Syracuse women’s lacrosse: WLL provides new path to the pro level for graduates

The new PLL division will open in mid-2025

A major headline shook the world of women’s lacrosse on the morning of November 13th as the Professional Lacrosse League (PLL) announced the launch of the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), which will open new pathways to professionalism for Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse alumni and current players.

The announcement was met with voracious support from the lacrosse community and the development of the women’s game. So, how will the WLL work, and how will it benefit SU women’s lacrosse?

The initial press release from the PLL doesn’t include extensive details but provides enough information to see what this WLL product may look like. The first WLL games will be played in mid-2025 at the PLL Championship Series. Combining the product the PLL already has with the new WLL concept seems like a strong plan for tapping into an established fanbase while also offering a broader variety of products.

According to the press release, the first WLL campaign will feature four teams playing in the Olympic Sixes format. Olympic Sixes is different from traditional NCAA women’s lacrosse in a few key attributes.

According to the World Lacrosse explanation of Olympic Sixes, this form of lacrosse is “an incredibly fast-paced, compact version of lacrosse, combining the most exciting elements of the more traditional disciplines. It is characterized by an accelerated, open style of play with quick transitions and non-stop, high-scoring action.”

Some of the key aspects of Sixes that make it fit this bill are the fact that the game is a 6v6 competition, the elimination of specialty positions outside goalkeeper, and an increased level of physicality allowed compared to the NCAA women’s game.

The hope seems to be that the PLL and WLL can garner support for this new women’s product in a smaller version in the short term to build both the brands and the sport of lacrosse around the US. If things go well, this work could lead to adding teams to the league (which we have seen in the PLL), a longer schedule, and perhaps even expanding to the traditional 12v12 women’s lacrosse format.

The announcement on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ served as a strong launchpad for the product on the 13th as the league announced that they already have star names signed to compete, including Charlotte North and Lizzie Colson, two of the best players in recent NCAA women’s lacrosse history.

While the players and teams have not been fully announced yet, there is reason to believe that this league could come with great benefits to graduates and current players of the Syracuse lacrosse program. The league specifically marketed itself as hosting ‘the best professional lacrosse players in the world,’ and in recent years, SU has produced no shortage of those.

According to an Inside Lacrosse poll from 2024, before the NCAA women’s lacrosse season kicked off, SU had three of the 50 best players in the nation in Delaney Sweitzer, Emma Ward, and Emma Tyrrell. Given that NCAA D1 women’s lacrosse is already considered to be one of the best leagues in the world (if not the best), it seems reasonable to see that some of these athletes deserve to represent SU at the professional level at the WLL.

This list doesn’t even include some of SU’s best players from last year who will be eligible to join today, such as Katie Goodale, Natalie Smith, and Maddy Baxter. Unfortunately for Kate Mashewske, who might just be the pick of the bunch, the decreased emphasis on draw specialists in the Olympic Sixes format may hurt her eligibility.

This isn’t even counting other recent SU graduates who may be inclined to suit up once again such as Emily Hawryschuk, Meaghan Tyrrell, and Sarah Cooper. Heck, what’s stopping Head Coach Kayla Treanor from grabbing a stick and reliving her glory days?

After this season, Orange stars such as Olivia Adamson and Emma Ward will be eligible to graduate and make the jump to the pros right as the league opens up. This is without speculating which other juniors, sophomores, and freshmen may have pro-level potential.

Given that SU women’s lacrosse is already viewed as a talent factory, the introduction of the WLL may make recruiting elite talents even easier for SU as the best players in the nation attempt to give themselves the platform to make it to the next level. It also gives current SU athletes more motivation to succeed in college to give them a shot at the pros.

This story is one that will continue to develop in the coming weeks. If you want updates on the WLL or all things SU women’s lacrosse, stay tuned.