Jun 01, 2004

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse (MLL) are preparing for the 2004 MLL Collegiate Draft, which takes place this Thursday night at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The Bayhawks hold the first and fifth selections in the opening round and will have six picks during the five-round draft, which begins at 8:00 p.m.

Baltimore announced its plans to draft Syracuse University attackman Michael Powell with the first overall selection, which the Bayhawks acquired after trading goalkeeper Greg Cattrano to the Philadelphia Barrage during the offseason. Powell completed his senior season with Syracuse on Monday, leading the Orange to their eighth NCAA Division I championship with a 14-13 victory over the United States Naval Academy. Powell was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring a goal with five assists in the title game. He finished his career as the Orange’s all-time career leader in points with 307 on 157 goals and 150 assists.

Rochester has the second overall selection, followed by Philadelphia, New Jersey, the Bayhawks and Boston to complete the first round. The Bayhawks have the fifth selection in each of the next four rounds.

Prior to the draft, the 2004 Warrior Major League Challenge will be held at 5:00 p.m. 40 of the top college seniors will play in an all-star game that is played under MLL rules. Recommendations for invitees are made based on input from college coaches, statistical evaluation of player performance and input from MLL coaches. Players from all divisions of play are considered.

Last season, the Bayhawks traded away its first-round selection to Bridgeport in exchange for midfielder/attackman Brian Langtry and its second round selection to Rochester in exchange for midfielder Jake Bergey and defenseman Casey Connor. Midfielder Ryan Moran of Maryland was Baltimore’s third round selection, taken with the 18th overall pick.

The Bayhawks travel out west to Denver, Colorado on Saturday night to face the New Jersey Pride in the second game of the League’s Wild West Tour. Opening face-off is set for 9:30 p.m. EST.

Baltimore returns home to face the Rochester Rattlers on June 13th at Unitas Stadium at 4:00 p.m. in the first afternoon game for the Bayhawks since the 2001 season. Tickets are available by calling 1-866-99-HAWKS or by visiting www.baltimorebayhawks.com.

The Baltimore Bayhawks, a charter member of Major League Lacrosse, was founded in 2000 by the following Baltimore businessmen and lacrosse enthusiasts: Dave Pivec, a former Notre Dame and Los Angeles Rams football player, and now President of Pivec Advertising and owner of Courtney’s Café in Timonium Maryland; Chris Hutchins, former University of North Carolina lacrosse player and owner of Bacharach Rasin, the oldest lacrosse equipment retailer in the world; Dr. Raymond Schulmeyer, former lacrosse player at Cornell University and owner of Schulmeyer Animal Hospital in Perry Hall Maryland; and Gordon Boone, former lacrosse player at Salisbury State College and now a commercial real estate broker with Ryan Commercial.