STONY BROOK, NY -- Four members of the University of Delaware men’s lacrosse team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals earlier this month, will be waiting to hear their names called Thursday night when Major League Lacrosse conducts its annual college player draft.

Faceoff specialist Alex Smith, fellow midfielders Jordan Hall and Dan Deckelbaum (at right), and attackman Adam Zuder-Havens are all strong candidates to be selected in the MLL Draft, which will begin at 8 p.m. on the campus of Stony Brook University. The draft will be televised live on ESPNU with updates provided on the MLL website at majorleaguelacrosse.com.

The seventh season of the MLL is already underway and draft picks will join the teams in the coming weeks. A total of 50 players will be selected by the 10 teams in the five-round draft. The Chicago Machine owns the No. 1 pick followed by the Boston Cannons and Rochester Rattlers. Other teams in the league include the Long Island Lizards, New Jersey Pride, Philadelphia Barrage, Washington Bayhawks, Denver Outlaws, Los Angeles Riptide, and the San Francisco Dragons.

Smith, a native of Timonium, MD (Boy’s Latin High School), is expected to be a first round pick after closing out an outstanding collegiate career that saw him earn All-American honors three times and establish six NCAA records for faceoffs and groundballs. He finished his career as the greatest faceoff specialist in the history of the college game as he virtually rewrote the NCAA record book. He led the nation in faceoff winning percentage for the third straight season this spring as he won 311 of 430 attempts for a 72.3 percentage and also led the country with a school-record 170 groundballs (8.95 per game). He also scored five goals and dished out three assists on the season despite only playing on faceoff situations.

He established NCAA records for faceoffs won in a season (311 in 2007) and career (1,027), faceoffs attempted in a season (430 in 2007) and career (14,84), groundballs in a career (553), and faceoff pct. in a game (1.000, 21 for 21 vs. Manhattan, 2006). He won 50 percent or better of his faceoffs in 61 of his UD record 69 career games. He is one of only seven players in UD history to earn all-conference honors all four years and was named the 2007 CAA Player of the Year and 2007 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Hall, a three-time All-CAA selection and the 2005 CAA Player of the Year from Surrey, British Columbia (Fleetwood Park High School), was Delaware’s second leading scorer with 38 points on 26 goals and 12 assists and ranked second on the team with 54 groundballs. He scored at least one point in each of his final 31 career games and ended the season as the leading career scorer among all active NCAA Division I midfielders. A member of the Canadian National Team, Hall played in 66 career games with 61 starts and recorded 140 points on 85 goals and 55 assists and scooped up 184 groundballs. He ranks No. 13 on the all-time UD list for assists and points and No. 17 for goals and his goal just three seconds into a 2006 game vs. Albany is an NCAA record for fastest goal to start a game. He also recorded six career hat tricks, including four in 2007.

Deckelbaum, a midfielder from Owings Mills, MD (Owings Mills High School), also was a four-year standout and three-year starter for the Blue Hens. He was the team’s third leading scorer this spring with 35 points on 27 goals and eight assists and earned first team All-CAA honors for the second straight year. He ended his career by registering 97 career points on 77 goals and 20 assists and posted nine career hat tricks.

Zuder-Havens, an attackman from Corning, NY (Corning East High School), was a two-year standout on attack for Delaware after an All-American career at Herkimer Junior College. He led an offense that ranked fourth in the nation in scoring offense (11.53 per game) as he paced the squad with 46 points on 35 goals and 11 assists and earned first team All-CAA honors. He scored 50 career goals in just two seasons for Delaware.

The three led the Blue Hens to the finest season in school history. Delaware posted a 13-6 overall record, captured the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time in school history for head coach Bob Shillinglaw. The 15th-ranked Blue Hens advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history as they defeated defending national champion Virginia 14-8 in the first round and UMBC 10-6 in the quarterfinals. Delaware’s improbable run came to an end with an 8-3 loss to No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins in the NCAA semifinals March 26.

Currently four former Delaware players are on active rosters in the MLL, including midfielder and faceoff specialist Jason Motta (Philadelphia), former USILA National College Player of the Year and perennial MLL All-Star John Grant (Rochester), current UD assistant coach and goalkeeper Chris Collins (Washington), and attackman Matt Alrich (San Francisco).