LANCASTER, Pa. – Gettysburg narrowly edged defending champion Dickinson atop the 2023 Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. In a vote among the nine CC head coaches, the Bullets earned the top spot with five first-place votes and 61 points. The Red Devils secured the four remaining first-place tallies and totaled 60 points. 

Muhlenberg finished third in the voting with 49 points, followed by Franklin & Marshall (40) and Ursinus (39) as projected playoff teams in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Swarthmore was predicted to finish sixth with 29 points, with Haverford (19) and Washington College (19) tied for seventh and McDaniel (8) rounding out thee poll.

The 2023 season begins Saturday, Feb. 18 with eight of the nine CC teams in action. Conference play will open on Saturday, March 25 and continue through the end of April. The newly-expanded five-team CC Tournament will begin with the first round on Tuesday, May with the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed. The semifinals will take place at the top two seeds on Friday, May 5, with the highest remaining seed hosting the championship on Sunday, May 7. 

2023 Schedule | 2022 Results | 2022 Statistical Leaders | 2022 All-Centennial Team 

Dickinson captured its fifth Centennial Conference men's lacrosse title in 2022, posting a perfect 8-0 mark in the conference regular season before defeating Gettysburg 9-8 in overtime in an instant classic championship game.

The Red Devils and Bullets both went on to represent the CC in the NCAA Tournament and met in the third round, with Gettysburg avenging its championship-game loss with a 17-7 triumph. The Bullets then fell to eventual national runner-up Union 14-13 in the quarterfinals. 

Ten All-Americans are back on the field this spring, including one two-time honoree - Muhlenberg's James Dalimonte (2022 & 2019 USILA honorable mention). Joining Dalimonte on the All-America honorable mention list from 2022 were Dickinson's Skyler Schluter, Matt Thurston, Will Farrell and Chris Brandau, Gettysburg's Zack Puckhaber, Muhlenberg's Matthew Regan, and Ursinus' Tyler Neal. 

Muhlenberg's Ethan Grossman and F&M's Eric Mueller were USILA All-America honorable mention picks in 2021. 

Dickinson welcomes back a conference-leading eight All-CC performers this spring - Schluter (2022 first team), Thurston (2022 first team & Rookie of the Year), Farrell (2022 first team & 2021 second team), Brandau (2022 first team), John McKee (2022 first team), James Isaacson (2022 second team), Sam Campbell (2022 honorable mention), and Capp Reynolds (2022 honorable mention). 

Gettysburg has the next-most All-CC returners with six - Puckhaber (2022 first team), George Raymond (2022 second team), Andy Marquet (2022 second team), Kieran Ward (2022 honorable mention & 2021 second team), Michael Zima (2022 honorable mention), and Kyle Howard (2021 first team). 

Muhlenberg brings back five players with all-conference experience and 2021 Rookie of the Year Wyatt Malia. Grossman is a four-time All-Centennial honoree (2021 first team & honorable mention in 2018, 2019, 2022). Dalimonte has earned two all-star spots (2022 first team & 2019 first team), as has Max May (2022 second team & 2021 second team). Other Mules who have received all-conference honors include Regan (2022 first team) and Jack Kraemer (2021 honorable mention). 

Swarthmore, F&M and Ursinus each have multiple All-CC players back this spring. Swarthmore's trio of Von Mabbs (2022 first team), Carter Strauch (2022 second team) and Alex Strauch (2022 honorable mention) return for the Garnet. F&M brings back Kyle Craig (2022 second team) and Mueller (2021 first team), while Neal (2022 first team & 2021 second team) and Chase Rondeau are back for Ursinus. Haverford's Teddy Carlin (2022 honorable mention) and Washington College's Ewan Temple (2022 honorable mention) represent their squads as returning all-conference performers this spring. 

The Centennial was well-represented on the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America list, with five players named to the second, third and fourth teams and 14 recognized as honorable mentions. Dickinson's Farrell and Brandau lead the list as project second-teamers. 

Gettysburg (8) and Dickinson (9) are ranked in the USILA Preseason Poll, with Ursinus, F&M and Muhlenberg each receiving votes. 

2023 Centennial Conference Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll