19. RICHMOND
2022 record: 11-5 (4-1 Southern)
Last seen: Nearly breaking through for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory before Penn rallied to force overtime and then promptly scored the winning goal in an 11-10 triumph to bounce the Spiders from the postseason.
Initial forecast: The door finally closed on Ryan Lanchbury’s college career, but not before an 81-point season that helped him finish his time at Richmond with 162 goals and 131 assists. The Spiders surrounded him with plenty, too, and the return of Dalton Young after a 39-goal, 23-assist season means Richmond’s offense will be on solid ground. The more intriguing development here is the establishment of Atlantic 10 men’s lacrosse, with full league members Richmond, UMass, St. Bonaventure and Saint Joseph’s joining with Hobart and High Point to create a six-team circuit. In aggregate, it’s a more rigorous one than the disintegrated Southern Conference, but Richmond’s willingness to take on all comers early in the season should make this transition a bit smoother. There will be some work to do to overcome some losses at the defensive end this season, so the Spiders aren’t a far-and-away favorite to get back to the NCAA tournament. Still, they’ve established themselves as a rock-solid top-20 type of program, which makes this initial placement apropos heading into 2023.
18. DENVER
2022 record: 9-6 (4-1 Big East)
Last seen: Nearly climbing out of a six-goal hole in the fourth quarter of the Big East semifinals against Villanova, only to have its NCAA tournament hopes halted when the Wildcats survived 15-14.
Initial forecast: In an odd way, normal has returned to the Mile High City. The Pioneers, whose roster numbered in the mid-60s two years ago, won’t have any fifth-year players this season (though Alex Simmons will continue a Division I career at Syracuse). Bill Tierney would like another bit of normality to resurface for his team — playing deep into May. It didn’t happen last spring as the Pioneers struggled to get traction in non-conference play, and Denver remained without a Big East tournament title after its early exit against Villanova. Goals leader Jack Hannah graduated, but the Pioneers will have a pair of first team all-Big East picks back in attackman JJ Sillstrop (30 goals, 18 assists) and defenseman Jack DiBenedetto. There aren’t questions at the faceoff X or in the cage, yet with five of its top six scorers gone, this Denver team might have as much to prove as any since Tierney’s first season. That no doubt suits the wily old coach just fine.