Cavaliers Now

Virginia's Connor Shellenberger Picked No. 2 Overall by Atlas in PLL Draft

Matt Newton

Virginia men's lacrosse attackman Connor Shellenberger was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Atlas in the 2024 PLL Draft
Virginia men's lacrosse attackman Connor Shellenberger was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Atlas in the 2024 PLL Draft / Virginia Athletics

Welcome to the Premier Lacrosse League, Connor Shellenberger.

Virginia attackman Connor Shellenberger was selected by the New York Atlas with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 PLL College Draft on Tuesday night.

Shellenberger is Virginia's all-time program record holder in career assists (185) and points (310) and is the ACC's all-time leader in assists as well. He is likely to become UVA's first-ever four-time First-Team All-American and is expected to be among the finalists for the Tewaaraton Award for the third year in a row.

Shellenberger matches Ryan Conrad as Virginia's highest PLL Draft pick, as Conrad went No. 2 overall in the inaugural PLL College Draft in 2019. UVA has had a player selected in the first round of every PLL College Draft, as Shellenberger (2024) joins Conrad (2019), Michael Kraus (2020), Jared Conners and Dox Aitken (2021), Matt Moore (2022), and Thomas McConvey (2023).

Shellenberger reunites with former UVA teammate Xander Dickson, who was drafted by the Atlas No. 11 overall in the 2023 PLL Draft. This could be a dream matchup for the Atlas, as the last time that Shellenberger and Dickson were teammates, it resulted in Dickson shattering the Virginia program record for most goals in a single season, with Shellenberger assisting on the majority of Dickson's 61 goals in 2023.

Virginia Men's Lacrosse PLL College Draft History

2024
Connor Shellenberger: first round, No. 2 overall to the New York Atlas

2023
Thomas McConvey: first round, No. 8 overall to the Waterdogs
Xander Dickson: second round, No. 11 overall to the Atlas
Petey LaSalla: second round, No. 14 overall to the Whipsnakes

2022
Matt Moore: first round, No. 4 overall to the Archers

2021
Jared Conners: first round, No. 5 overall to the Archers
Dox Aitken: first round, No. 8 overall to the Atlas
Charlie Bertrand: third round, No. 24 overall to the Redwoods

2020
Michael Kraus: first round, No. 3 overall to the Waterdogs

2019
Ryan Conrad: first round, No. 2 overall to the Atlas

Published
Matt Newton

MATT NEWTON

Managing Editor and Publisher, CavaliersNow Email: mattnewton@virginia.eduTwitter: @mattynewtssWebsite | LinkedIn | Instagram Matt Newton is the managing editor and publisher at CavaliersNow. He has been covering UVA athletics since 2019 and has been the managing editor at CavaliersNow since launching the site in August 2021. Matt covers all things UVA sports, including Virginia basketball and football news and recruiting, former Wahoos in the pros, and coverage of all 23 of the NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. A native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Matt grew up a huge Philadelphia sports fan, but has also been a UVA sports fanatic his entire life thanks to his parents, who are alums of the University of Virginia. Matt followed in his parents' footsteps and attended UVA from 2017-2021, graduating with a degree in Media Studies and a minor in Economics in May of 2021.