5 Storylines to Watch in the PLL Championship Game

For the second consecutive season, the PLL championship game will showcase four players who were selected No. 1 in a PLL College Draft. Last year, Denver’s Logan Wisnauskas (2022) and Brennan O’Neill (2024) faced New York’s Jeff Teat (2021) and Gavin Adler (2023). This year, Wisnauskas and O’Neill are back in the title game, while Philadelphia’s CJ Kirst (2025) makes his PLL championship debut and Adler returns after signing with the Waterdogs in the offseason.

Kirst’s appearance in the title game comes just four months after winning a title in the National Lacrosse League with the Toronto Rock. He can join Lyle Thompson as the only other player selected No. 1 in both leagues to win an NLL and a field lacrosse championship. He would be the first to do so in the NLL and PLL.

Meanwhile, Adler joins Mac O’Keefe (2022 Chaos, 2023 Archers), Challen Rogers (2022 Chaos, 2023 Archers), and Ryan Conrad (2023 Waterdogs, 2024 Whipsnakes) as the only players to appear in back-to-back PLL finals with different teams. He’s hoping to become the first to win titles in both appearances.

Philadelphia head coach Bill Tierney was already one of the most decorated lacrosse coaches ever when he was hired in 2024. As a college head coach, Tierney led Princeton to eight championship games and won six in a span of 10 years. He became Denver’s head coach in 2009 and added another title with the Pioneers in 2015.

“To be in this championship game means an awful lot to our staff and our players,” Tierney said after the Waterdogs’ 13-10 win over the Cannons in the semifinals. “I’ve been fortunate to be in these situations.”

Tierney’s latest championship appearance is his 10th as a head coach but his first in the pros.

“I don’t think preparing for a championship at the pro level is any different than the college level,” Tierney said. “When you get to a championship, what you don’t want to do is start fooling around with things. We have all the confidence in the world in these guys.”

Denver head coach Tim Soudan has plenty of championship coaching experience in the professional ranks, but a pro title has eluded him.

“This is the fourth championship that I’ve been to [as a coach], so we’re due,” Soudan said. “I’ve been involved for so many years that wins and losses, I don't do it for that. I do it for the guys. To see these guys turn it around and play two really solid games in the playoffs fills my tank.”

Defender Mike Manley played for Soudan during two of those appearances with the Rochester Rattlers and appeared in the 2018 MLL championship game with the Rattlers following their move to Dallas.

“It’s all about the guys and getting them a championship,” Soudan said. “Mike Manley is a guy I drafted. This will be his fifth [appearance]. We’d love to get him a championship.”

When Denver acquired Pat Kavanagh in an offseason trade and signed Jared Bernhardt to a two-year deal in 2025, the Outlaws united the 2021 (Bernhardt), 2022 (Wisnauskas), 2023 (O’Neill) and 2024 (Kavanagh) winners of college lacrosse’s Tewaaraton Award. The move has since led to the Outlaws appearing in consecutive championship games. 

But the 2026 title game could be the last all four play as teammates.

Kavanagh and Bernhardt are set to be free agents, and while neither has indicated they plan to sign elsewhere, it’s possible that one or both are on different teams next season. With JT Giles-Harris, Jake Piseno, Ryan Terefenko and Zach Geddes also on expiring contracts, Soudan could prioritize keeping his defensive core intact and lose one of his offensive weapons in free agency due to salary cap constraints.

Bernhardt has been a versatile weapon for Denver, spending time at midfield and attack. Could Bernhardt be persuaded to sign elsewhere for potentially more money and be the focal point of an offense? Carolina will likely target him this offseason, and Maryland is another team to watch with Rob Pannell potentially retiring.

Kavanagh is the likelier of the two to stay put given how much the offense runs through him. But it wouldn’t be shocking to see him consider a potential reunion with his brother, Chris, on the California Redwoods.

For now, the “Tewaaraton Four” remain focused on winning their first title together, but this is one storyline that will dominate the offseason once that final whistle blows.

Both Ben Randall and Jake Taylor spent time with the Waterdogs before joining the Outlaws this season. Now, they’ll face their former team with a championship on the line.

The Outlaws traded a 2027 third-round pick to acquire Randall during the offseason — a move Soudan said was the best “third-round pick he’s ever spent.” When Randall, Manley and Giles-Harris have all been in the lineup and McNaney has played a full game, the Outlaws have allowed just 10 goals per game to their opponents.

The acquisition of Taylor was more unique and came later in the season. After not being rostered by Philadelphia for three consecutive games, the Denver native became available to be signed by any of the seven other teams.

“Right when [Taylor] went unprotected, I was in the coaches’ ears to make a move there,” Taylor’s former Notre Dame teammate Pat Kavanagh said. “I’m super happy he’s just getting a chance again. I knew he could make a name for himself in this league, and he played well when he got his shot.”

Tierney is happy for both players despite having to face them in the final.

“It’s interesting with some of the moves that [Dave] Cottle and I have made. Now we have to face Jake Taylor and Ben Randall, but that’s the price you pay to have the Kyle Lewises and Josh Yagos of the world,” Tierney said. “I’m happy for those guys because they’re really good people. Our guys loved those two guys, but they’re the enemy this week.”