Tuesday evening, senior long stick midfielder Ben Wayer was drafted 23rd overall by the Philadelphia Waterdogs in the 2025 Premier Lacrosse League Draft, and senior midfielder Griffin Schutz was taken 31st overall by the California Redwoods.
The Cavaliers lost their streak of producing a first round pick every year since 2019, the PLL’s maiden season with Wayer drafted in the third round and Schutz in the fourth.
Draft position aside, Wayer joins an interesting situation in Philadelphia, one which also has former Cavaliers including Zed Williams and Thomas McConvey. The Waterdogs won the 2022 PLL Championship but have since tailed off. In 2024, Philadelphia finished with the league’s third-worst offense and fourth-worst defense. The Waterdogs could quickly improve though with the addition of Wayer and attackman CJ Kirst, who was drafted No. 1 overall out of Cornell.
As for Schutz, he will unite with former Virginia stars Jared Connors, Charlie Bertrand and an old teammate, Chris Merle. Out in California, Schutz will be relied upon to improve the PLL’s second-worst offense. He certainly has the talent to do so — as he was a projected top-10 pick before he had a down year in 2025.
The losses of Wayer and Schutz are especially noteworthy after Virginia took a step black and endured a balls and 18 forced turnovers. He was one of just two remaining Cavaliers who played on the 2021 National Championship team, alongside graduate Jack Walshe. Schutz, meanwhile, was the No. 1 recruit in his class and went on to earn Third Team All-American honors in 2024.
The losses of Wayer and Shutz are especially noteworthy after Virginia took a step black and endured a mediocre 2025 season. Sending Cavaliers to the PLL is cause for celebration, but now, Coach Lars Tiffany will have to diligently attempt to replace their production.
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