Rookies Ready to Leave Their Mark on Women's Professional Lacrosse

Reagan O’Brien remembers going to clinics for the Long Island Sound of the United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX). The Sound were part of the first attempt at a women’s pro league, which lasted from 2015-18.

“I remember watching those games, but I never thought I was going to play in them myself,” said O'Brien, who was recently named the IWLCA Defensive Player of the Year after leading Johns Hopkins to its first Division I final four. “I never thought it would be an option for me.”

O'Brien, the fifth pick in the first Women’s Lacrosse League College Draft, will suit up for the New York Charging later this summer. She hopes to make her debut later in June after she’s had time to nurse some injuries sustained during her senior season at Hopkins.

Shea Dolce, the No. 2 pick in the draft, already made her professional debut on May 16, less than a week after Boston College was knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Stony Brook in the second round. Dolce is still wearing a Boston uniform. Now a member of the Boston Guard, she made 12 stops in a 17-12 loss to the Charging.

“It was such a quick turnaround,” Dolce said. “I don’t think I truly had the ability to grasp this moment in my life — how much change was happening in front of me. But I think it was the best thing that could’ve happened in this situation, just to get a stick in my hand and keep playing. When I sit back and look at it from an outsider’s perspective, I’m grateful for what I’ve experienced and going to experience in the future.”

Kori Edmondson, the No. 3 pick by the New York Charging, also plans to jump right in following Maryland’s loss in the NCAA semifinals to North Carolina. The Charging don’t play this weekend in Baltimore, though she signed her three-year entry agreement on Tuesday.

It might be a little bit before we see the No. 1 pick make her debut. Madison Taylor (California Palms) plans to take some time to heal from the season. For Taylor, a national champion, the glow from being the first pick in the first-ever draft hasn’t worn off.

“It was the first-ever college draft, so I’m just incredibly grateful to be drafted, but that was a really cool moment,” Taylor said. “I’m super excited. To have that opportunity to play right out of college on a team is the best thing I could ask for.”

As for No. 4 pick Brigid Duffy (Charging), she has a five-year service requirement to navigate after playing four standout years at Army.

“Luckily, West Point is being supportive of me,” said Duffy, the IWLCA Midfielder of the Year. “They’re allowing me to go play with the league, and I’ll work at West Point as an athletic intern for the women’s lacrosse team in the fall to give me more flexibility to be able to play with the Charging and the [U.S. Women’s National Team]. The next few years have a lot of question marks because of military service, so we’ll see what ends up happening.”

For now, Duffy is embracing life as a pro. The WLL marks the fourth go at a women’s pro league, including the USWLX. The league succeeds Athletes Unlimited, which held weekly drafts and crowned an individual winner each summer. Athletes Unlimited sunsetted lacrosse operations in 2024. Previously, the Women's Professional Lacrosse League lasted from 2018-20.

The Premier Lacrosse League announced the WLL’s launch in November 2024. It began with the inaugural WLL Championship Series in February 2025, won by the Guard in a sixes-style format. The Charging won in 2026. The league announced plans to expand to a full-season, 10-v-10 format last year, which came to fruition with the Charging’s win over the Guard on May 16.

“This one is definitely more concrete than the others, and I feel like the WLL has a foundation,” Duffy said. “We’ve made a name for the league [through the Championship Series] and the multiple teams. There’s more of an identity and purpose behind the league, and I think it’s something that will be able to kickstart continued growth for the game.”

For O’Brien, the ability to have a stick in her hand throughout the year was appealing.

“It’s not a one-time event,” O’Brien said. “There’s a full year of games and practices. I liked that you weren’t going to do one thing and be done for the year. It’s consistent throughout the year.”

The incoming collegiate players haven’t dropped their sticks, which they feel will give them a leg up as they slide into professional play, even if they need to take a quick post-NCAA tournament breather.

“I was able to work on and place attention on my game every day at practice, focusing on 1-v-1 defense and all of that,” O’Brien said. “That makes me excited. Instead of working on it inconsistently, I worked on it with my Hopkins team and players who were willing to make me better.”

Now, the draftees want to elevate lacrosse.

“Women’s lacrosse is on the rise, and there’s so much more about the game that still has to be uncovered,” Duffy said. “I’m excited to help it continue to grow and see where it goes, especially as far as the rules and pace of the game.”

And O’Brien hopes it lays a foundation for the next generation of kids who are experiencing the joy of holding a stick for the first time.

“I hope they’re like, ‘Wow, that can be me one day,’” she said. “I hope it gives them inspiration that pro lacrosse is going somewhere, and they can set their goals to play it.”