Tufts lacrosse reached a program milestone on Tuesday night when midfielder Jack Regnery was selected 20th overall in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League College Draft — the highest draft position achieved by any Tufts lacrosse player in the program's modern history.
Regnery's selection underscores a continuing theme inside the PLL's modern era: Division III prospects with elite athletic profiles are no longer automatically filtered out of the first two rounds. The league's aggressive scouting of non-Division I talent over recent drafts has produced multiple rotation-quality players, and Regnery's collegiate résumé — which combined high efficiency with standout special-teams utility — pushed him decisively into that tier.
As a senior at Tufts, Regnery posted numbers that compared favorably to upper-half Division I midfielders across both offensive and defensive ends. He also carried the Jumbos through multiple high-leverage NESCAC postseason contests, reinforcing a profile the PLL's front offices have repeatedly prioritised: a player who elevates when the tournament environment tightens.
Tufts head coach Casey D'Annolfo, who coached Regnery through his four-year development curve, has built the Jumbos into one of the most consistent Division III programs in the country. The school's ability to now produce a 20th-overall PLL selection is likely to accelerate recruiting conversations within Tufts' existing pipeline of New England academies and Mid-Atlantic preparatory schools — schools that have, in other sports, historically seen prospects funnel to Division I for professional exposure reasons.
The Jumbos have reached the NCAA Division III Tournament in multiple recent years and routinely finish in the NESCAC's upper division. Regnery's draft moment will, for prospective recruits weighing Division I vs. Division III offers, serve as live proof that a PLL draft slot is reachable through the Tufts pathway.
At the PLL level, the franchise that selected Regnery will be betting on his physicality in groundball contests and his ability to contribute in transition as a secondary midfield option. Roster construction at the 20th-overall position typically involves bench contributors with clear paths to special-teams and depth-unit minutes. For Regnery, the task now is converting preseason reps into a guaranteed roster spot.
Across the 2026 PLL Draft class, the first round was dominated by ACC and Big Ten talent — nine selections apiece between the two Division I conferences. Patriot League programs, led by Army West Point's Evan Plunkett at fourth overall, were the next-most represented. Regnery's selection in the second round of the draft punctuates a class in which mid-major and Division III prospects delivered a combined depth that the PLL's expanded rosters have been able to absorb.
The Jumbos' immediate focus now turns back to the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, where Tufts remain in contention for a deep run. For Regnery specifically, the draft moment arrived midway through a senior campaign that still has meaningful games left to play, and he has publicly stated his attention will remain on Tufts' season until it concludes.
The broader implication for Tufts is harder to measure but no less real. Division III programs have historically punched above their weight in producing coaches and collegiate contributors; increasingly, they are also producing PLL draftees. Regnery's 20th-overall selection pushes that trajectory another rung higher. The next highly-rated Tufts recruit to pick a college, and every one after, will now weigh that pathway with a concrete example to reference. Program-building in 2026 college lacrosse rarely gets a more tangible data point than that.
