Jake Saunders Selected 16th In NLL Draft

RICHMOND, Va. – University of Richmond graduate defender Jake Saunders (Oakville, Ontario) was selected 16^th overall by the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft Saturday afternoon. Saunders becomes the second Spider all-time drafted into the NLL and the second in the past two seasons, joining former teammate Ryan Lanchbury who was picked second overall by the Georgia Swarm in the 2021 draft.

Saunders has played in 33 games for the Spiders in his career and is returning for the 2023 season, using his COVID-19 extra season. He will be eligible to play for the Desert Dogs in the 2023-24 season.

Saunders was named Honorable Mention All-America on defense last spring by Inside Lacrosse, helping the Spiders win the Southern Conference Tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. He started 14 out of 15 games this season on defense, helping the Spiders rank eighth in the nation in scoring defense at 10.06 goals per game.

Saunders led the team with 23 caused turnovers, leading the team to a ninth place showing in the country as a team with 9.62 caused turnovers per game. He led the Southern Conference and ranked 27th in the country with 1.53 caused turnovers per game.

Saunders ranked second on the team and first among non-faceoff specialists with 33 ground balls. He picked up one of the biggest ground balls of the season in the final minute of regulation in the Southern Conference championship game, sealing the victory over Jacksonville.

The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The NLL currently has 15 teams, 11 in the United States and four in Canada. The NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA.

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