It’s safe to say the Premier Lacrosse League will crown a new Jim Brown Most Valuable Player this season.
But who will that first-time MVP be? With two weeks remaining, the race is still wide open.
Will it be the second-year phenom who needed just eight games to tie the single-season PLL goals record? His perennial All-Star running mate, who’s leading the league in points and enjoying the most productive season of his career? Or the two-time champion goalie who’s backstopping one of the best defenses in PLL history?
Our writers make the MVP cases for CJ Kirst, Michael Sowers and Brett Dobson:
CJ Kirst
From a goal-scoring perspective, Kirst is having one of the most historic seasons ever.
He tied Marcus Holman’s record for goals in a single season (30) last weekend and will almost assuredly break that record during Philadelphia’s Homecoming Weekend in two weeks. With a balanced 15-15 split of assisted and unassisted goals, he’s equally comfortable attacking the cage with boundless energy or patiently lurking off-ball and pouncing on the chances his teammates provide him.
Each Kirst shot is calculated and precise: although he has taken the fourth-most shots in the league (71), he has the third-highest shooting percentage of any player with more than 30 attempts (42.3%).
Beyond the statistics, the ways in which Kirst is scoring are simply incredible. From off-handed jump shots that ping a bottom corner, to graceful looping goals that nestle perfectly in the cage, to slicing and dicing through four defenders to score a game-clinching goal, he makes the game look like he’s playing on easy mode and everyone else is on expert.
But the biggest reason why Kirst is the Most Valuable Player doesn’t even show up in his statistics – it shows up in Sowers’, instead. How is this possible?
Kirst is demanding the top coverman on each team, such as Brendan Lavelle on Utah, Brett Makar on New York and Jarrod Neumann on Carolina. That means that Sowers gets to go against each opponent’s second-best defenseman, and he’s dominated those matchups, posting hat tricks in his last five games, including 10 unassisted goals during that stretch.
Of course, Sowers is an awesome player, rightfully in the MVP conversation and would likely be doing similar things against the top defender on each team. But he’s aided by the attention Kirst is drawing.
If defenses are already telling us that Kirst is the biggest threat on his team, shouldn’t we listen? – Adam Lamberti
Michael Sowers
If the PLL’s MVP award is meant to recognize the player most valuable to his team’s success, Sowers is the definition of an essential player.
Though Kirst has emerged as the league’s premier goal-scorer, the Philadelphia Waterdogs’ offense still runs through Sowers.
Through 10 games, Sowers has totaled 41 points on 21 goals and 20 assists, already matching his career high with two regular-season games remaining. He leads the PLL in points, assists and assist opportunities, and ranks second in both touches and passes.
When the Waterdogs need a goal, Kirst might finish the play. When they need to generate offense, the possession almost always begins with Sowers.
After a slower start while Philadelphia adjusted to new offensive pieces, Sowers has recorded at least four points in five of his last seven games and enters the final weekend riding a streak of five consecutive hat tricks.
By recording at least 20 goals and 20 assists, Sowers has joined an exclusive club. Just three other players have posted 20/20 seasons in the PLL, and two of them (Jeff Teat in 2024 and Connor Shellenberger in 2025) took home MVP honors that year.
Sowers’ elite footwork consistently forces defensive slides, creating opportunities for teammates before the pass is ever made. His ability to read defenses, quarterback possessions from X and control tempo has made him indispensable for head coach Bill Tierney and the club.
Remove Sowers from the equation, and the Waterdogs likely would be a fringe playoff team, not a 7-3 conference leader that already booked its spot in the postseason.
Imagine Sowers in an Atlas jersey. New York’s offense ranks last in the PLL in total goals and total passes and second-to-last in assists, while injuries have taken Teat and Shellenberger out of the lineup. No. 22 would bring the league’s top passer and point producer into an offense in need of a quarterback, while creating more opportunities for the players around him.
Since entering the PLL, Sowers has produced at an All-Star level every season, reaching at least 30 points in all five years. This is nothing new for the MVP candidate, but there has been an added level of focus in his game this year – something we’ve seen in postgame press conferences, on the field and during ESPN broadcasts when Sowers is as locked in as anyone on the field. – Micheal Bolger
Brett Dobson
Dobson’s case for MVP is a fairly straightforward one. He is the backbone of the league’s best defense and one of the best in league history.
Utah’s 9.2 scores against average is on track to be the second-best ever by a PLL team, behind only the 2020 Whipsnakes. The Archers’ 21.1% defensive efficiency also ranks first among all defenses over the last five years.
Dobson has been similarly good. With a 60.1% save percentage, he’s first among starters league-wide and would be one of five PLL goalies (who’ve faced at least 100 shots) to finish a season above 60%.
He’s not merely benefiting from playing behind a rock-solid defense. Dobson leads the league in save percentage over expectation, at 5.6%. That’s the fourth-highest by a PLL goalie since the league’s inception in 2019.
Blaze Riorden’s 2021 season is the reference point for Dobson’s case. That year, Riorden saved 61.1%, stopped 16.6 shots per game and allowed 12.6 scores against per game. His save percentage over expectation was 6.4%.
Dobson’s aforementioned 60.1% save percentage is a tick lower than Riorden, but he’s in the neighborhood. The Utah goalie has faced fewer shots but also allowed fewer scores against. He’s making 13.2 saves per game and allowing just 9.3 scores per game.
When Dobson missed the first two games of the regular season, Nick Washuta played well in his absence. The former Vermont Catamount has saved 61.9% of the shots he’s seen in a little over two games of action. He’s a career 53.6% keeper.
The difference between Dobson and every other goalie in the league, including Washuta, is his greatest strength: consistency.
The two-time Championship MVP has never saved less than 40% of the shots he’s seen in a game. Every other starting PLL goalie has at least once in the last two seasons.
In 2026, Dobson’s yet to finish a game under 54.5%. In contrast, Logan McNaney and Emmet Carroll have done so in six games. Riorden, Liam Entenmann and Matt DeLuca each have five times. Dillon Ward has four times.
“He’s never bad,” Utah assistant coach Brian Kavanagh said. “His worst game never loses you a game. And how many times does he win you one?”
A goalie has saved 65% or more in a game on 14 occasions in 2026. Dobson has accounted for a league-high four of those. His floor is high. So is his ceiling.
Put Dobson on the last-place Atlas, and the league’s worst defense would be better this season. Dobson’s league-leading 5.6% save percentage over expectation far exceeds Entenmann’s -3.1% (10th in the PLL).
It’s odd that Dobson is yet to collect any end-of-season award hardware. He’s first all-time in career save percentage (among goalies who’ve faced at least 200 shots) at 59.8%. Only Tillman Johnson (58.5%) and Riorden (58%) are within two percentage points of the Canadian.
Dobson has two rings, two Championship MVP trophies and the 2026 All-Star Game MVP honor. He’s the runaway favorite to win his first Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year Award this summer. But he might deserve more.
If Dobson wins MVP, he’d be the second player ever to win the NLL MVP and then PLL/MLL MVP in the same year, joining only John Grant Jr. (2007). Being the second lacrosse player to do something after Grant is an honor reserved for legends. Dobson is on his way to becoming one. – Zach Carey
