Virginia Tech No. 1 in USA Lacrosse MCLA Division I Preseason Top 20

Virginia Tech, the 2023 MCLA Division I national runner up, inherits the top spot in the USA Lacrosse MCLA Division I Preseason Top 20 after Concordia, the 2023 national champion, departed for the NCAA Division II ranks.

The Hokies finished 2023 15-4 and return senior attackman Aidan Smith, the USA Lacrosse MCLA Division I Preseason Player of the Year. The catalyst for the Hokies’ run to the national championship game, Smith is a two-time first-team All-American and the reigning MCLA Player of the Year. The Potomac Falls, Va., product scored 58 goals and dished 35 assists last spring and has 195 career points.

A smattering of championship hopefuls follow the Hokies. Utah Valley, which finished seventh in the final coaches’ poll in 2023, is No. 2. Georgia Tech, last year’s fifth-place finisher in the final poll, is No. 3. Liberty and Chapman round out the top five and Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, the same spots in which they finished 2023.

USA LACROSSE MCLA
DIVISION I PRESEASON TOP 20

1. Virginia Tech
2. Utah Valley
3. Georgia Tech
4. Liberty
5. Chapman
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. Brigham Young
9. Boston College
10. South Carolina
11. Northeastern
12. UC Santa Barbara
13. Simon Fraser
14. Cal Poly
15. Florida State
16. California
17. Arizona State
18. Texas
19. San Diego State
20. Michigan State