Penn State Men’s Lacrosse Ranked No. 1 in Preseason Poll

Penn State men’s lacrosse checked in at No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse preseason top 20 poll, which was released Tuesday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions rose to the top of the rankings after leading the country with 17.94 goals per game in 2019, earning them the No. 1 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Penn State went all the way to the tournament’s final four at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia before falling to Yale 21-17 in the semifinals.

Penn State largely took the top spot thanks to returning the majority of its talented roster, which is headed by Grant Ament, who recorded an NCAA-record 96 assists in 2019, and Mac O’Keefe, who tallied 78 goals last season.

Also included in the poll is defending NCAA champion Virginia, which is ranked No. 2. Yale, Maryland, and Duke round out the poll’s top five in that order.

Penn State will likely begin its 2020 season in the coming weeks, but its upcoming schedule hasn’t been released yet. Last season, the Nittany Lions began their season with two scrimmages in late January before opening the season just a few days into February.