The MCLA preseason coaches polls are officially here and there certainly is a lot to take in. Many familiar faces remain towards the top of the polls while some underdogs from last season have snuck into the Top 25.
2022 New Balance MCLA Preseason Division I Poll
ATLANTA – Entering the season with the second-most titles in MCLA history, Brigham Young has been voted the favorite in the 2022 New Balance Division I Coaches Poll, which was released on Wednesday.
The Cougars, who took home the eight-team “MCLA Invitational” last spring, grabbed 18 of the 25 total first-place votes cast in the poll, pushing them well clear of the second-place squad. BYU will open the season on Feb. 10 at Boise State.
Georgia Tech sits in the second chair brandishing a pair of first-place votes. No 3 Chapman also touts two top rankings, keeping them ahead of fourth-ranked Liberty.
California was just three points back of Liberty, sporting two first-place votes. Cal’s Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL) rival Cal Poly was slotted sixth.
Defending national champion South Carolina sits at No. 7 while Colorado, Clemson and New Hampshire round out the Top 10.
The Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) led the way with five ranked squads in the preseason poll followed by the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) and SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) with four teams. The WCLL, Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (ALC) and Continental Lacrosse Conference (CLC) had three selections each. The Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) had two selections while the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) had one.
1. Brigham Young (605)
2. Georgia Tech (568)
3. Chapman (531)
4. Liberty (515)
5. California (512)
6. Cal Poly (493)
7. South Carolina (478)
8. Colorado (417)
9. Clemson (365)
10. New Hampshire (360)
11. Concordia-Irvine (349)
12. Boston College (330)
13. Florida State (261)
14. Virginia Tech (253)
15. Utah Valley (250)
16. Michigan State (227)
17. Arizona (181)
18. Santa Clara (144)
19. USC (138)
20. Oregon (128)
21. Florida (114)
22t. Colorado State (110)
22t. Minnesota (110)
24. Grand Canyon (101)
25. Connecticut (83)
Others receiving votes:
Dominican (77), Arizona State (74), Texas A&M (52), Georgia (46), Southern Methodist (37), Buffalo (33), Washington (30), Texas (24), NC State (22), Auburn (20), Purdue (14), Texas Christian (13), Central Florida (11), LSU (9), Washington State (7), Indiana (5), San Diego State (5), Simon Fraser (5), UC Santa Barbara (5), Oregon State (4), Stanford (4), Western Michigan (3 ), Northeastern (2)
2022 New Balance MCLA Preseason Division II Poll
ATLANTA – St. Thomas owns the most championships in Division II history, including the last title in 2019, and the Tommies have been installed as the favorite this spring according to the 2022 New Balance MCLA Division II Preseason Coaches Poll.
St. Thomas, which has raised the trophy six times, booked 12 of the 22 first-place votes cast, pushing them nearly 60 points clear of the field. The Tommies are scheduled to start the 2022 campaign with a crosstown road game against Minnesota on Feb. 4.
Checking in at No. 2 is St. Thomas’ Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) rival Dayton. The Flyers grabbed one first-place vote – one of eight teams that garnered at least one top ranking.
Kennesaw State is projected as the third team heading into the ’22 campaign bolstered by a first-place vote, but the Owls are quickly followed by UMLC powers Minn.-Duluth (three first-place votes), Grand valley State (2) and North Dakota State (1).
Montana, Missouri State (1), Montana State and Northern Arizona round out the Top 10. Rhode Island, which checks in at No. 13, was the final team snagging a first-place tally.
In total, the UMLC posted all six teams in the poll, followed by the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (4), Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (4), Continental Lacrosse Conference (3), Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (2), Atlantic Lacrosse Conference (2), Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (2), Lone Star Alliance (1) and the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (1).
1. St. Thomas (503)
2. Dayton (444)
3. Kennesaw State (432)
4. Minn.-Duluth (4130
5. Grand Valley State (407)
6. North Dakota State (382)
7. Montana (375)
8. Missouri State (339)
9. Montana State (323)
10. Northern Arizona (321)
11. College of Idaho (307)
12. St. John’s (296)
13. Rhode Island (282)
14. UC Davis (270)
15. Florida Gulf Coast (254)
16. Florida Atlantic (203)
17. Utah State (202)
18. UC San Diego (141)
19. Bridgewater State (136)
20. Loyola Marymount (122)
21. Cal State San Marcos (93)
22. North Florida (88)
23. Wake Forest (82)
24. UNC-Charlotte (78)
25. Central Conn. State (77)
Others receiving votes:
Sierra Nevada (76), MSU-Denver (46), Rice (46), Utah (39), Texas A&M D-II (36), San Diego (35), Colorado Denver (31), Appalachian State (26), Tulane (24), Colorado Mines (24), Georgia Southern (20), Elon (17), Northwest Nazarene (17), Saint Mary’s (17), Coastal Carolina (12), Maine (12), Miami (11), Oklahoma State (11), Baylor (10), Biola (10), Western Oregon (10), Stonehill (9), Wyoming (9), Air Force Academy (5), Cal State Fullerton (5), Claremont (4), UC Santa Cruz (4), Chico State (3), Idaho (3), Western Washington (3), UT-San Antonio (2), Washington (Mo.) (2), Dallas Baptist (1)
