2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse Preview and Players to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse preseason poll has been released. Limestone College enters the season as the favorite to win the Conference Carolinas Men's Lacrosse Championship, according to Conference Carolinas coaches.
1. Limestone College: The Saints earned 50 points on five first-place votes from Conference coaches.
Limestone found itself as the last team standing in the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship field in 2017 after posting a 21-1 overall record and 7-0 Conference Carolinas mark. The Saints also remained a Conference Carolinas powerhouse by winning both the regular season and tournament titles in 2017. The regular season crown was the 11th straight, while the tourney title was the 10th in 11 years.
Limestone lost two of its most decorated men's lacrosse players in All-America selections Kevin Reisman and Colton Watkinson to graduation in 2017, but it returns a pair of All-America picks in Charlie Sheehan and Tyler Gaulton. The duo should keep the Saints winning ways going in Conference Carolinas with little trouble.
Players to Watch:
- *Tyler Gaulton (Sr.) - Defense
- *Charlie Sheehan (Sr.) - Attack
- *Brendan P. Smith (Sr.) - Attack
2. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders enter the season five points behind Limestone, earning 45 points. Belmont Abbey went 12-5 overall and 6-1 in league play last season.
The Abbey enters the season with three All-America picks from 2017 leading the way in Anthony Cesario, Kyle McGinley and Adam Widemann. The trio along with a load of talent returning gives the Crusaders a legitimate chance to knock-off the reigning champs.
Players to Watch:
- *Anthony Cesario (Jr.) - Defense
- *Kyle McGinley (Sr.) - Midfield
- *Adam Widemann (Sr.) - Attack
3. University of Mount Olive: The Trojans enter this season narrowly ranked third with 43 points and one first-place vote. Mount Olive ended last season 11-5 overall and 5-2 in Conference play.
Will Urban, a 2017 All-America selection, is arguably the best goalie returning in Conference Carolinas, which gives UMO a one-two punch on the defensive side of the field with All-Conference Carolinas pick Cole Groebner also returning. All-conference pick Jacob Ball will be back to lead the Trojan offense and hopefully his play can lead them back to the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2018.
Players to Watch:
- *Jacob Ball (Sr.) - Attack
- *Cole Groebner (Sr.) - Defense
- *Will Urban (Sr.) - Goalkeeper
4. North Greenville University: The Crusaders are ranked fourth with 38 points. NGU finished last season 4-3 in league play and 9-9 overall.
North Greenville returns reigning Freshman of the Year Austin Dixon, who partnered with Alex Proly and Braeden Dixon should give the Crusaders an opportunity to make strides againt the top three in this year's preseason poll.
Players to Watch:
- *Austin Dixon (So.) - Attack
- *Braeden Dixon (So.) - Goalkeeper
- *Alex Proly (Jr.) - Midfield
5. Chowan University: The Hawks tallied 33 points and are fifth-place to open 2018. Chowan finished last season by going 1-12 overall and 1-6 in Conference Carolinas play.
Players to Watch:
- Nick Lavoy (Sr.) - Midfield
6. Lees-McRae College: Lees-McRae tallied 31 points and close out the preseason poll in sixth-place. The Bobcats went 5-11 overall in 2017 while posting a 2-5 conference mark.
Players to Watch:
- Cameron Castle (Jr.) - Goalkeeper
- Tanner Jones (Sr.) - Midfield
- *Alec Molander (Jr.) - Attack
*denotes 2017 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2018 Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Limestone (5) |
50 |
| 2. Belmont Abbey |
45 |
| 3. Mount Olive (1) |
43 |
| 4. North Greenville |
38 |
| 5. Chowan |
33 |
| 6. Lees-McRae |
31 |
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, and Southern Wesleyan. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.