Virginia Men's Lacrosse Earns No. 1 in USA Lacrosse Preseason Rankings

The Cavaliers were named the No. 1 team in the nation in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Preseason Top 20

The Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Preseason Top 20 rankings were released on Monday and the two-time defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers earned the top spot in the rankings. The rankings are determined by staff from the USA Lacrosse Magazine with input from college men's lacrosse coaches. 

Despite losing a few key players of the 2021 National Championship team like Jared Connors, Alex Rode, and Dox Aitken, the Hoos return a loaded roster featuring two of the top attackmen in the country in Connor Shellenberger and Matt Moore as well as faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla and a number of strong defenders. 

Maryland, who lost to Virginia 17-16 in a memorable finish in the 2021 National Championship Game, is ranked No. 2 in the preseason rankings. Four of the five teams in the ACC are ranked in the top six in the country and all five are ranked in the top 15. 

Virginia looks to become the first team to win three NCAA championships in a row since Princeton did it from 1996-1998. 

Here are the full rankings: 

Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Preseason Top 20

1. Virginia

2. Maryland

3. Duke

4. Georgetown

5. Notre Dame

6. North Carolina

7. Loyola

8. Yale

9. Penn

10. Rutgers

11. Lehigh

12. Denver

13. Army

14. Syracuse

15. Johns Hopkins

16. Delaware

17. Drexel

18. Cornell

19. Vermont

20. Bryant

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