Chesapeake Selects 16 in Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft
Published on December 17, 2015 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Chesapeake Bayhawks picked 16 players in the Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft, held on Wednesday afternoon via conference call.
Chesapeake chose former Notre Dame midfielder Nick Ossello with its first-round pick. The Bayhawks traded with Charlotte to move up two spots and nab Ossello, who scored 23 goals as a senior and was an honorable mention All-American.
Ossello, who also won almost 48 percent of faceoffs and gobbled up 32 ground balls, was drafted by the Denver Outlaws in the 2015 MLL Collegiate Draft. However, Ossello declined to pursue professional lacrosse last summer - electing instead to return to Notre Dame as a fifth-year senior to play football. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound safety has played in six games this season.
"Nick Ossello is a do-it-all type of midfielder - he plays offense, defense and can faceoff," Chesapeake head coach Brian Reese said. "Nick is a phenomenal athlete, one of the finest available in the player pool, and we feel he can help the Bayhawks."
Chesapeake recovered a pair of defensemen they lost through the Expansion Draft process by picking Kyle Sweeney in the second round and Callum Robinson in the third. Both were with the Bayhawks last season, but did not make the 12-man protected list and thus went into the MLL player pool.
Sweeney, a 15th year veteran of the league, played in 13 games and gobbled up 22 ground balls for the Bayhawks in 2015. "Kyle is a proven veteran who played well last season. We are very happy to get Kyle back on the roster," Reese said.
Robinson, a product of Stevenson University, showed potential while a member of the Chesapeake practice squad most of last season. The imposing 6-foot-5, 248-pound Australian has a high upside.
"Callum moved back to Australia and that is one of the reasons we didn't protect him," Reese said. "However, we have since learned that Callum plans to move back to the states and wants to play pro lacrosse this coming season. He's a big, physical kid with a lot of promise."
Chesapeake traded its fourth-round pick to the Denver Outlaws for Anthony Kelly, one of the greatest faceoff specialists in MLL history. Kelly, entering his ninth season out of Ohio State, holds MLL records with 3,044 faceoff attempts and 1,568 wins.
"We struggled to win faceoffs last season so we are thrilled to pick up a specialist the caliber of Anthony Kelly," Reese said. "Anthony can be a dominant force and he will also bring tremendous leadership to our locker room."
Chesapeake selected a total of five players that were on the roster last season, including goalkeeper Kip Turner. A starter on two championship teams for the Bayhawks, Turner missed most of last season with a broken thumb.
Also rejoining the Bayhawks are a couple young players that performed well on the practice squad, but were never active in attackman Alex Love (Hobart) and midfielder Tony Rossi (Stevenson).
Other players with local ties that Chesapeake picked in the Supplemental Draft included midfielder Ed Castronova (Johns Hopkins, 10th round), defenseman Ray Megill (Maryland, 12th round), midfielder Ryan Belka (Drexel, Crofton resident, 13thround), midfielder Joe Lustgarten (UMBC) and faceoff specialist Matt Dolente (Johns Hopkins, 16th round).
"We are very happy with the players we were able to add through the Supplemental Draft," Reese said. "We wanted to load up on midfielders and defensemen and I think we got some good ones. A lot of the guys we had at the top of our wish list were available when we picked."
Chesapeake Bayhawks' 2015 Supplemental Draft Picks
1st round (second overall pick) - Nick Ossello, midfielder
2nd round (15th overall pick) - Kyle Sweeney, defenseman
3rd round (20th overall pick) - Callum Robinson, defenseman
4th round - Traded pick to Denver Outlaws for Anthony Kelly
5th round (40th overall pick) - Joe McCallion, midfielder
6th round (49th overall pick) - Matt Bertrams, midfielder
7th round (58th overall pick) - Rob Guida, midfielder
8th round (67th overall pick) - Kip Turner, goalkeeper
9th round (76th overall pick) - Andrew Casimir, defenseman
10th round (85th overall pick) - Alex Love, attackman
(86th overall pick)Ed Castronova, midfielder
11th round (94th overall pick) - Tony Rossi, midfielder
12th round (103rd overall pick) - Ray Megill, defenseman
13th round (111th overall pick) - Ryan Belka, midfielder
14th round (118th overall pick) - Mike O'Neil, midfielder
15th round (123rd overall pick) - Joe Lustgarten, midfielder
16th round (128th overall pick) - Matt Dolente, midfielder
Major League Lacrosse Stories from December 17, 2015
- Chesapeake Selects 16 in Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Florida Launch Adds Major Veteran Presence to 2016 Roster with Supplemental Draft Picks - Florida Launch
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.
