Widely projected to be the first overall pick, Spallina was selected third.
Syracuse senior attackman Joey Spallina is headed to Maryland, selected by the Whipsnakes Tuesday night with the No. 3 overall selection in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League draft.
Most mock drafts had projected the Syracuse captain would be the No. 1 overall pick, but that honor went to Aidan Maguire, a senior short-stick defensive midfielder from Duke chosen by the Utah Archers.
Towson senior midfielder Mikey Weisshaar was the pick of the Boston Cannons at No. 2 in the draft, which was televised from Bristol, Conn., and viewed at a team watch party on campus.
Spallina finds himself in a good position, however, with the Whipsnakes. The team will not count on him as its first scoring option, not with veteran attackmen including Rob Pannell, who played at Cornell, and former Penn State standout TJ Malone on the roster. Spallina will have a chance to get acclimated to the pros.
He has been the primary scorer for the Orange and is likely to become the leading scorer in the history of Syracuse men’s lacrosse. He is one point away from tying Mike Powell (2001-04) for the all-time record, which Powell holds with 307 points, and needs two to surpass Powell. Spallina has 60 points on the season.
A good night to be Orange
In all, five players from the Orange were selected. With 32 total picks, about 15% of the draft class came from Syracuse.
The five drafted players are the most from Syracuse taken in the PLL draft, topping the four selected a year ago.
Also taken in the first round was Syracuse’s Michael Leo, a midfielder chosen with the No. 6 pick by the California Redwoods who is familiar to team management. Joe Spallina, Joey’s father, is the general manager of the Redwoods.
According to a university news release, Spallina and Leo are the first Syracuse teammates to be first-round picks since 2017, when Nick Mariano and Sergio Salcido were chosen in the Major League Lacrosse draft.
Spallina will have at least one familiar face joining him with the Whipsnakes in defender Billy Dwan III, chosen in the second round at No. 11. He holds the record for most goals by a Syracuse defensive player all-time with 19.
Midfielder Luke Rhoa needed to wait just five more spots to hear his name called at No. 16, the last pick of the second round, by the New York Atlas. With a reputation as one of the best two-handed shooters playing in NCAA lacrosse, Rhoa has 22 goals and six assists this season.
Dante Bowen also is joining the Redwoods, taken in the fourth round at No. 30.
A short-stick defensive midfielder, Bowen is a transfer from Ohio State and in his final season. Bowen has 13 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 13 games for the Orange.
Season nears end
The No. 5-ranked Orange (13-5) will play their final home game of the regular season on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET against Colgate at the JMA Wireless Dome. It’s Senior Day, with the seniors to be honored in a pregame ceremony. ACC Network will televise the game.
The regular season ends April 25 at Notre Dame, with the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals to be played May 1 in Charlotte, N.C.
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