The 2025 NLL Draft is this Saturday, with the latest class of elite prospects preparing to hear their names called. It’s an important day for teams and prospects alike, and is one of the best days on the NLL calendar for fans.
Let’s start with an overview of the elite prospects at each position to get you ready, with a mix of Ontario, BC, and American players. This isn’t necessarily the top five players at each position, but a mix of the top prospects and some under the radar names you should keep an eye on.
The 2025 NLL Draft will be streamed on NLL+ and gets underway at 1:00 PM EST. More information can be found here.
Forwards
CJ Kirst– LF, Cornell University, Mimico (OJLL)
The presumptive number one pick, CJ Kirst’s name has been talked about since the day he declared for the 2025 NLL draft. Kirst is a big forward standing at 6’2”, 210 lbs. He packs a punch and has the explosiveness that is needed to play in the NLL.
Kirst is one of the biggest names in the sport, fresh off winning a national championship with Cornell and breaking the all-time NCAA single season and career goals records. But he has significant box experience as well.
For CJ Kirst, a trip up north to play for @MimicoJrALax in @TheOJLL was a big reason for his continued success! Catch CJ and the Big Red in action on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/53I1sx243t
— Lacrosse Culture Daily (@LaxCulturedaily) May 21, 2025
In the summer of 2023, Kirst came to Ontario to play in the OJLL for the Mimico Mountaineers. He scored 29 goals and had 62 points in 18 games played between regular season and playoffs, and continued to get better and better as the summer progressed.
A year later, the New Jersey native competed for Team USA at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships, where he helped the Americans win their first-ever silver medal at the tournament. Kirst had 8 goals and 11 points in the tournament, and competed alongside a host of other NLL-ers in Joe Resetarits (Philadelphia Wings), Blaze Riorden (Philadelphia Wings), Jack Hannah (Las Vegas Desert Dogs) and Ryan Terefenko (Halifax Thunderbirds). That’s not to mention the two NLL regulars in his own family, brothers Cole (Thunderbirds) and Connor (Desert Dogs).
So while he is an American, he has ample box experience and access to plenty of NLL mentorship.
Kirst is expected to be the number one pick. If he is, he will join Brennan O’Neill as the only Americans to be selected number one overall in back-to-back years.
Alex Marinier– RF, Ohio State, Cobourg (MSL)
We just talked about Kirst, who is lethal from the left side, but what about the righties? Cue Alex Marinier, a 6’3, 200-pound beast who has a monster of a shot and can let it fly from anywhere on the floor.
Marinier was a major part of the 2023 Burlington Blaze (a trend in this article) and helped the Blaze to a Minto Cup victory that summer. He scored a total of 76 goals and 149 points in 34 games between the regular season and playoffs in the OJLL. He then had 11 goals and 18 points in the five games it took the Blaze to win the Minto Cup.
He led the Cobourg Kodiaks in scoring this year with 26 goals and 28 assists in 17 games played.
Marinier was granted another season of NCAA eligibility so he will return to Ohio State this year and not compete in the NLL. He had 50 goals last season for the Buckeyes, good for tenth in the nation. The only question mark is how his eligibility may affect his draft status on Saturday.
Will MacLeod– LF, Guelph University, Brooklin (MSL)
Another 2023 Minto champion, MacLeod is a tall, shifty lefty with an impressive pedigree.
After spending a summer playing with NLL players in Brooklin in Major Series Lacrosse, MacLeod will look to join them in the professional box league as his size and speed make him a problem for defenders.
MacLeod led the Blaze in assists in 2023 and was the key distributor on that squad, tallying 46 goals and 80 assists in 34 total OJLL games that summer. MacLeod uses his high lacrosse IQ and vision on the floor to make him such a threat, and he’ll look to do that at the pro level. He will be a great pickup for any team looking to add a little bit more playmaking to their left side.
With the Stoney Creek, ON native set to attend the University of Guelph and forego his senior year at Robert Morris, he’ll bring that high lacrosse IQ and vision to help the Gryphons win a Baggataway Cup for the first time since 2014.
Casey Wilson– RF/T, Denver, Victoria (WLA)
We’ve talked about Ontario and American players, but what about the West?
Well, Casey Wilson is a player who could hear his name called early on, as most people have him pegged as a top-five player in the 2025 NLL draft class.
The questions with Wilson are what position he will play, and how healthy is he?
A do-it-all player, Wilson can score on offence and run the ball in transition both ways. Wilson is a forward in the box game, but played SSDM at Denver as well as on the Canadian Men’s National Field Team. There is a long history of players succeeding in the NLL on both sides of the floor, think Challen Rogers, Bryan Cole, Ian MacKay, and Jordan MacIntosh. Wilson could be in that mold.
On an unfortunate note, Wilson reportedly tore his ACL near the end of the 2025 NCAA season, which could cause him to miss time this season.
With Wilson’s recovery time still a variable and not yet determined, it will be interesting to see where the Victoria, B.C. native will fall and which team could use him as a two-way player for years to come.
Braedon Saris—RF, Princeton, Peterborough (MSL)
Let’s wrap up the forwards section by talking about the third member of the three-headed monster from that Burlington Blaze in 2023, Braedon Saris.
Saris was second in goals with 51, coming in behind Marinier’s 76, and was one of three players to total over 100 points. But he led the team in points per game at 4.9.
He saved his best work for the postseason, being named OJLL playoff MVP. He then scored 23 points in 5 games at the Minto Cup, including a 9-point effort against the Coquitlam Adanacs. So whoever drafts the big righty is getting a big-game player.
After being named the MSL Rookie of the Year last season, he was traded to the Peterborough Lakers this summer and scored 27 goals and 29 assists in 22 combined games, helping the Lakers reach the MSL finals.
Saris’ quick first-step and shot-making ability will be perfect for any NLL lineup.
Defenders/Transition
Bo Columbus–RD, Robert Morris, Brooklin (MSL)
Over the past few years, NLL teams have looked to the U.S. to draft face-off players based on their field lacrosse background and ability to win draws quickly. Names like TD Ierlan, Joe Nardella, Jake Naso, Alec Stathakis, Trevor Baptiste, and Connor Farrell have become more prominent at the face-off dot.
Bo Columbus is looking to become the next Canadian to dominate at the dot.
Columbus is a drawman who holds a career .589 draw win percentage at the NCAA level with 255 career loose ball recoveries.
At 24 years of age, the Fergus, ON native has been a name that’s been talked about for the last seven years. When Columbus was a rookie in junior lacrosse in Ontario, he was a part of the 2018 Elora Mohawks team that went 34-7 that summer en route to a Founders Cup title, which was just the beginning for him.
The following summer saw him move up to Kitchener-Waterloo junior A, where he suited up for them in 14 games and won 53% of his draws. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbus lost the 2020 season but played in the 2021 ‘bubble’ event at the TRAC.
It’s not just Columbus’s ability to win draws that makes him efficient. It’s also his defensive IQ and size that scare his opponents. At 6’2” 215, he can use his body to knock players down and is elite at loose-ball recoveries.
Look for Columbus to be taken in the late first round, but he could go higher if teams are looking for another Jake Withers-type player.
Kyle Pepper–RD/T, St. Bonaventure, Victoria (WLA)
Pepper is a name that not many fans have heard before, but that won’t last long.
A two-way player like Wilson, Pepper had a great season with the Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association, finishing with 15 goals and 14 assists in 17 games, including a seven-goal and 12-point performance in June against the Langley Thunder.
He’s a full package player: he can take face-offs, play on the PK unit, be used in a transition role, and has a wicked shot when he wants to show it.
Pepper stands at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, but plays bigger than that, as he has no issues laying the body and getting physical for loose ball battles.
He will be a great add for any team looking to add versatile talent.
Adam Thistlethwaite–LD, Albany, Peterborough (MSL)
If you want a defender who is pro-ready and can make a huge impact, then Thistlethwaite is your guy.
After spending a summer playing under Bobby Keast as his defensive coordinator with the Peterborough Lakers, Thistlethwaite has transformed into a top-notch, lockdown defender who will have an immediate effect on a team’s defence.
Being able to pick off passes, knock them down, and knowing when and where to slide on odd-man situations makes him a hot commodity, and NLL GMs will be looking to him near the end of round one and into the second round.
Ben Trumble–RT, Colgate, Peterborough (MSL)
We cannot talk about Adam Thistlethwaite without talking about his cross-floor teammate on the back end in Ben Trumble.
Trumble has the three Ss that every NLL GM looks for: size, speed, and strength, which make him a threat all over the floor.
Coming off winning the Terry Sanderson Memorial Award for Transition Player of the Year in his final year of junior in 2023, Trumble has proven that he can body players and block shots on defence, and can put the ball in the back of the net on offence, along with generating scoring chances. He was also another member of the 2023 Minto Champion Blaze after a midseason trade.
Trumble is very much like a Challen Rogers and will produce numbers in multiple different stat categories for whoever picks him up.
Ari Steenhius–RD/T, St. Catharines (OJLL)
This player may come as a surprise to some lacrosse fans, but why is he on our list when other players are older and have more experience than the 19-year-old?
Well, the surname Steenhius is re-entering the NLL world. Ari, the son of NLL great Mark, has declared for the NLL draft after renouncing his NCAA eligibility.
Steenhius is a 6-foot-3 defender and really broke onto the scene this year when he helped the St. Catharines Athletics at the Minto Cup. Despite their semi-final result, Steenhius had a great outing for the double blue, being a big and physical presence on defence, along with flashing some scoring touch. That’s important considering how many NLL coaches and scouts were in the building.
With the teenager still having two years of junior eligibility left and most players who declare in junior have one year left or they’ve just graduated, it will be interesting to see where the son of an NLL legend will fall and if he hears his name called.
Goaltenders
Caleb Khan–Langley (BCJALL & WLA)
We just wrapped up our defenders with a 19-year-old, but how about an 18-year-old in Caleb Khan?
In 16 games played for the Jr Thunder this year, he posted a 9.37 goals against average and an .819 save percentage, for a Langley team that has really struggled in recent years. But here’s the catch, he already has two years of senior experience too.
After being called up last summer for the Sr Thunder and getting some playing time in the playoffs, Khan returned to them in 2025 and had an almost identical stat line: 9.87 GAA and an .811 SV%. It’s hard to believe he has three years of junior eligibility left.
With not many netminders in this year’s class, Khan could easily hear his name called in the first round.
Zach Richards–Dalhousie University, Kitchener-Waterloo (OJLL)
This summer was probably the best of Richards’ career. After growing up in probably the best goalie factory in lacrosse in the Orangeville Northmen system, Richards was a good goalie for the junior A Northmen, but was eventually moved in a three-team trade that landed him in the KW organization.
However, that didn’t stop Richards from working hard and proving that he can play in the OJLL. In 22 games between regular season and playoffs, to be able to post a 9.39 goals against average and above .800 save percentage, helping his club end a playoff drought.
Richards is a 6-foot, 230-pound goalie who can move well post-to-post and wields a big body between the pipes that can develop and become a reliable goalie at the pro level.
If he can get into the right program with solid mentorship, he will be a prospect to watch going forward.
Stay tuned to LCD for more draft coverage through the weekend!