PHILADELPHIA, Pa. –
Blake Malamphy '26 of the Salisbury University men's lacrosse team was selected in the fourth round with the 46th pick by the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the 2026 NLL (National Lacrosse League) Draft on Thursday evening.
As a cornerstone piece of the Gulls for the past four seasons, Malamphy set new program highs in face-offs won (1086) and in ground balls (726), while winning at a dominant 65.6 percent clip at the dot. The Annapolis, Md., native and Archbishop Spalding High School product also tallied 32 goals and seven assists while playing in 84 games with the Maroon and Gold.
After following in the footsteps of his brother and two-time USILA National Face-Off Specialist of the Year
Brett Malamphy '21, Blake made an immediate impact in his freshman season for the Sea Gulls in a 22-1 season that ended in the program's 13th national title with a 17-12 victory over Tufts at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. As a freshman, Malamphy served as a starter in 13 of his 23 appearances and went 193-for-337 at the X with seven scores, a helper and 136 grounders to boot while being named the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) Rookie of the Year. In the title game, Malamphy logged a helper in a 6-0 first-quarter flurry to help secure a wire-to-wire dub over the Jumbos.
Malamphy boosted his win rate in 2024, going 267-for-418 at the stripe, adding seven more goals, two assists and 188 rollers to fuel an SU offense that averaged 19.1 goals per game en route to a 21-1 campaign that marked the program's 15th undefeated regular season. As a sophomore, Malamphy was tabbed a USILA Honorable Mention All-American while landing inside the top-30 in the nation in ground balls per game (9.40) and face-off win percentage.
As a junior, Malamphy posted steady numbers once again, leading Salisbury to a second consecutive undefeated season, while reaching a new single-season career-high 282 draw wins.
Number 45 finished his tenure with the Gulls in emphatic fashion, going an unheard of 344-for-457 at the dot, parrying the 75.3 percent mark with 10 goals, two dimes and 245 ground balls to lead all divisions of NCAA lacrosse in GBs. The 2026 CLC Player of the Year and USILA Face-Off Specialist of the Year won over 50 percent of his face-offs taken in all of SU's 21 contests while etching multiple memorable performances in April by going 22-for-23 against Christopher Newport to eclipse the millennial mark and tucking two tallies in seven seconds to help the Sea Gulls prevail against the Shoremen of Washington College, 6-4 in the 58th edition of The War on the Shore.
Malamphy has earned no shortage of accolades in his time at Salisbury, taking in All-CLC honors in all four seasons played, earning All-American honors from the USILA and USA Lacrosse Magazine six times in addition to his 2023 CLC ROTY and 2026 laurels.
Malamphy is the most recent Sea Gull selected in the NLL draft since 2022, when
Cross Ferrara '23 was picked by the Georgia Swarm. The Archbishop Spalding product
signed to the Maryland Whipsnakes of the PLL (Premier Lacrosse League) in June.
ABOUT THE DESERT DOGS
The Desert Dogs' inaugural season was in 2023, led by co-owners Joseph Tsai, Wayne Gretsky, Steve Nash and Dustin Johnson. Las Vegas is coached by NLL Hall of Famer Shawn Williams, who guided Vegas to a franchise-best 8-10 in 2026.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 26 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit
SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
