PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team had five players selected in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse Draft, which was held on Friday, January 11 at the Philadelphia Marriott. The draft, which was a featured attraction at the 2013 US Lacrosse National Convention, consisted of eight rounds with a total of 64 collegiate players being selected.

“We are excited for the five players we had selected in the MLL Draft,” Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala noted. “Each of these five has played a significant role for our team since arriving at Johns Hopkins. The teams they are heading to after our season aren’t just getting great players, they are getting great young men who will represent those organizations in a first-class manner on and off the field.”

Headlining the five selections for Johns Hopkins was senior defenseman Tucker Durkin, who was taken third overall by the Charlotte Hounds. Durkin was a First Team USILA All-American and the Schmeisser Award winner as the nation’s top defensive player as a junior. The number three spot is the highest a Johns Hopkins player has been selected in the MLL Draft since Michael Kimmel was taken second in the 2010 draft by the Chesapeake Bayhawks. He is the seventh Johns Hopkins player to be selected in the top four and the first Blue Jay defenseman to go in the top four. Durkin had previously earned Third Team All-America honors as a sophomore.

Midfielder John Ranagan was the next Blue Jay selected as he went with the first pick in the third round (#17 overall) to the Rochester Rattlers. Ranagan carries career totals of 43 goals and 26 assists into his final season. He earned First Team USILA All-America honors as a sophomore and second team honors as a junior and his ability to get up and down the field should translate well in the professional game.

Another Blue Jay midfielder, Lee Coppersmith, also went in the third round as the Boston Cannons grabbed him with the 22nd overall selection. Coppersmith has been a mainstay on the Blue Jay midfield since arriving at Johns Hopkins and has scored 26 goals in his career. One of the fastest and most athletic midfielders in recent Johns Hopkins history, Coppersmith will join a Boston team that is led by former Johns Hopkins standout Paul Rabil, who is generally considered one of the top players in the world.

Mike Poppleton become the fourth Blue Jay to hear his name called when he was selected by the Hamilton Nationals with the second pick in round five (34th overall). Poppleton is coming off one of the finest seasons in school history by a faceoff specialist as he won 167-of-271 (.616) faceoffs and grabbed a team-high 78 ground balls. He will join former Johns Hopkins teammate and fellow faceoff man Matt Dolente on the Nationals’ roster. Dolente graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2011 and spent two years working with Poppleton.

Senior attackman Zach Palmer rounded out JHU’s five selections in the draft as he was taken by Rochester with the fourth pick in the eighth round (60th overall). Palmer totaled 27 goals and 26 assists last season and will enter his final season with career totals of 59 goals and 56 assists. He is bidding to become just the seventh player in Johns Hopkins history with more than 80 career goals and 80 career assists. The last JHU player to post 80-80 was Dan Denihan, who concluded his career at JHU in 2000.

The five selections boost Johns Hopkins’ all-time total to 34 MLL Draft picks since the league was formed in 2001. JHU’s 34 all-time picks rank third in league history.

Five Greyhounds Selected In Major League Lacrosse Draft

PHILADELPHIA – Five members of the defending NCAA Champion Loyola University Maryland men’s lacrosse team were selected Friday night in the Major League Lacrosse Draft, including two in the first round and three of the top nine overall, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on Friday night.

Josh Hawkins (5^th overall, Hamilton Nationals) and Mike Sawyer (8^th, Charlotte Hounds) were selected in the first round. Scott Ratliff (9^th, Boston Cannons) was picked in the second; Davis Butts (19^th, Denver Outlaws), third; and Reid Acton (26^th, Hamilton Nationals), fourth.

“I want to congratulate each of these guys on what is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Charley Toomey, Loyola’s head coach. “They have already made great contributions to our program, and we are looking forward to even more from this year as we start spring practice on Monday.”

Hawkins has continued to be one of the top defensive midfielders in the nation and garnered considerable respect nationally for his play during the NCAA Championships. He was named a Preseason All-America First Team member after garnering honorable mention last season. Hawkins earned NCAA All-Tournament honors and helped the Greyhounds limit Notre Dame and Maryland to a combined eight goals on Championships weekend. In addition to his six goals and two assists in 15 games last year, Hawkins was second on the team with 63 ground balls.

Sawyer, a Preseason USILA All-America Second Team selection after earning the same honor following last year, was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player last season when he scored 52 goals and assisted on 10 more and was named the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player. During the regular-season, he led the ECAC in goals and goals per game while earning All-ECAC First Team honors. He became the second player to score 50 or more goals in a season and was joined by a third on last year’s team. Sawyer will be reuinited in Charlotte, his hometown, with former Greyhound Eric Lusby.

Ratliff continued to be one of the top long-stick midfielders in the nation and set a Loyola scoring record for the position last year. This year, he was tabbed a Preseason All-America Second Team member and was on the USILA Third Team last season when he finished with 12 goals and seven assists, exceeding current Loyola Assistant Coach Matt Dwan’s previous record for a long-stick midfielder set in 1995. In addition to his scoring, he tallied 88 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers while earning ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, ECAC Championships Most Valuable Player, NCAA All-Tournament Team and team co-defenisve player of the year honors.

Butts was a first-line midfielder for the Greyhounds for the second year in a row in 2012. This season, he was named to the Preseason All-America Third Team after picking up honorable mention last season. He excelled as a dodger and finisher and ranked fourth on the team in points (35) and third in goals scored (21). A versatile player, Butts also saw plenty of action on the wings of faceoffs and in the defensive midfield where he picked up 40 ground balls.

Acton will enter 2013 having started on the Greyhounds’ defense each of the last three years. The Preseason All-America Honorable Mention candidate who received the same award last season finished the 2012 season with 44 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers, while helping Loyola record a 7.21 goals allowed per game average, the fifth-best mark in Division I. The Greyhounds set a pair of defensive records during Championship Weekend, holding Notre Dame and Maryland to a combined eight goals in the two games and allowing the Terrapins just three in the title match.

Loyola will see outside competition for the first time in 2013 in just over two weeks. The Greyhounds travel to the Orlando area to face the U.S. National Team on Sunday, January 27, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at DisneyWorld. The regular season commences for Loyola on Saturday, February 16, at the University of Delaware.