NEW YORK  –  Six-time regular-season champion Denver was picked first in the 2020 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse preseason poll.  Pioneer senior attackman Ethan Walker earned preseason nods as Offensive Player of the Year while Georgetown junior Gibson Smith was the unanimous favorite for preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Villanova was selected second in the preseason poll with 22 points. The Wildcats also earned two first-place votes. Georgetown, the 2019 and 2018 BIG EAST tournament champions was picked third with 17 points. Providence (13 points), Marquette (nine points) and St. John’s (five points) rounded out the poll.
 
Along with the preseason coaches’ poll and awards, the BIG EAST also released the coaches’ picks for the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.   Six of preseason honorees return to the field from the 2019 All-BIG EAST First Team. The remaining were members of the BIG EAST Second Team.
 
Walker is a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree at attack. He led the Pioneers last season with 52 points on a team-high 39 goals and 13 assists. He tallied six hat tricks, while also picking up 30 ground had 2balls and forced seven turnovers. Walker, a senior from Peterborough, Ontario was a USILA All-America Honorable Mention in 2019. Walker was also chosen unanimously the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2017.
 
Smith helped the Hoyas to their second-straight BIG EAST Championship title as a sophomore in 2019. An All-BIG EAST First Team selection as a close defender, he also earned national honors as an Inside Lacrosse Third Team Media All-American and honorable mention from the USILA. Smith hauled in 106 ground balls to go with 34 caused turnovers. Smith’s 106 ground balls are the third most in a single season at Georgetown and the most for a non-faceoff specialist in school history. The Pelham, N.Y., native added two goals on the year. He was an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree in 2018.
 
In addition to Walker, Denver’s first-place pick was bolstered by preseason all-conference selections of senior defender Colin Squires, senior short-stick d-mid Danny Logan and sophomore face-off specialist Brett Boos. Logan and Boos earned first team accolades in 2019. Squires was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Boos was the 2019 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Denver went 10-5 last season, 4-1 in league play. The Pioneers were the 2019 championship runners-up.
 
Villanova also had four players selected to the preseason all-conference team. Senior midfielder Connor Kirst, the reigning BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and two-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection returns after scoring 31 goals with 19 assists last season. Sophomore Will Vitton was chosen as the preseason all-league goalie, after a freshman campaign that earned him all-league second team accolades. Junior attacker Keegan Khan and redshirt junior defender Patrick Kennedy also join the preseason squad after being selected to the second team in 2019. The Wildcats went 8-7 last season, 3-2 in BIG EAST play.
 
Senior attackman Jake Carraway joined Georgetown teammate Gibson Smith on the preseason all-league team. A 2019 All-BIG EAST First Team honoree, Carraway had 88 points last season on 57 goals and 31 assists as Georgetown went 13-5 overall, 3-2 in BIG EAST action.
 
Rounding out the 2020 All-BIG EAST Preseason squad was Providence senior midfielder Tim Hinrichs and St. John’s senior midfielder Mike Madsen. Both Hinrichs and Madsen were All-BIG EAST Second Team honorees from last season. Hinrichs had 13 goals with 16 assists last season. Madsen had 25 goals, 22 assists, leading the Red Storm in points. The Friars went 7-9 in 2019, 3-2 in the league. St. John’s went 4-10, 0-5 in the BIG EAST.
 
Marquette finished 6-8 last season, 2-3 in BIG EAST play.
 
BIG EAST men’s lacrosse action starts Saturday, Feb. 1 with Marquette at Cleveland State and Providence at Boston University. All six teams will be in action the following Saturday, Feb. 8. Providence will host the BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep with the semifinals on April 30 and the final on May 2.
 
Follow all the action for BIG EAST men’s lacrosse this season with the hashtag #BIGEASTmlax.
 
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Ethan Walker, Denver, Sr., A
 
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, Jr., D ^
 
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Will Vitton, Villanova, So., GK ^
Ethan Walker, Denver, Sr., A ^
Jake Carraway, Georgetown, Sr., A ^
Keegan Khan, Villanova, Jr., A ^
Tim Hinrichs, Providence, Sr., M
Mike Madsen, St. John’s, Sr., M
Connor Kirst, Villanova, Sr., M ^
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, Jr., D ^
Patrick Kennedy, Villanova, RS-Jr., D ^
Colin Squires, Denver, Sr., D ^
Danny Logan, Denver, Sr., SSDM ^
Brett Boos, Denver, So., FOS ^
 
^ - denotes unanimous selection­­­­
 
2020 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First place votes in ( )

	Pts.
1. Denver (4)	24
2. Villanova (2)	22
3. Georgetown	17
4. Providence	13
5. Marquette	9
6. St. John’s	5