2019 NLL Entry Draft in the Books as the Halifax Thunderbirds, New York Riptide and Rochester Knighthawks Head to Inaugural Seasons

Published on September 18, 2019 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release

PHILADELPHIA - Ahead of the National Lacrosse League's (NLL) 34th season, the 2019 Entry Draft took place on Tuesday, September 17 at Xfinity Live! in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the season set to begin on November 29, the newest group of rookies will look to make an impression with their respective new teams.

"The NLL Draft is an exciting night for our league, and we are proud to welcome all of the players in tonight's draft into our lacrosse family," said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. "We can't wait for Face Off Weekend for the first chance to see these talented new players in action."

After winning a coin flip against the Rochester Knighthawks during halftime of Game 1 of the 2019 NLL Finals, the New York Riptide were awarded the first pick and selected Tyson Gibson out of Robert Morris University. The Riptide also had the tenth pick of the draft, which was acquired in a trade with the Saskatchewan Rush, and took Tyson Bomberry out of Syracuse University.

"We're very excited to get the two guys we wanted in an ideal situation tonight," Riptide Assistant GM and Director of Lacrosse Operations Lance Basler said. "We feel they can contribute right off the bat on offense and defense. They are true gritty guys and great DNA for our team."

The Rochester Knighthawks had the second pick of the draft and selected Ryland Rees out of Stony Brook University. The New England Black Wolves picked third and took Andrew Kew from the University of Tampa.

"To be honest, we were shocked," Black Wolves General Manager Rich Lisk said. "We didn't know if he'd get down to us at three and we couldn't be happier with it. He's a pure goal scorer and the guy can put the ball in the back of the net, and that's what we were looking for from the left side."

Saskatchewan selected Holden Garlent from Canisius College with the fourth pick and the Halifax Thunderbirds took Clarke Petterson out of Cornell University to round out the top-five.

Full details from the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, including all 89 selections, can be viewed below.

FIRST ROUND

1. New York - Tyson Gibson, Robert Morris University, Forward

2. Rochester - Ryland Rees, Stony Brook University, Transition

3. New England (from Philadelphia) - Andrew Kew, University of Tampa, Forward

4. Saskatchewan (from Vancouver) - Holden Garlent, Canisius College, Transition

5. Halifax - Clarke Petterson, Cornell University, Forward

6. Colorado - Warren Jeffrey, University of Vermont, Defenseman

7. Calgary (from New England) - Liam LeClair, Six Nations Jr. A, Defenseman

8. Calgary (from San Diego) - Haiden Dickson, Coquitlam Adanacs, Forward

9. Saskatchewan - Justin Robinson, Robert Morris University, Transition

10. New York (from Toronto via Saskatchewan) - Tyson Bomberry, Syracuse University, Defense

11. Georgia - Kason Tarbell, Cornell University, Defense

12. Buffalo - Brent Noseworthy, University of Michigan, Defense

13. Georgia (from Calgary) - Ryan MacSpadyen, Mercy College, Transition

14. Halifax (compensatory selection - Matt Vinc) - Trevor Smyth, Rochester Institute of Technology, Defense

15. Toronto (compensatory selection - Brodie Merrill) - Aaron Forster, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Transition

