LANCASTER, Pa. – Defending champion Franklin & Marshall collected seven of eight possible first-place votes to earn the distinction as preseason favorite in the 2022 Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The Diplomats totaled 63 points to run away with the top spot in a vote among the conference head coaches. 

Gettysburg finished second in the voting with 52 points, followed by Muhlenberg (47) and Ursinus (46) as projected playoff teams in third and fourth, respectively. Dickinson was close behind in fifth place with 42 points. The Mules and Red Devils received the other first-place nods. 

Swarthmore was tabbed sixth with 23 points, with Washington College (22), Haverford (20), and McDaniel (9) rounding out the poll. 

The 2022 season opens up on Saturday, Feb. 19 with six of the nine CC teams competing in non-conference action. All nine CC teams will begin their seasons by Feb. 26. Conference play is set to begin on Saturday, March 26 and continues through the end of May. The four-team CC Tournament will begin with the semifinals on Wednesday, May 4, with the CC championship slated for Saturday, May 7. 

2022 Schedule | 2021 Results | 2021 Statistical Leaders | 2021 All-Centennial Team 

Franklin & Marshall secured its second Centennial Conference men's lacrosse title in 2021, posting a perfect 6-0 conference regular season in a shortened campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Diplomats earned the CC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament via their regular season title, as no conference tournament was contested last spring. In NCAA's, F&M downed John Carroll 16-9 in the opening round before falling to York 13-9 in round two.  

A plethora of talent is back on the field this spring, with 24 players who have received All-Centennial honors returning to the conference. Four All-Americans return - F&M's A.J. Rigsby (Sr., M), Muhlenberg's Ethan Grossman (Gr., A) and James Dalimonte (Jr., M), and Gettysburg's Kyle Howard (Jr., M). Rigsby was a second team pick by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) in 2021, while Grossman and Howard secured honorable mention accolades. Dalimonte was a 2019 honorable mention selection. 

Muhlenberg welcomes back the most All-CC performers of any team, with the two most recent CC Rookies of the Year - Dalimonte (Jr., M) and Wyatt Malia (So., M) - along with Grossman, Matt Marrella (Jr., M), Max May (Jr., GK), Jack Kraemer (Jr., M), Matt Burke (Gr., F/O), and Maxwell Seeber (Sr., LSM). 

F&M, Ursinus, Dickinson and Gettysburg each have multiple all-stars back in the fold this season. Rigsby headlines a group of five all-conference returners for F&M along with Blake Target (Sr., A), Will DeMuth (Sr., M), Spencer Hall (Sr., DM), and Noah Isaacson (Sr., D). Ursinus brings back Tommy Reinhart (Sr., M), Tyler Neal (Jr., A), Joshua Toth (So., LSM), and Ben Goetz (Sr., D). In addition to Howard, Gettysburg has Kieran Ward (Sr., A) and Scott Macmillan (Sr., GK) back as previous CC all-stars. Returning for Dickinson is the trio of Tucker Booth (Sr., M), Will Farrell (Jr., M), and Teddy Macfarlane (Sr., D). Kyle Gittelman (Sr., D) is the lone all-conference player returning for Washington College this spring. 

Six Centennial players were honored on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America list - F&M's Rigsby was selected as a preseason first team selection, F&M's Hall was named to the second team, and Dickinson's Bobby Barroll collected third team recognition. Ursinus' Neal, Muhlenberg's Seeber and Gettysburg's Macmillan were honorable mention picks. 

F&M (8) and Gettysburg (17) are ranked in the USILA Preseason Top20 Poll, while Ursinus, Dickinson, and Muhlenberg are three of 22 teams receiving votes. 

2022 Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll