Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's lacrosse program saw another two of its student-athletes join the professional ranks of the sport, as fifth-years Jake Boudreau and Corson Kealey were selected in last night's National Lacrosse League (NLL) Entry Draft.
Boudreau became RMU's sixth first-round selection in five years, going seventh overall to the Saskatchewan Rush. Kealey, who will join older brother JonPatrik in the indoor league, went in the second round with the 19th overall selection to the Rochester Knighthawks. The Knighthawks previously picked recent graduate Ryan Smith with the third overall pick in the 2020 NLL Entry Draft.
Boudreau has appeared in 54 games with the Colonials, starting 42 of them in the midfield. A threat on both ends of the field, the Brampton, Ont. product has accumulated 86 points offensively on 46 goals and 40 assists, and collected 97 groundballs and 15 caused turnovers on the defensive end. Last season, Boudreau led the team in groundballs (58) – posting the seventh best single-season total at RMU – and ranked third in assists (14) and points (28). He will take advantage of the NCAA waiver granting an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic in 2022.
Kealey is one of the most prolific goal scorers in program history, ranking fourth all-time in goals per game (1.91). The Ottawa, Ont. product is ninth at RMU in career goals (90), with 52 of those coming in a breakout sophomore campaign two years ago. An All-Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie Team pick in 2018, Kealey bounced back from an injury-riddled 2020 to produce four hat tricks and 21 total goals in 2021. He, like Boudreau, will be back in 2022 after taking advantage of the NCAA waiver.
With the selections of Boudreau and Kealey, RMU has now had 25 players picked in the NLL Entry Draft. There were 11 former Colonials playing for 10 different NLL teams in 2020, and both Tyson Gibson and Smith have competed in the summer outdoor leagues over the past two years. Gibson was named NLL Rookie of the Year after being selected with the top pick of the 2019 NLL Entry Draft by the New York Riptide, while Smith will compete in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) semifinals next weekend with Chaos Lacrosse Club.
LINK: Colonials in the Pros
Boudreau is the seventh first-round selection in program history, joining the aforementioned Gibson and Smith, as well as JonPatrik Kealey (10th overall by the New England Black Wolves in 2017), Brad McCulley (9th overall by the Buffalo Bandits in 2020), Kiel Matisz (3rd overall by the Minnesota Swarm in 2012), Justin Robinson (9th overall by the Saskatchewan Rush in 2019), and Andrew Watt (8th overall by the Minnesota Swarm in 2008).
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