Bayhawks add depth in draft
Defending MLL champions grab Yale defender Weitzel with first-round selection
With the Chesapeake Bayhawks returning most of the key pieces of a championship club, head coach and general manager Tom Mariano did not draft for need on Monday night.
Rather, Mariano and the Bayhawks entered the Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft looking for complementary parts, while adding quality depth.
Chesapeake selected eight players with the picks divided into two short-stick defensive midfielders, two long-stick midfielders, two attackmen, one offensive midfielder and one goalie.
“We really are happy to just add pieces to the puzzle. We won the championship last year. We really like the team we have coming back, but we are excited to add pieces that fit well into the puzzle,” Mariano said in a statement issued following Monday night’s draft.
Chesapeake bolstered its long-stick defensive midfield corps in the first round, choosing Yale’s Will Weitzel with the sixth overall pick. In 59 career games, Weitzel had 60 ground balls and forced 22 turnovers, while earning first team AllNew England honors twice.
Weitzel was a key member of the 2019 Yale team that lost to Virginia in the national championship. The Newton, Massachusetts, native stood out for the Bulldogs during their NCAA Tournament run — gobbling five ground balls, causing two turnovers and scoring a goal.
Mariano called Weitzel “one of the crown jewels of this draft class — a highly experienced pole who played in some of the biggest games a collegiate lacrosse player can.”
With veteran attackman Steele Stanwick contemplating retirement, the Bayhawks addressed that position in the second round by taking Bucknell’s Will Yorke. After playing midfield as a sophomore, Yorke switched to attack as a junior and led the Bison in goals (34) and points (45) en route to earning second-team All-Patriot League honors.
Yorke was off to a hot start as a senior, having scored 25 goals through six games. The Chicago native set a Patriot League record with nine goals against Marist. He was a tri-captain for the Bison and made the final Tewaaraton Award watch list.
Mariano called Yorke a “pure scorer” and thinks he will pair nicely with superstar attackman Lyle Thompson, the MLL Most Valuable Player in 2019. “Will Yorke has the potential to be Major League Lacrosse’s next prolific goal scorer particularly under the tutelage of Lyle Thompson,” Mariano said.
Chesapeake made Boston University long-stick midfielder Chase Levesque the 18th overall selection in the third round. The rangy 6-foot-3, 195-pound amassed 160 ground balls and 61 caused turnovers during his career, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
Levesque, a product of Ridgefield High in the Connecticut town of the same name, established career-highs of 65 ground balls and 31 caused turnovers as a junior.
The Bayhawks must develop a new backup goalie now that Niko Amato is no longer with the team. Hobart’s Sam Lucchesi was drafted in the fourth round and will compete with Alex Heger (Robert
Morris) for the job behind starter Brian Phipps (Severn School).
As the reigning MLL champion, Chesapeake had the sixth selection of each round. The only exception came in the fifth round when the Bayhawks chose second due to a previous trade. Mariano used that opportunity to pick Notre Dame’s Pat Aslanian, whom he had rated as the “best short-stick defensive midfielder in the draft.”
Chesapeake’s lone offensive midfield selection was Grant Maloof, a South River High product who emerged as a key offensive component during his final three seasons at Towson University. The Davidsonville resident amassed 60 points on 44 goals and 16 assists during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
“Grant has a high lacrosse IQ and is an outstanding shooter. I really love his overall game,” Mariano said. “I think Grant Maloof may wind up being the steal of the draft.”
Some of the top seniors in college lacrosse did not register for the MLL Collegiate Draft because they intend to return to school and utilize the extra year of eligibility being granted by the NCAA.
Some MLL teams elected to select standout seniors that have either announced they are returning to college or have not yet decided. Boston picked All-American attackman Michael Sowers, who recently announced he would be transferring from Princeton to Syracuse in order to use another year of eligibility.
“We wanted to draft as many players as we could that we felt could make an impact this season,” Mariano said. “Some of the teams took fliers on guys who are definitely going back to college. I wasn’t looking ahead to next year. Our goal is to win now.”
Towson midfielder Jon Mazza, a Davidsonville native, was the second-round selection (10th overall) of the Philadelphia Barrage. Mazza amassed a career-best 24 points (16 goals, eight assists) while playing midfield in 2019 and had netted nine goals through six games while playing attack this past season.
UMBC close defenseman Jason Brewster was taken in the eighth round by the Boston Cannons. The San Diego resident started 13 games in 2018 but sat out the entire 2019 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Will Weitzel, Long Stick Midfield, Yale, first round (sixth overall)
Will Yorke, Attack, Bucknell, second round (12th overall)
Chase Levesque, Long Stick Midfield, Boston University, third round (18th overall)
Sam Lucchesi, Goalie, Hobart, fourth round (24th overall)
Pat Aslanian, Short Stick Midfield, Notre Dame, fifth round (26th overall)
Luke Anderson, Short Stick Midfield, Marquette, sixth round (36th overall)
Grant Maloof, Midfield, Towson, seventh round (42nd overall)
Kevin Kodzis, Attack, Holy Cross, eighth round (48th overall)