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Sowers and Giles-Harris Picked 2nd and 3rd in PLL Draft
4/26/2021 10:40:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
DURHAM – Duke University men's lacrosse standouts Michael Sowers and JT Giles-Harris were selected No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the 2021 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft presented by Champion announced on NBC Sports on Monday night.
Sowers was taken No. 2 overall by Waterdogs, while Giles-Harris will join a host of former Blue Devils on Chrome. This marks just the second college draft where Blue Devils were eligible as the first PLL draft was held in 2019.
Overall, Sowers is the fourth Blue Devil to be taken No. 2 in a professional outdoor lacrosse draft – Kevin Cassese (2003), Matt Danowski (2008) and Jordan Wolf (2014) were the second picks in the MLL draft those seasons. Giles-Harris joins Zack Greer (2009), Michael Manley (2012) and Will Haus (2014) as No. 3 picks. Manley and Haus are current members of Chrome. Ned Crotty and Myles Jones are the lone two Blue Devils to be the top picks in the MLL drafts, achieving that feat in 2010 and 2016, respectively.
A three-time All-American at Princeton, Sowers joined the Blue Devils as a graduate student transfer this season. He was the overall favorite to win the Tewaaraton Award before for the 2020 campaign was canceled and is considered one of the best attackman in the country.
He currently leads Duke's offense with 29 goals and a team-best 31 assists for 60 points. He has scored a point in all 60 career games – 47 of which he played at Princeton – and has been held to just a single point twice in his career.
A two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week this season, Sowers has scored at least three points in 11 of the 13 games for the Blue Devils and notched a season-best eight versus Air Force. He currently ranks fourth in NCAA history in points per game average (6.03/gm). He has played in 60 games and has 362 points from 150 goals and 212 assists, ranking fourth in NCAA history in points and fourth in assists.
Giles-Harris, considered by many to be the top defenseman in this year's draft pool, has been an anchor on Duke's defense throughout his career. He has started 76 of his 77 career games and is one of four defenseman selected as a nominee for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award.
A two-time USILA All-American, including a first-team selection in 2019, Giles-Harris ranks second among non-faceoff specialists in ground balls with 24 and is second in caused turnovers with 13.
The 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Giles-Harris recently was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after his stellar effort in holding the high-scoring Virginia offense to just 12 goals and none in the final 17:52 en route to a 13-12 overtime victory. He recorded his first career assist in the win and also picked up two ground balls and a caused turnover while holding top scorer Matt Moore to just two goals.
The 2021 PLL season gets underway June 4 in Boston, Mass., at Gillette Stadium. The season will feature seven weekends of regular season action with an All-Star break built in on July 18 in San Jose, Calif. The playoffs begin Aug. 20-21 in Salt Lake City at Rio Tinto Park and conclude in Washington, D.C. at Audi Field Sept. 19.
For the full PLL schedule and ticket information click here.
Duke, ranked second nationally, concludes its 2021 regular season Sunday, May 2, at No. 3 North Carolina. Faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at Kenan Stadium.
#GoDuke
Sowers was taken No. 2 overall by Waterdogs, while Giles-Harris will join a host of former Blue Devils on Chrome. This marks just the second college draft where Blue Devils were eligible as the first PLL draft was held in 2019.
Overall, Sowers is the fourth Blue Devil to be taken No. 2 in a professional outdoor lacrosse draft – Kevin Cassese (2003), Matt Danowski (2008) and Jordan Wolf (2014) were the second picks in the MLL draft those seasons. Giles-Harris joins Zack Greer (2009), Michael Manley (2012) and Will Haus (2014) as No. 3 picks. Manley and Haus are current members of Chrome. Ned Crotty and Myles Jones are the lone two Blue Devils to be the top picks in the MLL drafts, achieving that feat in 2010 and 2016, respectively.
A three-time All-American at Princeton, Sowers joined the Blue Devils as a graduate student transfer this season. He was the overall favorite to win the Tewaaraton Award before for the 2020 campaign was canceled and is considered one of the best attackman in the country.
He currently leads Duke's offense with 29 goals and a team-best 31 assists for 60 points. He has scored a point in all 60 career games – 47 of which he played at Princeton – and has been held to just a single point twice in his career.
A two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week this season, Sowers has scored at least three points in 11 of the 13 games for the Blue Devils and notched a season-best eight versus Air Force. He currently ranks fourth in NCAA history in points per game average (6.03/gm). He has played in 60 games and has 362 points from 150 goals and 212 assists, ranking fourth in NCAA history in points and fourth in assists.
Giles-Harris, considered by many to be the top defenseman in this year's draft pool, has been an anchor on Duke's defense throughout his career. He has started 76 of his 77 career games and is one of four defenseman selected as a nominee for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award.
A two-time USILA All-American, including a first-team selection in 2019, Giles-Harris ranks second among non-faceoff specialists in ground balls with 24 and is second in caused turnovers with 13.
The 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Giles-Harris recently was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after his stellar effort in holding the high-scoring Virginia offense to just 12 goals and none in the final 17:52 en route to a 13-12 overtime victory. He recorded his first career assist in the win and also picked up two ground balls and a caused turnover while holding top scorer Matt Moore to just two goals.
The 2021 PLL season gets underway June 4 in Boston, Mass., at Gillette Stadium. The season will feature seven weekends of regular season action with an All-Star break built in on July 18 in San Jose, Calif. The playoffs begin Aug. 20-21 in Salt Lake City at Rio Tinto Park and conclude in Washington, D.C. at Audi Field Sept. 19.
For the full PLL schedule and ticket information click here.
Duke, ranked second nationally, concludes its 2021 regular season Sunday, May 2, at No. 3 North Carolina. Faceoff is set for 4 p.m. at Kenan Stadium.
#GoDuke
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