Hempstead, NY - Hofstra Men's Lacrosse senior attackman Josh Byrne was selected by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the 2017 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Collegiate Draft Sunday afternoon.

Byrne was selected with the first pick of the third round by the Bayhawks. He was the 19th pick overall. He is Hofstra's highest MLL College Draft selection since the 2011 Draft. That year, midfielder Steve Serling was selected with the third pick of the second round (9th overall) by the Denver Outlaws and attackman Jay Card was selected with the fifth pick in the second round (11th overall) by the Long Island Lizards.

Byrne, an attackman from New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, has earned a suitcase full of awards in 2017 highlighted by a USILA Division I All-America third team selection. Byrne, who was also named an Inside Lacrosse Division I Media All-America honorable mention, was also named to the All-Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Men's Lacrosse first team.

The 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Award-winner, Byrne also earned All-CAA first team accolades for the second consecutive season after leading Hofstra and the CAA in goals (41), assists (25) and points (66) while playing in 14 games. Nationally, he ranks seventh in goals per game, 12th in points per game and 21st in assists per game. Hofstra finished the season with an 11-3 record and ranked 16th in the country.
 
Byrne posted 10 multi-goal games in 2017, including eight contests with three goals or more. He ended his career with a 19-game point scoring streak. Byrne picked up 23 ground balls and had two game-winning goals. He also earned CAA Player of the Week honors three times this season. Byrne was also selected for the USILA/Nike North-South Senior All-Star Game last Friday. He tallied four goals in the contest. In two seasons at Hofstra, Byrne accumulated 71 goals and 40 assists for 111 points in 29 games.

Last year, Hofstra attackman Sam Llinares was selected with the fifth pick in the fourth round (31st overall) by the Denver Outlaws.  

Last December in the MLL Supplemental Draft, five Hofstra alums were selected. They were defenseman Finn Sullivan,'16, the second pick in the fifth round (38th overall) by the Denver Outlaws; midfielder Michael Unterstein, '08, the first pick in the eighth round (64th overall) by the Florida Launch; midfielder John Reicherter, '15, the seventh pick in the ninth round (79th overall) by the New York Lizards; midfielder Brian von Bargen, '16, the ninth pick in the 11th round (99th overall) by the Denver Outlaws; and midfielder Korey Hendrickson, '16, an auxiliary round selection (114th overall) by the Chesapeake Bayhawks.