Defending NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse champion Virginia garnered 12 of 18 first-place votes in the USILA preseason coaches poll and will start the season in the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2012. The USILA released preseason rankings for all three divisions Tuesday, listed below.
Penn State, which earned top billing in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Preseason Top 20, is No. 2 in the coaches poll, with four first-place votes. Yale grabbed the remaining two first-place votes and is No. 3. Maryland and Duke round out the top five.
None of the three polls were unanimous.
In Division II, Limestone received 15 of 22 first-place votes to take the top spot, followed by Le Moyne (six first-place votes) and Adelphi (one).
In Division III, the dissent was such that Salisbury won the No. 1 ranking with fewer first-place votes (three) than defending NCAA champion Cabrini (nine) and Nike/US Lacrosse preseason No. 1 Williams (six).
Amherst, which had two first-place votes, is No. 2, followed by Cabrini, Williams and RIT.