The 2026 Premier Lacrosse League season is almost here and there are a variety of preseason futures available. Whether it’s win totals, No. 1 seed odds, playoff picks, player awards or championship futures, I break down each team ahead of the 2026 PLL season and give my best bets for each squad.
Let’s take a look at how to bet every PLL team before the start of the season.
Note: The odds presented below are those at the time when Hutton sends his picks out on the Action App and are subject to change. Picks are sent out at least 20 minutes in advance of articles published on Bet On Lacrosse.
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Boston Cannons
We’ll have to wait an extra week to see the 2026 Boston Cannons take the field, but Coach Brian Holman’s squad is already looking quite different from last season. Will Manny transitioned from being a player to assistant coach and the defense saw some other retirements as backup goalie Adam Ghitelman and defenseman Garrett Epple and Bryce Young both retired.
Offense once again shouldn’t be a problem with this team. Despite not being able to match their 2024 production last year, Asher Nolting and Marcus Holman will continue to be a pain for opposing offenses. Boston will also have options at lefty attack with second-year Coulter Mackesy and rookie Mikey Weisshaar. Whether he starts at attack or runs out of the box, Weisshaar is a name to watch for rookie of the year. However, it’s best to wait to see if his +300 odds get any longer as Boston sits out Week 1.
Unfortunately, but expectations for the defense aren’t as high. Boston retains defensive leader and captain Jack Kielty and will move Owen Grant down to close defense. I don’t think the losses of Epple and Young are as significant as they may seem given that both were past their prime last year, but building chemistry on defense is always a tall task that takes time. Richmond’s Hunter Smith and Notre Dame’s Will Donovan were both great selections, but Boston will likely be without both for their double-header in Rhode Island and it could take time for this unit to gel into June.
With the East is expected to be very competitive again, Boston is the likeliest team to be on the outside looking in again, in my opinion. While I think Boston could stay under their win total of 5.5, the parity in this league makes me hesitant to bet any team to only win five or fewer games. Last season, we saw a three-way tie for second place between 4-6 teams that resulted in Boston missing the playoffs based on score differential. It’s possible that Boston could scrape together six wins this season, but still miss the playoffs. So, I recommend betting the Boston Cannons to miss the playoffs at +225 on DraftKings or +220 on bet365.
Pick: Boston Cannons to Miss the Playoffs
California Redwoods
Brace yourself for my 2026 California Redwoods hype. After returning the majority of their starting roster from last season, filling some holes on offense and trading for goaltender Dillon Ward, they’re my pick to make the biggest leap this season. The foundation that Coach Anthony Kelly laid last year is only stronger going into this season. California will be missing 2025 PLL Rookie of the Year Chris Kavanagh and Ryder Garnsey to start the season, but they did a great job of filling out their roster to minimize those early absences.
Garnsey is a flashy goal scorer, but I actually think the offense could benefit from some fresh blood on the left side in the form of Michael Boehm and Brayden Mayea—both of whom are expected to start on attack while Garnsey coaches Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament. There’s a chance that even when Garnsey returns, one of those two remains on attack and I think that actually benefits both Garnsey individually and the offense as a whole.
The California defense, which was solid last year in its first season as a unit, enters this year with established chemistry and a new starter in Ward. Ward may have had his ups and downs the last two seasons with the Waterdogs, but when he’s at the top of his game, he’s still one of the best goaltenders in the world. He recaptured his top form in the NLL this season and I expect that to carry over into this PLL season. Yet for some reason, California is getting undervalued by the sportsbooks.
Give me all the futures for California! I recommend betting California Redwoods over 5.5 wins at -115 on bet365 or DraftKings, 0.1 unit on California Redwoods 10+ wins at +2200 on FanDuel, a half unit on California Redwoods to earn the top seed in the West at +400 on DraftKings, and a half unit on California Redwoods to win the 2026 PLL Championship at +1000 on BetMGM.
I also recommend betting 0.25 unit on midfielder Andrew McAdorey to win 2026 PLL MVP at +5000 on BetMGM or DraftKings. McAdorey showed he’s one of the best players in the league last summer and I expect him to be even better in his second season. He finished third in points among midfielders and I think he’ll end up being California’s most-impactful player. He’s more of a longshot than some other MVP candidates I like, but his odds should be way shorter than 50-1 and could drop quickly.
Picks: California Redwoods Over 5.5 Wins, California Redwoods 10+ Wins (0.2 unit), California Redwoods To Earn No. 1 Seed (0.5 unit), California Redwoods to Win the Championship (0.5 unit), Andrew McAdorey to Win MVP (0.2 unit)
Carolina Chaos
The Carolina Chaos are a team I expect to be competitive again this year. Steven Brooks is not your typical first-year head coach and the team can ride the momentum of winning the 2026 PLL Championship Series. Still, I’m not looking to bet the over on a win total of 6.5 and the over of 5.5 is too juiced for my liking. Given my high expectations for California and Denver, I’m staying away from any futures on Carolina.
