Maryland Tabbed as Big Ten Men's Lacrosse Preseason Favorite

Maryland has been unanimously voted by the conference coaches as the 2023 Big Ten men’s lacrosse preseason favorite. The Terrapins are followed in the preseason poll by Ohio State in second, Rutgers in third and Johns Hopkins in fourth, with Penn State and Michigan rounding out the poll in fifth and sixth, respectively. All six head coaches voted in the preseason poll and selected three players from their own teams to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List.
 
The Terps capped a perfect 18-0 season with a 9-7 win over Cornell to capture the program’s fourth NCAA title. Maryland set an NCAA record for most wins in a season without a loss in becoming the first undefeated NCAA men's lacrosse champion since 2006 when Virginia finished a 17-0 campaign. 
 
The Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List features 18 standouts from the six schools, including seven 2022 All-Big Ten honorees. Maryland’s Brett Makar and Luke Wierman, Ohio State’s Jack Meyers, and Rutgers’ Ethan Rall and Shane Knobloch were each named first-team All-Big Ten last season, while Johns Hopkins’ Garrett Degnon and 2022 Freshman of the Year Bobby Van Buren from Ohio State were second-team selections.
 
The 2022 Big Ten Men’s Lacrosse Tournament will feature a six-team field with the top two teams from the regular season receiving first-round byes. The quarterfinals will be played on the campuses of the higher seeds on Saturday, April 29. Johns Hopkins will host the semifinals on Thursday, May 4, and the championship game on Saturday, May 6.
 
The 2022 preseason poll and complete Players to Watch List can be found below.
 
2023 BIG TEN MEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
1.            Maryland
2.            Ohio State
3.            Rutgers
4.            Johns Hopkins
5.            Penn State
6.            Michigan
 
2023 BIG TEN MEN’S LACROSSE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Garrett Degnon, Gr., Johns Hopkins
Scott Smith, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Brendan Grimes, Jr., Johns Hopkins
Brett Makar, Gr., Maryland
Logan McNaney, Sr., Maryland
Luke Wierman, Sr., Maryland
Ryan Cohen, So; Michigan
Ryan Schriber, Sr.; Michigan
Justin Brown, Jr., Michigan
Jack Myers, Sr., Ohio State
Marcus Hudgins, Sr., Ohio State
Bobby Van Buren, So., Ohio State
Jack Traynor, Gr., Penn State
TJ Malone, Gr., Penn State
Kevin Parnham, So., Penn State
Ethan Rall, Sr., Rutgers
Ross Scott, Sr., Rutgers
Shane Knobloch, Jr., Rutgers