NEW YORK – Six-time regular-season champion Denver was picked first in the 2021 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Georgetown grad student Jake Carraway was named Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while senior teammate Gibson Smith was chosen as the Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year.
Denver, the coaches’ unanimous preseason favorite, received five first-place votes and 25 points. With 21 points, Georgetown was selected second in the poll and received the remaining first-place vote. Denver was 4-2 in 2020 when the season was cut short, suffering losses to Duke and North Carolina. Georgetown was undefeated through six games of the condensed slate. Georgetown was ranked No. 9 and Denver was No. 10 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll at the season’s end in 2020.
Villanova was picked to finish third with 17 points, with Providence close behind with 13. The Wildcats were 6-2 in 2020 and were ranked No. 15 by the USILA. The Friars closed out 5-1.
Rounding out the poll were Marquette (nine points) and St. John’s (five points).
Along with the preseason coaches’ poll and awards, the BIG EAST also released the coaches’ picks for the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Coaches were not permitted to vote for themselves or their players.
For the second year in a row, Smith was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Despite the shortened season last spring, Smith earned Inside Lacrosse First Team All-America honors, collecting 25 ground balls and causing seven turnovers. He helped lead a Hoya defense that ranked fourth nationally in ground balls per game (41.17). Earlier this month, Gibson was announced as a USILA Preseason First Team All-American, the lone honoree from the BIG EAST. As a sophomore in 2019, Smith helped the Hoyas to their second-straight BIG EAST Championship title. He was an All-BIG EAST First Team selection as a close defender. Smith hauled in 106 ground balls to go with 34 caused turnovers. As a freshman in 2018, Smith, a Pelham, N.Y. native, received All-BIG EAST Second Team accolades.
Carraway started all six games in a shortened season for Georgetown in 2020, leading the Hoyas with 34 points (23 goals, 11 assists). Before the season ended, Carraway had been named BIG EAST Attack Player of the Week for three-straight weeks. He had led all BIG EAST players in points per game (5.67) and goals per game (3.83). Going into the 2021 season, Carraway has 144 career goals. The Annapolis, Md., native helped lead a Georgetown offense that ranked first in the NCAA in scoring margin (10.17) and second in man-up offense (.692). Carraway earned honorable mention as a preseason USILA All-American.
Smith and Carraway were unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Additionally, Denver’s Ethan Walker (attack), Jack Hannah (midfield) and Colin Squires (defense); Georgetown’s Alex Mazzone (long-stick midfielder) and Villanova’s Matt Campbell (midfield) and Patrick Kennedy (defense) were also unanimous.
The full list of the preseason All-BIG EAST team is listed below.
Preseason BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes in ( )
1. Denver (5) 25 pts.
2. Georgetown (1) 21
3. Villanova 17
4. Providence 13
5. Marquette 9
6. St. John's 5
Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Jake Carraway, Georgetown, Grad., A
Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, Sr., D
Preseason All-BIG EAST *
Owen McElroy, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Ethan Walker, Denver, Grad., A ^
Jackson Morrill, Denver, Grad., A
Jake Carraway, Georgetown, Grad., A ^
Jack Hannah, Denver, Sr., M ^
Tim Hinrichs, Providence, Grad., M
Mike Madsen, St. John's, Grad., M
Matt Campbell, Villanova, Jr., M ^
Colin Squires, Denver, Grad, D ^
Gibson Smith, Georgetown, Sr., D ^
Patrick Kennedy, Villanova, RS-Sr., D ^
Danny Logan, Denver, Grad., SSDM ^
Alex Mazzone, Georgetown, Jr., LSM ^
James Reilly, Georgetown, Jr., FOS
^ denotes unanimous selection
* There is an extra member on the preseason all-conference team due to a tie in voting