Four former NJCAA lacrosse standouts were selected in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), the men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. Austin Staats of Onondaga (NY) was selected as the top overall pick in the draft by the San Diego Seals.
74 players were selected on Tuesday night across 11 teams in six rounds. Along with Staats, Leroy Halftown who played for both Onondaga and Monroe Community College (NY), Onondaga's Kyle Killen, and Dylan Riley of Howard (MD) and CCBC Essex (MD) were chosen.
Austin Staats | Onondaga (NY) | San Diego Seals – 1
A two-time NJCAA All-American (2017-18) at Onondaga, Staats led the Lazers to back-to-back national championships where he was named the Steve Caravan Offensive Player of the Year in 2018. Staats totaled 102 goals and 54 assists for 156 total points in his stellar two-year career.
Staats joins 14 former Lazers currently playing in the NLL, including his brother Randy. Staats was selected as the first player in Seals history as the team will begin its first year of competition during the 2018-19 season.
Leroy Halftown | Onondaga (NY)/Monroe Community College (NY) | Georgia Swarm – 20
Halftown played one season at Monroe before an injury forced him to sit out a season. In 2016, Halftown and the Lazers reached the NJCAA national championship game where the forward tallied 35 goals. Halftown finished his collegiate career at NYIT where he earned ECC and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and third-team All-American recognition.
Halftown was selected in the second round and 20th overall by the Georgia Swarm, the 2017 NLL champions. The Swarm finished atop the East Division standings in 2018.
Kyle Killen | Onondaga (NY) | Colorado Mammoth – 22
Killen helped lead Onondaga to a pair of national championship appearances in his career, including the 2015 national championship. Killen boasted 115 points in his career on 83 goals and 22 assists, including 49 goals as a sophomore. Following his time at Onondaga, Killen moved on to Rochester Institute of Technology where he finished fifth in NCAA Division III scoring. Killen was also named the USILA Iroquois National Award Winner as Division III's best player.
Killen was selected two picks after former teammate Halftown as the Mammoth added the forward 22nd overall. The Mammoth finished the 2018 season with an 11-7 record.
Dylan Riley | Howard (MD)/CCBC Essex (MD) | Rochester Knighthawks – 62
Riley spent the 2015 season at Howard before finishing his NJCAA career at CCBC Essex where he tallied 66 career points before moving on to Florida Tech to finish his collegiate career.
Riley, a defenseman, was selected as the 62nd overall pick by the Knighthawks who finished as the NLL runners-up in 2018.
The 2018-19 season opens up Dec. 1.