SALT LAKE CITY — The loudest cheer of the night, captured on ESPN's camera position at Legends Bar and Grill Downtown in front of a dozen or so fans of the emerging sport, didn't come for the No. 1 overall pick.
The Utah Archers made four selections in Tuesday's Premier Lacrosse League college draft, including No. 1 overall pick Aidan Maguire out of Duke. But it was the ninth pick — Utah attackman Ryan Stines — by the hometown Archers that drew roars.
Stines, along with No. 25 overall pick Leo Johnson out of Maryland, fits a need: scoring, while Maguire was — to paraphrase Utah head coach Chris Bates on the ESPNU broadcast — the best player available. The short-stick defensive midfielder out of Duke gives the Archers an unconventional four shorties on the roster, including former Park City star Beau Pederson.
"We need some offensive punch, clearly. His skillset, his size, he sees it," Bates said. "He's got a lot of upside.
"I think his commitment to the game and his trajectory is right where you want it. I think he's going to fit in nicely ... and he fits with where we're going, stylistically."
Stines, the reigning ASUN Offensive Player of the Year and 2023 ASUN Freshman of the Year who owns the Utes' career record for points (230) that includes 141 goals won't have to go far to begin his professional lacrosse career. The PLL will open the 2026 regular season May 8-9 at Zions Bank Stadium, when the Archers' homecoming begins with a two-day doubleheader against the California Redwoods and rival Denver Outlaws.
Kid from Cary.
— Utah Lacrosse (@UtahLacrosse) April 15, 2026
The moment Ryan Stines became an Archer.#GoUtespic.twitter.com/jIsO7NF1nd
Eight weeks early and more than 2,200 miles away, James English and his group of avid lacrosse supporters are ready.
The father of four from England who learned the game while coaching his kids in youth leagues in Lehi took charge of the group of supporters, dubbed the Arrowhead, when the PLL announced its intention to locate the league's eight franchises as permanent sites for the 12-week touring league beginning in 2024.
It's fitting for English, who grew up a massive fan of the world's game — football for him, or soccer on this side of the pond — but grew to be involved with the creator's games when his oldest picked up a stick for the first time around first grade.
When the PLL came to Utah as part of the COVID-19 "bubble season" in 2020, the English kids even found a socially-distanced space on the hill above Zions Bank Stadium to catch a glimpse of some of their favorite pros.
He was hooked. And his hope is more of his friends, neighbors and fellow Beehive State citizens can enjoy the game like him. He helped launch a podcast and an Instagram account with the supporters' group leadership, received formal recognition from the league, and organized pre-game tailgates, watch parties for away games, and even made trips to PLL Championship finals across the country.
"It's been great to see the expansion of it," English said, "and working with other supporters' groups to grow the name of the Archers and the game of lacrosse in Utah."
So far, so good. Lacrosse fans pack the 5,000-seat stadium in Herriman where MLS club Real Salt Lake and the NWSL's Utah Royals FC train daily, often blanketing the site in orange and blue for each Archers' homecoming. One of the more non-traditional lacrosse markets, Utah has — in many ways — become a model of lacrosse fandom, league co-founder Mike Rabil has told the Arrowhead.
"In Utah, everybody shows out," English said. "Back east, everybody has access to games everywhere — so many college games, club games, pro games; lacrosse is their life. But out here, when lacrosse comes to play, it is our chance to see the best players in the world — and to love our team.
"Utah fans love their teams," he added. "The ability to get behind a team, I think, is one of the reasons why they picked Utah as a place to have a (professional) lacrosse team ... They saw there was something different in Utah, and that is that people crave a chance to see lacrosse."
Stines wasn't the only University of Utah player drafted Tuesday night into the PLL. Nikko DiPonio, the reigning ASUN Defensive Player of the year and an All-America honorable mention by Inside Lacrosse, USA Lacrosse and the USILA in 2025, was selected with the 24th overall pick by the New York Atlas.
The Atlas will also open the season May 8 in Herriman, facing the Carolina Chaos in the nightcap of Friday night's doubleheader (8:30 p.m. MT).
