Former Seattle-area prep standouts Drew Snider and Greg Mahony became the first high school lacrosse players from Washington state to be drafted by a professional lacrosse league with their selection on Friday in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) collegiate entry draft.

Snider, a 2006 graduate of Seattle’s O’Dea High School and fifth-year senior at the University of Maryland was selected 45th overall by the Chesapeake Bayhawks, while Mahony, a 2007 graduate of Mercer Island High School and 2011 graduate of Yale was selected 56th overall by the 2011 MLL champion Boston Cannons.

The league’s 12th annual draft was held Friday, January 13 in conjunction with the US Lacrosse annual convention in Philadelphia.

Snider, a 6-0, 175-pound starting midfielder at Maryland, scored 17 goals and 3 assists in 18 games during his senior season helping the Terrapins advance all the way to the 2011 NCAA Division I men’s championship game. In high school, Snider played lacrosse for neighboring Garfield High School where he was a two-time All-American selection and led the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association in scoring all four years. As a senior, his play helped the Bulldogs advance to the semifinal round of the 2006 Washington Lacrosse Boys Division I state tournament.

Mahony was a two-time All-Ivy and All-New England honoree at Yale. In 2011, the 5-8, 175-pound senior midfielder was third in scoring with 16 goals and 8 assists in 14 games helping the Bulldogs advance to the semifinal round of the Ivy League men’s lacrosse tournament. At Mercer Island, he was a three-year letterwinner in football, swimming and lacrosse where he was a two-time first team All-State selection and finished second in league scoring as a senior helping the Islanders advance to the title game of the boys Division I Washington state lacrosse tournament. Mahony was also an All-State honoree in football and three-time state champion in swimming for the Islanders. In 2006-2007 he was named Mercer Island High School Male Athlete of the Year.

Snider and Mahony are just the second and third lacrosse players with high school experience in Washington state to play professionally. Chris Taylor, a 2005 graduate of Mercer Island High School and 2008 Georgetown graduate was the first. Undrafted, Taylor played during the 2009 season for the MLL Chesapeake Bayhawks franchise.

Major League Lacrosse (www.majorleaguelacrosse.com) is a North American professional outdoor field lacrosse league with franchises in Boston, Mass., Charlotte, NC, Baltimore, Md. (Chesapeake), Denver, Co., Long Island, NY, Rochester, NY, Columbus, Ohio and Hamilton, Ontario.

Complete draft results are available at http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/press-release/4365/2012-mll-collegiate-draft-results

University of Maryland bio for Drew Snider: http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/snider_drew00.html

Yale University bio for Greg Mahony: http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-lacros/2011-12/bios/mahony%20gregory%208ynn

lacrosse_yale_mahony_greg2: 2007 Mercer Island High School graduate and Yale player Greg Mahony (white #6) outruns a University of Pennsylvania player during a 2011 Ivy League lacrosse contest in Philadelphia. Mahony, along with 2006 O’Dea graduate Drew Snider became the first high school lacrosse players from Washington state to be drafted by a professional lacrosse team with their selection in Friday’s Major League Lacrosse collegiate entry draft. Mahony was selected 56th overall by the 2011 MLL champion Boston Cannons. Credit: Yale Athletics

lacrosse_maryland_snider_drew: 2006 O’Dea High School graduate and Maryland player Drew Snider (white #23) outpaces at Johns Hopkins player during a 2011 game in Baltimore. Snider, who played at Garfield, along with 2007 Mercer Island graduate Greg Mahony became the first high school lacrosse players from Washington state to be drafted by a professional lacrosse team with their selection in Friday’s Major League Lacrosse collegiate entry draft. Snider was selected 45th overall by the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Credit: Maryland Athletics