Everyone knows about his records: all-time points and goals leader in the Ivy League, owner of multiple Yale scoring records, a 13-point game (tied for second all-time) and countless other achievements. But those don’t tell the whole story.
His advanced metrics support the notion that Brandau has been one of the best players in college lacrosse over the last decade. Lacrosse Reference has a statistic called Expected Goals Added (EGA), which is essentially the lacrosse version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR), measuring a player’s value. Brandau’s 5.1 EGA leads the nation and is 0.33 higher than the next-closest offensive player. He also ranks first in assist rate, accounting for 48% of Yale’s assists this season.
His career assist-turnover ratio (1.64) is in the 99th percentile for all qualified Division I players since Lacrosse Reference started tracking. Unsurprisingly, Brandau’s career EGA and EGA per game are also in the 99th percentile.
This is a player who could not be any more pro-ready. Brandau peaked at the right time and has the talent to make an instant impact on a potent PLL offense.
Brandau will be “the glue”
New Waterdogs offensive coordinator Dylan Sheridan said he doesn’t want to “reinvent the wheel.” The new coaching staff loves the selfless nature of the team’s offense and would never jeopardize that. One small change that Sheridan plans to make, however, is becoming more versatile and positionless. The Brandau pick was in service of that.
“To look at our offense, which is already deep and really talented, to find a guy that could come in and be the glue and fill whatever cracks there might be throughout the course of the season, who also brings a history of leadership and success … he was kind of a can’t-miss,” Sheridan said. “We would have taken him if we had an earlier pick.”
Another pull to take Brandau was his quarterback instincts. Sowers played almost exclusively behind the cage last season, but Sheridan doesn’t want to limit him to one spot. Sowers has shown prowess as a feeder and finisher above the goal line, but he hasn’t been able to showcase that much for the Waterdogs. Brandau gives Philadelphia the option to move people around and find rhythms in different spots.
“I think that (X) role is super important, and we are going to create some clarity on what the job is,” Sheridan said. “We need that job to be locked down, but it doesn’t have to be done by one person, and I think that will make us a little more challenging to defend.”
