ALBANY, N.Y. - UAlbany men's lacrosse graduate student Jake Piseno was selected in the Second Round, ninth overall, by the Denver Outlaws in the 2024 Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) Draft on Tuesday night.
"It's an awesome feeling," said Piseno. "The anticipation of every single pick before me was great. Having all of my teammates here, my father, the coaching staff, that's what meant the world to me."
This marks the second straight year an America East student-athlete has been drafted in the top-10. In 2023, Thomas McConvey was selected 8th overall. An All-American, McConvey played four seasons at Vermont before transferring to Virginia for his final year of eligibility.
Piseno finished the regular season as one of the best defensive players in college lacrosse. He sits third nationally with 40 caused turnovers, averaging 2.50 per game. He's accumulated 18 points this season, burying 13 goals with the long pole. Piseno has totaled 72 ground balls throughout the year, leading all conference players other than the league's faceoff specialists. Piseno also ranks fifth in NCAA Division I history with 135 career caused turnovers.
He was named the America East Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was named the Most Outstanding Player in this year's America East Championship, leading the Great Danes to their first conference title since 2018. In two postseason games thus far, he has scored three goals, added one assist, scooped up nine ground balls, and has forced four caused turnovers.
"It's outstanding," said UAlbany Head Coach Scott Marr. "To be a top-10 pick in the PLL draft, you can't say enough about Jake and what he's put into his life. How he trains, how he goes about his business every day. He's a great character kid. The Outlaws are getting a great player and a tremendous person."
Piseno will begin his PLL career at UAlbany when training camp opens later this month, ahead of the 2024 season's opening weekend at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium June 1-2. The Outlaws are set to take on the Carolina Chaos on June 1 at Casey Stadium starting at 1:00 p.m.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -