It’s Maryland and then everyone else.

The defending NCAA champion Terps are favored to repeat as the top-ranked team in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20. Over the last five seasons, Maryland has lost a combined total of four games. The Terps bring back top scorer Megan Whittle as well as first-team All-American goalie Megan Taylor. They also fortified the midfield with the addition of Louisville transfer Meghan Siverson, a third-team All-American.

Stony Brook, which pushed Maryland to the brink in the NCAA quarterfinals, is No. 2 in the rankings. The Seawolves feature three 100-point scorers, including Tewaaraton finalist Kylie Ohlmiller, who set the NCAA single-season record with 164 points in 2017, and Courtney Murphy, who set the NCAA single-season record with 100 goals in 2016. Murphy, a redshirt senior, is coming back from an ACL injury that sidelined her for most of last season.

North Carolina, featuring Tewaaraton finalist and U.S. team midfielder Marie McCool, and Penn State, which has advanced to consecutive NCAA semifinals, come in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Syracuse rounds out the top five.

The rankings (below) were announced Monday morning. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com throughout January and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition that mails to US Lacrosse members Feb. 1.

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s
Preseason Top 20

1. Maryland
2. Stony Brook
3. North Carolina
4. Penn State
5. Syracuse
6. Florida
7. Princeton
8. USC
9. Boston College
10. Navy
11. Northwestern
12. Penn
13. Virginia
14. Notre Dame
15. Cornell
16. Colorado
17. James Madison
18. UMass
19. Duke
20. Virginia Tech

Also considered (alphabetical order): Albany, Elon, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Stanford, Towson