Men's Lacrosse | 4/18/2018 9:51:00 PM
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Perhaps, on the night of the annual Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft, it was fitting that the No. 17/19
Robert Morris men's lacrosse team saw "Bear" select "Bryant."
With the 45th overall pick in the fifth round of the draft Wednesday night, the defending MLL champion Ohio Machine chose Robert Morris senior defenseman
Zachary Bryant. The Machine are led by vice president/head coach Kenneth "Bear" Davis, who served as RMU head coach from the inception of the men's program in 2005 through 2011.
"It is a huge honour to be drafted. I am very thankful for the opportunity that the Ohio Machine has presented to me," Bryant said. "[I am] extremely excited to continue my lacrosse career but still have lots of work to do this season with achieving our long-term goals as a team."
"We are extremely proud of Zach for his selection in the 2018 MLL Draft. He is a top defenseman in Division I lacrosse, which is a reflection of both his effort and ability," current RMU coach
Andrew McMinn added. "We look forward to his continued success as a Colonial and beyond."
Bryant, an integral part of a Robert Morris squad that has qualified for its third straight NEC Tournament and fifth under McMinn, becomes the fifth player in program history drafted into the outdoor professional league. He is the first one picked by the Machine since the club chose Patrick Smith in the 12th round back in December of 2011.
Apropos of the Oshawa, Ontario native's defensive prowess, the last member of the Colonials to find a home in MLL was
Sean Meagher '14, taken 41st overall by the Charlotte Hounds in the Dec. 2015 Supplemental Draft.
On Apr. 14, in a 14-5 win over Cleveland State at Joe Walton Stadium, Bryant joined Meagher as the only other RMU player with 70 career caused turnovers, and he enters Saturday's game at Wagner second to Meagher in team history with 71 all-time. The 6'5", 210-pound Monsignor John Pereyma product ranks fifth in Division I with an average of 2.58 CT's per game.
He has helped the 2018 Colonials grab a spot in at least one of the major national D-I polls for eight consecutive weeks, a school record. Their ascent began with a head-turning 12-9 triumph at then-No. 16/15 Penn State Feb. 24 in which Bryant registered a career-high six caused turnovers, becoming only the seventh different player in program history with five or more in a single game.
In an 11-9, come-from-behind victory at Canisius Apr. 10, Bryant put up five CT's, including a critical one with under three minutes left in regulation that led to the game-winning goal. With that, he become the only other Robert Morris player besides Meagher to post five or more in a single game twice in the same year.
Bryant, coming off a First Team All-Northeast Conference selection in 2017, has been tabbed an NEC Prime Performer and United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Team of the Week honoree this season. With 31 caused turnovers as a senior, the third-most in a single season in Robert Morris history, he has already exceeded his personal-best 22 as a junior. His 1.31 career caused turnover average is also third-best in program lore.
Additionally, Bryant, with 24 ground balls through 12 games, is on pace to match his career-high of 28, also established last season. He scored the first regular-season goal for the 2018 squad Feb. 3 at then-No. 7/8 Rutgers and has since added two assists.
Teamed with fellow senior D-man
Zac Christianson and junior long stick
Jack Toomb, that threesome has combined for 63 caused turnovers in 2018, making them the second-most productive trio in the NCAA from a CT standpoint.
The Colonials, featuring Bryant, rank ninth in the country in scoring defense, with a team goals-against average of 8.17 approaching the final two games of the regular campaign.
No. 17/19 Robert Morris, which has a mathematical chance at its first regular-season conference crown since 2012, travels to Wagner to take on the NEC rival Seahawks Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EDT on NEC Front Row.
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