The San Diego Seals announced today that the team has signed the first overall pick in the 2018 NLL Entry Draft, Austin Staats, to a rookie contract, pending league approval.

“We’re very excited to lock in Austin,” said general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill. “Austin has championship pedigree and is a perfect player to start a franchise with and build around.”

Staats was a standout at Onondaga Community College, registering 102 goals and 156 points in 26 games for the Lazers. He was a two-time All-American attackman and led the program to a pair of national titles.

The 6-foot, 200-pound lefty also netted 42 goals in 14 games this summer for the Six Nations Arrows (Junior A). His 87 points led the team.

Only twenty years old, Staats is already an accomplished player. He’s a three-time Minto Cup champion – earning MVP honors in 2017 – a Mann Cup champion in 2016, and a bronze medalist at the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championships where he was named to the All-World Team.

The San Diego Seals host their inaugural season home-opener on Saturday, January 12 at 7:00pm PST at Valley View Casino Center. Discounted tickets to the home opener with the code “CYBER” are available here until midnight PST. All online merchandise is also 20% off with the code “HOLIDAY20”. Shop now!

-SealsLax.com-