The newly minted Maryland Whipsnakes traded midfielder Connor Kirst and defender Bryce Young to the Boston Cannons on Tuesday. The Whipsnakes receive long stick midfielder Matt Rees and two future third round draft picks in the trade.
The moves mark the first player movement since the league announced allegiances to cities on November 14. The draft picks will be in the 2024 and 2025 PLL entry drafts.
Kirst appeared in 30 games over three years for the Whipsnakes franchise, playing primarily defensive midfield since 2022. The former Rutgers and Villanova star contributed 24 points in those games on 17 goals, two 2-point goals, and 3 assists. While playing mainly on the defensive side of the ball, Kirst picked up 45 ground balls and nine caused turnovers as well.
Young has been a staple of the Whipsnakes defence as a member of the team since it’s inception. As a member of the all-terp defensive backline comprised entirely of University of Maryland grads (goaltenders Kyle Bernlohr, Brian Phipps, and defenders Matt Dunn, Michael Ehrhardt, and Tim Muller all played at Maryland) Young helped the team to PLL titles in 2019 and 2020.
In 62 professional games split between the Ohio Machine and the Whipsnakes, Young picked up 128 ground balls, caused 53 turnovers, and adde six points.
Rees heads to the Whipsnakes after a productive year for the Cannons that featured two 2-point goals in just eight games. A 2023 participant in the hardest shot competition, Rees is one of the most dangerous threats from beyond the line in the entire league.
A 2017 graduate of the US Naval Academy, Rees has chipped in 23 points and eight two-pointers over 45 career games with the Chesapeake Bayhawks, Chaos LC, and Cannons. He will look to make his return to the field in 2024 after a season-ending knee injury in 2023.
The trade brings a reunion on multiple fronts for Kirst, who is set to play with his brother, Cannons goaltender Colin Kirst. Both brothers competed together in 2021 for Rutgers University, where they led the team to a final eight finish. Connor Kirst finished second on the team in scoring that year en route to being named a third-team All-American.
The leading scorer? Cannons attackman Adam Charalambides.
The leading caused turnover creator on that team? Cannons long stick midfielder Ethan Rall.
Young reunites with a college teammate as well. After winning the national championship with Maryland in 2017, he competed alongside freshmen Bubba Fairman in 2018. Six years later, the two will suit up again on the same side of the ball.
Connor Kirst has lots of lacrosse to play before getting to the Cannons however. The recently named top-15 defender in the NLL, is set to compete in his third NLL season. After entering the league with the Georgia Swarm, Kirst had a breakout season with the expansion Vegas Desert Dogs in 2023, contributing 21 points on ten goals and 11 assists, along with 102 loose balls and 21 caused turnovers.
After the 2023 PLL season and the face-off rule changes that came with it, it is worth nothing that Kirst took 319 face-offs between his two seasons in the NLL.