Instead, I’m recommend a wager on one of their draft picks. Former Maryland attackman Eric Spanos was pegged as a first round draft pick at one point and while he struggled a bit in this most recent college season, he’s still a player I have high expectations for in the pros. His two-handedness and range will translate well to the pros and he could end up being a TJ Malone-esque third-round steal for Carolina GM Spencer Ford. While listed as attack, Carolina’s wealth of attackmen might mean he plays more midfield this season—and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. At his size, he should be able to exploit the potential weaker matchups he’ll draw as a middie.
While his odds have already dropped a bit from +6000 at opening, I still recommend betting 0.25 unit on Eric Spanos to win 2026 PLL Rookie of the Year at +4000 on bet365 or FanDuel.
Pick: Eric Spanos to win Rookie of the Year (0.25 unit)
Denver Outlaws
The Denver Outlaws had a similar season to the New York Atlas, also securing a 7-3 record and falling just one goal short in the 2025 PLL Championship. The good news for Denver fans is the Outlaws got better this offseason. Losing defender Jesse Bernhardt is a big hole, but Coach Tim Soudan did an excellent job filling it by trading for defender Ben Randall. With Logan McNaney in net and Mike Manley and J.T. Giles-Harris also returning, Denver’s defense should be just as formidable as last season.
While I think California could give them a run for the West title, I trust this team to finish above .500 and like the odds to bet the Denver Outlaws Over 6.5 wins at -120 on FanDuel.
While Denver may miss Pat Kavanagh and Jared Bernhardt to start the season, this offense should be just fine with Brennan O’Neill leading the charge and he has a great opportunity to assert his case for MVP early. Last season, O’Neill was a finalist, but his teammates Kavanagh and Bernhardt both had solid arguments for being just as valuable. With both of them out to start, O’Neill’s narrative can take shape earlier. He’s the favorite at every sportsbook offering MVP odds, but we likely won’t see his odds get much longer throughout the season. Bet Brennan O’Neill to win 2026 PLL MVP at +700 on BetMGM or DraftKings.
Picks: Denver Outlaws Over 6.5 Wins, Brennan O’Neill to Win MVP
Maryland Whipsnakes
I have high hopes for the Maryland Whipsnakes in 2026. No team did a better job of filling out their roster in free agency than Maryland and attackman Joey Spallina fell in their lap in this year’s draft. While they’ll potentially have to wait some time for him to make his PLL debut depending on how far Syracuse goes, they have an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side of the ball. TJ Malone headlines a group that features future hall of famer Rob Pannell and 2025 rookie of the year finalist Aidan Carroll to name a few.
Defensively, the Whipsnakes three starting close defenders all return and AJ Mercurio, Colin Mulshine and Jack Posey are all welcomed additions. Emmet Carroll will start in net from the get-go and Petey LaSalla returns to the faceoff stripe with Joe Nardella out for the season and Matt Paolatto on the PUP list. They’re a little thin at short-stick defensive midfield at the moment, but I anticipate that Blake Eiland and Eric Kolar will be joining the roster very soon.
Overall, the market is too low on the Whipsnakes. I understand that the East is extremely loaded, but Maryland’s balance across positions can’t be denied and they’re arguably the least impacted by the NCAA Tournament and NLL playoffs at the moment.
I still think Denver and New York are the teams to beat, but have little doubt that Maryland can contend with them both. Buy low on Coach Jim Stagnitta’s squad while you can and bet Maryland Whipsnakes over 5.5 wins at +130 on bet365 or DraftKings, Maryland Whipsnakes to make the playoffs at -160 on DraftKings or -165 on bet365, a half unit on Maryland Whipsnakes to earn the top seed in the East at +600 on bet365 or DraftKings, and Maryland to win the 2026 PLL Championship at +1300 on BetMGM.
Picks: Maryland Whipsnakes Over 5.5 Wins, Maryland Whipsnakes to Make the Playoffs, Maryland Whipsnakes to Earn No.1 Seed (0.5 unit), Maryland Whipsnakes to Win the Championship (0.5 unit)
New York Atlas
I don’t think New York will take a big step back after going 7-3 en route to winning the 2025 PLL Championship last season. However, even with two more games on the schedule, I think eight wins will be hard to reach. Similar to Boston, I’m not worried about the offense even with Jeff Teat potentially missing Week 1 while on the PUP list. Levi Anderson was a great addition to an already stacked offense.
