As the excitement builds toward the NCAA tournament, No. 3 Princeton men’s lacrosse (12–3 overall, 5–1 Ivy League) got another reason to celebrate on Tuesday, with senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy and former Tigers Sam English ’23 and Pace Billings ’24 being drafted to the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).
“As a coach, anytime you recruit these guys, you see these guys kind of grow in their time here and how much they mature in the mindset they have,” Head Coach Matt Madalon told The Daily Princetonian. “We’re all just really pumped for Coulter.”
The PLL, founded in 2018 by brothers Mike and Paul Rabil, is North America’s professional lacrosse league. The league currently features eight teams that compete in a tour-based format, traveling to different cities each weekend throughout the summer season.
English was selected third overall by the California Redwoods. Just moments later, Mackesy followed, with his name called as the fourth overall pick by the Boston Cannons.
“It’s always been kind of the dream to play professional lacrosse and to be a part of [the PLL],” English told the ‘Prince.’ “To be number three overall is a pretty special moment for me, my teammates, my friends, and my family. I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.”
“It was so awesome to share it with everyone,” Mackesy wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “I have the best teammates in the world. I’m really excited, though there is still work to be done here.”
Mackesy has established himself as one of the best players to ever wear a Tiger uniform. In the Ivy League tournament final, Mackesy scored his 163rd career goal, tying the program record set by Jesse Hubbard ’98. This season, Mackesy has 40 goals and 15 assists for the Orange and Black.
“Once the PLL season begins, then it’ll be more real than it is right now. My focus now is 100 percent on the NCAA tournament and Towson,” Mackesy wrote.
Mackesy, a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award — given annually to the best player in college lacrosse — fills a big need for the Cannons, who were desperate for a lefty attacker. Earlier on Tuesday, Cannons Head Coach Brian Holman said the team was “split down the middle” on Mackesy or Syracuse attacker Owen Hiltz. Hiltz was selected eighth overall by the Carolina Chaos. Last season, the Cannons finished 7–3, but lost in the quarterfinals 8–4 to the Chaos.
“I’m very grateful to the Cannons for having faith in me and for giving me this opportunity,” Mackesy continued. “It’s every player’s dream to play at the highest level against the best players in the world. I will certainly do my best and work my hardest to make an impact.”
English, a current graduate student at Syracuse, transferred to the Orange upon graduating from Princeton in 2023. During his senior year, he ruptured his spleen on the first possession in an April 8th game against Syracuse.
English spent four nights in the hospital and missed the remainder of the year. However, due to the 2020 season being cancelled halfway through and the 2021 Ivy League season being cancelled, English had two years of eligibility remaining.
“It was definitely a scary moment in my career,” English recalled. “The one thing that got me through was knowing that I’d hopefully have another chance to play lacrosse at this level, and to have the opportunity to hopefully play in [the PLL] one day.”
At Syracuse, English developed himself into a midfielder who can do it all. While his value comes as a midfielder, English can attack and defend, and will make his presence felt across the field. In 16 games this season, English had 20 goals, 11 assists, 49 ground balls, and 10 caused turnovers.
“I think I bring a lot,” English said. “You can kind of throw me on the field wherever, and I can get things done. They’re [the Redwoods] looking to just revamp everywhere. And I think I’ll be able to do whatever they need me to do, whether it’s playing offense or playing defense or in the 32-second shot clocks.”
“I know they [English and Billings] bleed the Orange and Black,” Madalon said. “For our program to have a couple guys drafted continues to speak volumes about the guys we have, the coaches we have, and the support staff we have to help develop these guys.”
Later in the night, Billings was selected in the third round as the 19th overall pick by the Denver Outlaws. A Denver native, Billings is known for causing turnovers and disrupting opposing offenses.
Similar to English’s, Billings’ first year was during the cancelled 2021 season. His sophomore year saw him named to the NCAA Final Four all-tournament team in one of the best years in recent Tiger lacrosse history. After three years at Princeton, Billings used his final year of eligibility at the University of Michigan. Billings ended his season with 24 caused turnovers, 58 ground balls, and two Big Ten defensive player of the week honors.
Billings will provide defensive depth to an Outlaws team that gave up 12.1 goals per game. Furthermore, the Outlaws add youth to a defense that features 34-year-old Jesse Bernhardt and 36-year-old Mike Manley.
The surprise of the night was senior defender Colin Mulshine not hearing his name called. After the draft, Mulshine was the highest rated player left on Adam Lamberti’s draft board. Despite this, Mulshine will likely get signed in free agency and receive the opportunity to earn a roster spot.
The 2025 PLL season begins on May 30.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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