16. Saskatchewan (compensatory selection - Dan Dawson) - Tanner Thomson, Marquette University, Forward

17. New England (compensatory selection - Aaron Bold) - Zach Goodrich, Towson University

SECOND ROUND

18. Rochester - Cory Highfield, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

19. New York - Jake Fox, Johns Hopkins University, Forward

20. Philadelphia - Alex Pace, Brock University, Forward/Transition

21. Georgia (from Vancouver) - Philadelphia* - Matt Marinier, Burlington Chiefs Jr. A, Defense

22. Georgia (from Halifax via New England) - Calgary* - Marshal King, Drexel University, Forward

23. Colorado - Will Malcolm, New Westminster Salmonbellies

24. New York (from New England) - Connor Farrell, Long Island University

25. San Diego - Matthew Sykes, Mimico, Defense

26. Colorado (from Saskatchewan via San Diego) - Brett Craig, Seton Hill University, Defense

27. Toronto - Zach Manns, Drexel University, Forward

28. San Diego (from Georgia) - Devyn Mayea, Burlington Chiefs, Defense

29. Buffalo - Nathaniel Kozevnikov, Robert Morris University

30. Halifax (from Calgary via Buffalo via New England) - Clay Scanlan, Six Nations, Forward

31. Colorado (compensatory pick) - Jake McNabb, St. Catherine's Jr. A, Forward

32. Rochester - Dustyn Pratt, Orangeville Northmen

33. New York - Gale Thorpe, The Ohio State University, Forward

*Georgia sends 21st pick to Philadelphia in exchange for 2021 2nd round pick

*Georgia sends 22nd pick to Calgary in exchange for 2021 2nd round pick

THIRD ROUND

34. New York - John Wagner, Marquette University, Forward

35. Rochester - Thomas Whitty, St. Catherine's Jr. A, Defense

36. Philadelphia - Pat Spencer, Loyola University, Forward

37. Rochester (from Vancouver) - Matt Van Galen, University of Detroit Mercy

38. Halifax - Showahnonkon "Nonkon" Thompson, Awkesasne Jr A

39. Colorado - Dylan Kinnear, Towson University

40. Calgary (from New England) - Nick Scott, Langley Thunder

41. San Diego - Kyle Dawson, Nanaimo Jr. A

42. Saskatchewan - Cameron Dunkerley, Victoria Jr. A, Goalie

43.Toronto - Jamison Dilks, Six Nations Jr. A

44.Georgia - TJ Comizio, Villanova University, Transition/Defense

45. Buffalo - Ryder Garnsey, Notre Dame University, Forward

46. Calgary - Landon Kells, Peterborough Jr. A

47. New York - Travis Longboat, Six Nations Arrows, Forward

48. Rochester - Sean Darroch, Lindenwood University, Defense

FOURTH ROUND

49. Rochester - Tyler Biles, Brampton Jr. A

50. New York - Jack Rowlett, University of North Carolina, Defense

51. Philadelphia - Kyle Marr, Johns Hopkins University, Forward

52. Vancouver - Derek Lloyd, Stony Brook University

53. Philadelphia (from Halifax) - Dave Smith, University of Virginia, Transition/Defense

54. Georgia (from Colorado via Buffalo) - New England* - Braiden Davis, University of Vermont

55. Buffalo (from New England) - Taylor Kauffeldt, Brampton Jr. A

56. San Diego - Oliver Bolisteri, Six Nations Jr. A

57. Saskatchewan - Colin Berglof, Saskatchewan Jr A

58. Toronto - Troy Holowchuk, Six Nations Jr A

59. Georgia - Gunnar Schimoler, University Maryland - Baltimore County

60. Buffalo - Tyler Halls, Orangeville

61. New England (from Calgary) - Bailey Brown, Toronto Beaches

62. Rochester - Bradley Voigt, Syracuse University, Forward

63. New York - Matthew Borges, The Ohio State University, Defense

*Georgia sends 54th pick to New England in exchange for 2020 4th round pick

FIFTH ROUND

64. New York - Daylen Hill, Six Nations

65. Rochester - Carter Badour, The College of Saint Rose, Forward

66. Philadelphia - Jordan Krug, Cabrini University, Forward

67. Vancouver - Keegan Bell, Langley Thunder

68. Halifax - Matt Dziama, The University of Virginia, Transition

69. Colorado - Dan Bucaro, Georgetown University, Forward

70. New England - Tristan Rai, Lehigh University, Forward

71. San Diego - Ryan Jones, Delta Jr. A

72. Saskatchewan - Luke Keenan, Princeton University, Forward

73. Toronto - Ryan Conrad, University of Virginia, Transition

74. Georgia - Jordan Gillis, Hamilton Jr. B

75. Georgia (from Buffalo) - Mikey Herring, University of Virginia, Forward

76. Calgary - Cordell Hastings, Calgary Shamrocks Jr. B

SIXTH ROUND

77. Rochester - Alec Simons, Mimico Jr A

78. New York - Brad McKinney, Syracuse University

79. Philadelphia - Austin Fusco, Syracuse University, Defense

80. Vancouver - Gord Phillips, Monmouth University

81. Halifax - Brad Fannell, St. Catherine's Jr. A

82. Colorado - Liam Osborne, Belmont Abbey College

83. New England - Travis Brown, Orangeville

84. San Diego - Russ Oakes, Onondaga Community College

85. Saskatchewan - Jordan Getz, Wheeling University

86. Toronto - Jordan Caskenette, Orangeville Jr A

87. Georgia - No Pick

88. Buffalo - Joel Watson, Whitby

89. Calgary - Travis Getz, Wheeling University

New York Riptide first-round pick Tyson Gibson

National Lacrosse League Stories from September 18, 2019

• Philadelphia Wings Add 7 Players to Roster at 2019 NLL Entry Draft - Philadelphia Wings
• Black Wolves Round out 2019 NLL Entry Draft with 4 Picks - New England Black Wolves
• Philadelphia Wings Add 7 Players to Roster at 2019 NHL Entry Draft - Philadelphia Wings
• 2019 NLL Entry Draft in the Books as the Halifax Thunderbirds, New York Riptide and Rochester Knighthawks Head to Inaugural Seasons - NLL
• Colorado Mammoth Selects Seven Players in 2019 Draft - Colorado Mammoth
• Halifax Thunderbirds Select Six Players at 2019 NLL Entry Draft - Halifax Thunderbirds
• Seals Select Six in NLL Entry Draft - San Diego Seals
• Bandits Draft Six in 2019 NLL Entry Draft - Buffalo Bandits
• Warriors 2019 NLL Draft Recap - Vancouver Warriors
• Rush Land Transition Tandem Amongst Three First-Rounders at NLL Draft - Saskatchewan Rush
• Roughnecks Select Seven Players in 2019 NLL Draft - Calgary Roughnecks
• Georgia Swarm Add Six New Players at 2019 NLL Entry Draft - Georgia Swarm
• New England Selects Zach Goodrich with 17th Overall Pick in 2019 NLL Draft - New England Black Wolves
• Knighthawks Select 10 Players in 2019 NLL Entry Draft - Rochester Knighthawks
• Rock Add Aaron Forster with First Pick at NLL Draft - Toronto Rock
• Riptide Select 11 in 2019 NLL Entry Draft - New York Riptide

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.