For the second time in two years, a Cornell athlete heard his name called first in the Premier Lacrosse League draft. Senior attackman CJ Kirst will be continuing his lacrosse career with the Philadelphia Waterdogs, as decided by the draft show beginning at 7 p.m. tonight.
After a season in which Kirst has racked up accolades, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association career goals record and, most recently, the Cornell single season goals record, this is hardly a surprise.
“[Kirst] doesn’t get caught up with the legacy, the history,” said head coach Connor Buczek. “He’s just worried about the 60 minutes. For him to embody that, despite all of the noise, really speaks to his character as a leader for our program.”
Kirst is now the third Cornell player to be drafted first overall since 2021. He follows in the footsteps of attackman Jeff Teat ’21 and defenseman Gavin Adler ’23, who were top picks in the 2021 and 2023 drafts, respectively.
The NCAA’s top scorer of all time will bring some sorely needed offensive power to the Waterdogs, which went 2-8 in the 2024 season and fell short of postseason play.
Kirst will look to make his professional debut on June 6, when the Waterdogs will take on the Whipsnakes at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
Alexis Rogers is the sports editor on the 143rd editorial board. She is in the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts & Sciences, and she can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
