PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team made history on Tuesday night as two players were drafted in the 2023 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) Draft. Senior midfielder
Sam Handley was drafted fourth overall in the first round by Chrome Lacrosse Club, while short-stick defensive middie
Piper Bond went in the third round (21st overall) to Archers Lacrosse Club.
Handley and Bond are just the second and third Penn players to be selected by a PLL team since the league's inception in 2019, following Tyler Dunn in 2019. They are the 13th and 14th players overall to be drafted to a pro franchise, as the Quakers boasted 12 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) selections from 2001 to 2019.
Handley closed out his Penn career a three-time unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection after another strong season pacing the Quakers' offense in 2023, leading the team in goals (30), assists (25) and points (55). He also scored three game-winning goals this season, including a pair of OT daggers against Saint Joseph's and Princeton. Earlier in the day, he was named a first-team All-America by
USA Lacrosse Magazine.
The Portland, Ore. native ends his collegiate tenure with 104 career goals and 90 assists for 194 points. Those totals rank sixth, fifth and third, respectively, in program history. The USILA's Donald J. MacLaughlin Jr. Award recipient as the nation's top collegiate midfielder and Ivy League Player of the Year in 2022, Handley is currently a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Award in 2023—after being one of the five finalists in 2022—and is currently waiting on several other postseason awards.
Bond concluded a strong Penn career on Friday night after securing first-team All-Ivy laurels for the second straight year and second-team
USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America honors earlier in the day. Outside of FOGO
Chris Arceri, Bond had a team-high tying 33 ground balls for the Quakers in 2023, adding seven caused turnovers. He also scored a goal against Duke earlier in the season. The short-stick defensive middie was named the University of Pennsylvania's Division of Recreation and Athletics' (DRIA) recipient of the Class of 1915 Award, the department's most prominent male senior award. For his effort on the field as well as in the classroom, Bond was also named the team's Academic All-Ivy representative.
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