However, New York lost reigning defensive player of the year Gavin Adler in free agency and the versatile defender Michael Grace will miss this season after tearing his ACL in the NLL quarterfinals. They’ll also miss both Trevor Baptiste and Danny Logan in Week 1 and possibly longer while he and the San Diego Seals chase an NLL championship. Coach Mike Pressler did a great job replacing the coaching losses of Steven Brooks and Joe Cinosky with Kevin Cassese and Kyle Sweeney, but losing Adler and Grace levels the playing field a bit.
I could still see New York repeating as PLL champion, but five or more losses are very possible given their schedule. Play this high win total and bet New York Atlas Under 7.5 wins at -145 on bet365.
Pick: New York Atlas Under 7.5 Wins
Philadelphia Waterdogs
The Philadelphia Waterdogs are a fascinating team with an offense that somehow got even more lethal. While they’ll have to wait to see how the NLL playoffs play out, they should be getting a healthy CJ Kirst for most of this season and eventually talented Canadians in Silas Richmond and Matt Collison. Zed Williams will also make his Waterdogs debut this season and Kieran McArdle continues to play at a high level. With last year’s MVP finalist Michael Sowers at the helm again, this offense should be unstoppable.
Philadelphia also added the reigning defensive player of the year in Gavin Adler this offseason, who should erase opponents’ top attackman all season long. However, the Waterdogs do have some question marks in other areas. Philly doesn’t have any holes per se, but we’ll have to see how Connor Farrell fares at the faceoff. The last time we saw him in the PLL was two seasons ago and he struggled to help his team’s offense make the most of the short shot clock—a scenario that Philly was productive in with Alec Stathakis facing off.
While Dillon Ward and Matt DeLuca both had their ups and downs last year, which was likely due to the constant rotation of who was starting. As a result, the Waterdogs needed to move one of these goalies and opted to keep the younger of the two, who happened to play better last season as well. I don’t question the move at all, I’m just curious to see which version of Matt DeLuca shows up this season with the starting job now firmly his.
The decision to trade Ben Randall was another that I understand, but still don’t love. Again, new general manager Dave Cottle opted to trade a veteran player with an expiring deal and by adding Adler this offseason, there was going to be an odd man out. Yet, it still doesn’t change the fact that Philly traded away another top cover defender. This remaining group of talented second and third-year defenders should fare well over time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some early growing pains.
I mostly agree with where the betting markets are at with Philly, which makes me not like any preseason bets on the Waterdogs. I’m fully passing on betting this team at the moment, but am cautiously optimistic that they take the next step in Coach Bill Tierney’s third season at the helm. Their ceiling is certainly a PLL championship, but I’m still struggling to pinpoint where the floor is heading into this season.
Utah Archers
The Utah Archers are looking to return to championship contender status after missing the playoffs for the first time in their history. Similarly, to the Cannons, I don’t expect Utah to be completely outmatched this season. This is still a team that won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024 and managed to win 40 percent of their games last year. Still, starting the season with a doubleheader without your starting goalie and a handful of other key players is less than ideal.
While they should have Brett Dobson, Tre Leclaire and Warren Jeffrey back by their third game, there is no timetable for 2023 PLL MVP Tom Schreiber or attackman Matt Moore to return from injury yet, midfielder Grant Ament is starting the season on the PUP list, and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Graeme Hossack will not be playing in the PLL this summer.
I’m also expecting both the Redwoods and Chaos to be just as good if not better and the Outlaws successfully reloaded as well. Coach Chris Bates is a good enough offensive mind to get this offense back on track, but I fear that Utah could get off to a slow start and am not sure if that’s something they’ll be able to overcome in the long run. Bet the Utah Archers to miss the playoffs at +220 on DraftKings or +215 on BetRivers.
A positive of having so many players out to start the season is it gives some new guys an opportunity to shine. While I expect rookie Ryan Stines to run mostly out of the box, Utah is thin on the right side at the moment and Stines should get plenty of chances to prove himself in the Archers’ two games in Utah this upcoming weekend. A potential strong start could propel him into the rookie of the year conversation. While he’s still a longshot, I think it’s worth betting 0.1 unit on Ryan Stines to Win Rookie of the Year at +10000 on bet365.
Picks: Utah Archers to Miss the Playoffs, Ryan Stines to Win Rookie of the Year
championship prediction
Since I have higher expectations than the market for both the Redwoods and Whipsnakes, let’s place a small 0.1 unit on a rematch of the first-ever PLL championship to occur. In the “Name the Finalists” section, bet the California Redwoods and Maryland Whipsnakes to make the championship at +2500 on bet365.
Pick: Whipsnakes and Redwoods in the Final (0.1 unit)
