Baltimore, Md. and Fairfield, Conn. – Syracuse University senior attackman Michael Powell has been selected by the Baltimore Bayhawks with the first overall pick in the 2004 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft, it was announced by Bayhawks General Manager Jay Pivec on Thursday evening at Sacred Heart University.

Holding the first overall pick in the draft, the Bayhawks took Powell after he led the Orange to the NCAA Division I Championship with a 14-13 win over the United States Naval Academy on Monday afternoon. Named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Powell recorded two goals with eight assists in the two games over the weekend. He finished his career as Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer with 307 points on 150 goals and 157 assists. He became just the fourth player in NCAA history to be honored as a first-team All-America selection four straight seasons, joining Doug Turnbull (Johns Hopkins), Frank Urso (Maryland), and Del Dressell (Johns Hopkins).

He is the third member of the Powell family to join the ranks of Major League Lacrosse, as older brothers Ryan and Casey play for the Rochester Rattlers.

“We are excited to have Michael join our organization,” Pivec said. “Mike was clearly the best player in college lacrosse this past season and the Bayhawks look forward to adding his talents to the team.”

Along with the first overall pick, the Bayhawks held the fifth pick in the first round and selected University of Maryland defenseman Lee Zink. One of three Terps honored as first-team All-America selections, Zink helped Maryland reach the NCAA Quarterfinals and win the Atlantic Coast Conference title as a senior. During this past season, Zink was second on the team in ground balls with 62 and caused 42 turnovers, good for second on the team. Zink was named as a third-team All-America pick as a junior and will play in the USILA North-South Game on June 12 at Nazareth College.

With its second round selection, Baltimore picked Brown University goalkeeper Mike Levin. A three-time All-Ivy League selection, Levin led the Ivy League in goals against average as a senior, allowing just 7.63 goals per game for the Bears. He also led the conference in save percentage, stopping 60.5 per cent of the shots he faced. Earlier this season, he became the first Brown goalkeeper since former Bayhawk Greg Cattrano to score a goal, finding the back of the net against Harvard. He also registered an assist against Loyola College during his senior season. In the Warrior Major League Challenge on Thursday afternoon, Levin stopped nine shots and allowed just three goals during his 30 minutes of action.

The Bayhawks picked Johns Hopkins University midfielder Kevin Boland in the third round. Boland earned second-team All-America status this past season after helping the Blue Jays reach the NCAA semifinals. The midfielder recorded a career-high 45 points during his senior year, including a career-best 32 assists. He had ten games with three or more points in 2004 and registered 23 points in his final six games. He entered the national semifinals ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game. He was one of seven Hopkins players to earn All-America status this past season.

University of Delaware attackman Matt Alrich was picked by Baltimore in the fourth round. Alrich led the Blue Hens in scoring with 34 goals and 12 assists. A first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, Alrich recorded 14 career hat tricks and ended his four-year career with 83 goals. A two-time selection as conference Player of the Week, the Timonium, Maryland native scored a career-high five goals in the regular season finale against Denver.

With their final selection in the fifth round, the Bayhawks looked to Bucknell University and picked defenseman Blaise Fletcher. Named as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, Fletcher ranked second on the team in ground balls with 38. Fletcher was a second-team all-league pick in 2002 and followed that with a first-team selection as a junior. Fletcher did not miss a game during his four seasons at Bucknell.

The Bayhawks travel to Denver, Colorado on Saturday to face the New Jersey Pride in the second game of Major League Lacrosse’s Wild West Tour. The game will be played at INVESCO Field at Mile High with opening face-off set for 9:30 p.m. EST. Baltimore defeated Rochester by a 24-18 margin in the opening game of the tour at Seahawks Stadium two weeks ago in the season opener.

Baltimore returns home on Sunday, June 13th to face the Rochester Rattlers in a 4:00 p.m. matinee at Johnny Unitas Stadium ® at Towson University. It will be the first afternoon game for the Bayhawks since the 2001 regular season finale against New Jersey, a 20-9 victory for Baltimore.

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.