WESTWOOD, Mass. – With seven first place votes, defending NEWMAC champions Babson College has been voted to defend their title in the 2024 NEWMAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll. Head coach
Rocky Batty enters his sixth season, and will return five starters from a year ago, including four all-conference performers.
Brendan Maher and
Sammy Kalishman return after earning first-team All-NEWMAC accolades last season, while
Bennett Smith and
Grey Sutherland each earned second-team honors.
MIT nabbed the remaining first place vote to take second place after a season in which they reached their second-straight NEWMAC Championship appearance. Led by head coach
Tyler O’Keefe, who enters his seventh season, MIT returns All-American
Matthew Sardis, as well as the 2023 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year in
Zach Bleil. All-Conference selections
Heath Nilsen and
Luke Chapman also return to the field.
Springfield College claims third place in the poll, with Keith Bugbee entering his 41
st season at the helm for the Pride.
Gavin Carzello returns for the Pride after earning second team all-conference recognition last season. Carzello
received national attention heading into the 2024 season as he was tabbed to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Men's Division III All-America Teams.
Landing in the fourth spot is U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The Bears are coached by
Ray La Forte and will look to senior
Ian Feeley to make an impact, as the midfielder was the second leading scorer for the Bears in 2023, with 24 goals.
Newcomer to the NEWMAC, Salve Regina University, enters the poll in the fifth spot. Salve Regina is coached by
Patrick Cooney, who is in his 21st season. The Seahawks reached the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship last season, and will return first team all-CCC performer
Daniel Naglieri, who led Salve with 20 assists, and scored 25 goals in 2023.
Sixth place goes to Clark University. Clark enters the 2024 season after making an appearance in NEWMAC postseason play last season. The Cougars will have a veteran squad of 21 returners, while adding 13 first-years to the fold. Among the returners is senior
Jason Tautel who earned a spot on the All-NEWMAC Team as a LSM a season ago. Junior
Matt Wells is also back after netting 20 goals and dishing out 11 assists last year.
Emerson College slides into the seventh-place spot. The Lions enter 2024 under
Matt Colombini, who is entering his 8th season as the Lions head coach. The Lions will lean on senior
Birk Swan as he led the Lions with 74 points in 2023.
Wheaton College rounds out the poll in eighth place. Head Coach
Kyle Hart is in his ninth season as head coach for the Lyons, and will bring back a strong pack of veterans as they look to make a run into the postseason.
The NEWMAC Men’s Lacrosse Champion will be crowned on May 4.
2024 NEWMAC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Babson (7)
2. MIT (1)
3. Springfield
4. Coast Guard
5. Salve Regina
6. Clark
7. Emerson
8. Wheaton
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.