Knighthawks draft Pittsford’s Conners; TD Ierlan and 4 RIT Tigers also picked in NLL Draft

Rochester is a hotbed for lacrosse at all levels of the sport, so it only makes sense that the 2020 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft tonight included plenty of 585 flair. One of the players with a Rochester connection selected in the draft was taken by the hometown team.

The Rochester Knighthawks used one of their two third-round picks on the evening to choose defenseman and Pittsford Sutherland graduate Jared Conners of the University of Virginia with the No. 45 overall pick. Conners was a key part of the Virginia Cavaliers winning the 2019 NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse national championship.

The former Pittsford Panther was not the only one-time Section V lacrosse player to get selected in the draft. In the second round with the No. 30 overall pick, the Toronto Rock drafted former Victor Senior High School Blue Devil and renowned face-off specialist TD Ierlan of Yale.

Four from Rochester Institute of Technology also got drafted this evening. Three from that quartet of RIT Tigers had their name called in the second round, beginning with Ottawa-born defenseman Jordan Trottier going to the Colorado Mammoth with the No. 28 overall pick. Five picks later, the Mammoth chose another RIT defenseman in Tyler Sceviour, who was born in Chur, Switzerland and grew up in Calgary.

The final pick of the second round ended up being brand-new RIT Tiger Larson Sundown to the New York Riptide. Sundown announced his transfer from Limestone University to RIT on August 5, 2020. He is from the Genesee County hamlet of Basom, NY. Forward Dawson Tait, also hailing from Ottawa, rounded out the RIT selections on the night when he was taken by the Riptide in the sixth round with the No. 81 overall pick.

Ierlan and Conners have eligibility remaining with their respective collegiate teams. Trottier was listed as a junior on the 2020 RIT men’s lacrosse roster.