Premier Volleyball League draft

The Premier Volleyball League draft is an annual event of the Premier Volleyball League, where the twelve teams of the league can acquire or draft new players who have not previously competed in the league that are eligible and wish to join the club. The inaugural rookie draft was held on July 8, 2024.^[1]

With the launch of the rookie draft, teams are now barred from directly hiring players from the collegiate ranks, such as the NCAA, and the UAAP. Players who have previously played in the PVL, including athletes from the NCAA who played with a special guest license (SGL) granted by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) are allowed to skip the draft.^[2]

To become eligible to apply for the rookie draft, applicants must:^[3]

• Be at least 21 years old by December 31 at the year of the annual draft, with no necessity for collegiate playing experience or academic qualifications.
• Secure a Philippine passport before the deadline for submission of draft eligibility requirements for Filipino foreign applicants. They may submit a birth certificate issued in the Philippines in place of the Philippine passport.
• Complete an online form at the league's official website. All additional requirements and documents must be sent to the league's provided email.

The following are the events that initiated in the rookie draft.^[3]

• Submission of applicants' draft requirements.
• Allowance of a certain number of days for draft withdrawal.
• Announcement of the initial list of applicants.
• Draft lottery day for the four worst-performing teams of the recent conference.
• Mandatory PVL rookie draft combine. A two-day event where applicants underwent physical measures, medical tests, interviews, athletic tests, and scrimmages, all observed by coaches and officials.
• The day of the PVL Rookie draft event.

Drafted players must obtain qualifying offers from their respective teams within fifteen (15) calendar days. First-round picks must be offered a minimum three-year contract. Applicants drafted in the second and later rounds require a minimum one-year contract.^[3]

Undrafted players signed by teams must receive at least a one-conference contract.^[3]

In the first round of the draft pick, a draft lottery is used for the four worst-performing teams of the recent conference, followed by the reversed order of the teams' final rankings within each previous conference for the remaining eight teams. For the second and subsequent rounds, the reversed final rankings of the recent conference was the sole basis of the drafting order, with the last-placed team picking first.^[3]

This system was used on the four worst-performing teams. It is used to prevent teams from deliberately tanking their performances in future conferences, by not automatically awarding the top pick to the lowest-ranked team using the reversed rankings. The probability of the teams' chances of getting the first overall pick are as follows:^[3]

• The 12th-ranked (worst-performing) team had a 40% chance.
• The 11th-ranked team had a 30% chance.
• The 10th-ranked team had a 20% chance.
• The 9th-ranked team had a 10% chance.

• Official application website