Eight Local Players in MLL Draft

January 11, 2012 - Eight current college seniors, former Section Five stars, have announced their plans to enter the MLL draft which will be held in Philadelphia on Friday, January 13, 2012.

All eight are NCAA Division I players with exciting records at their colleges. From the University of Hartford are Ben Knapton (LSM) and goalie Scott Bement, both from Canandaigua Academy. Knapton was a member of the Class B All Tournament team and a captain for the Braves in his senior year. He went on to Hartford, where he was a starter as a freshman and was named to the America East All-Conference Second team in his last season. He will graduate in the spring with a Biomedical Engineering degree. Bement also was named All Conference (First Team) as well as to the All-Championship team after helping the Hawks to win their first (ever) American East title and qualify for their first NCAA tournament appearance. A Criminal Justice major, Bement has been named a captain for the Hawks this year. While at Canandaigua he was a four year varsity player and was named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American. He also was honored as the Section V Defensive Player of the Year, the Daily Messenger Player of the Year, and the All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year.

Notre Dame senior and Penfield all-star defenseman, Kevin Randall has been a large part of the highly successful defensive unit. Playing all three years, he has been a part of the defensive unit that has held opponents to 6.19 goals against as a freshman, 7.53 as a sophomore and 6.56 last year when the Irish was ranked second in the nation in defense. His defensive coach, Gerry Byrne, recently named National Assistant Coach of the Year, also has ties to Section Five. He was a Volunteer Coach at Pittsford under Coach Paul Wilson. Randall earned letters in four sports while at Penfield and was a lacrosse captain in his senior year.

Penn Yan will have two players in the draft with Navy goalie, RJ Wickham and Drexel defenseman Dana Wilber. Wickham ranks in the top ten in all-time saves for Navy with 338 (and one season left). He started in goal as a freshman and as a sophomore was awarded a USILA All-America Honorable Mention and was Patriot League Goalie of the Year. He was also named a finalist for the 2010 Tewaaration Trophy. A three sport athlete at Penn Yan, Wickham was named a US Lacrosse All-American in his senior year. Dana Wilber is a two year captain at Drexel and was named to the first team All-CAA team as a sophomore. Also an All-American at Penn Yan, Wilber played three sports for the Mustangs and was also a member of the Western Region Empire State Games team.

Drew Palmer, a graduate of Webster Schroeder High School where, in his senior year, was the team's MVP and a first team Greater All-Rochester pick. A two year captain for the Warriors, he also played on the ESG team where he won a silver medal. At the end of his senior year he played in the high school North/South Senior Showcase. As a senior defenseman at Fairfield University, he leads the team in ground ball production and forced turnovers after two years with the Stags. He is a Communications Major, playing for former Pittsford standout, Andy Copelan and has been a two year captain.

From the other side of Webster comes Jacksonville University senior defenseman, Jake Ziegler, who earned MAAC first team honors last year. The Webster Thomas graduate has been named captain of his college team for the second year. A starter since he joined the team in their first Varsity season, Jake was also named to the conference All-Academic team in his junior year. His current coach also has ties to Section Five. Guy Van Arsdale excelled at Hobart College and is a member of the Rochester Chapter Hall of Fame.

The Major League Lacrosse Entry Draft will be broadcast via streaming video on the MLL's website www.majorleaguelacrosse.com from 8:30PM to 11:00PM. The Rochester Rattlers have the third overall pick in the draft.