level of competition when the draft balance is in the state it’s in now?

Another 32 players will be drafted in May. It’s not a bold take to say that the later the player is drafted, the less likely he sticks around. TJ Malone’s only come around when the draft class itself is an anomaly; players with first round grades don’t make it to round three unless it’s a unique year. The 2025 draft will be much more “normal” in that regard. And the players taken will be trying to push someone else out of a job.