NEW YORK – Fresh off winning its seventh consecutive BIG EAST Championship title, Georgetown was picked first in the 2026 BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Providence’s senior attacker Richie Joseph was named BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Georgetown’s junior defender Ty Banks was unanimously chosen as the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Georgetown, the coaches’ unanimous preseason favorite, received five first-place votes and 25 points. With 21 points, Villanova was selected second in the poll, followed by Denver with 16 points. Georgetown capped the 2025 campaign 12-5 (4-1 BIG EAST), coming up short in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 2 seed Maryland, 9-6. The Hoyas reached the round following a 16-12 win over No. 7 seed Duke. Villanova finished 8-7 (4-1 BE) a season ago, reaching the league title game against Georgetown. Meanwhile, Denver will look to return to the BIG EAST Championship, following a 7-7 (2-3 BE) season.
A pair of tournament teams a season ago, Marquette and Providence have been selected fourth and fifth, respectively, by the coaches, while St. John’s was selected sixth. Marquette received 12 points, followed by Providence with 11 and St. John’s with five. The Golden Eagles earned the four seed in 2025 after a 7-7 (2-3 BE) campaign. The Friars locked up the No. 3 seed in the 2025 Championship with an overall record of 7-8 (3-2 BE). The Red Storm will look to build upon a 4-11 (0-5) mark a season ago.
Joseph, a 2025 All-BIG EAST First Team member, enters his senior campaign with 122 career points. The attackman has posted 78 goals over the last two seasons and 90 overall, with 41 goals, 12 assists as a sophomore and 37 goals, 11 assists as a junior. Appearing in 44 games over his collegiate career, he is averaging 2.77 points and 2.05 goals per game. Over the last two seasons, Joseph is averaging 3.48 points and 2.69 goals per game in 29 outings since taking on a more prominent role in the offense. Last season, Joseph got off to a blazing start with eight goals in the season opener, and carried momentum throughout the season with five hat tricks. In regular season league play he tallied 13 goals and four assists.
Set to once again anchor the Georgetown back line in his third season, Banks captured 2025 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year accolades and was a unanimous selection on the All-BIG EAST First Team. A 2025 USILA Second Team All-American and USA Lacrosse Magazine Second Team All-American, Banks often drew the opponent's top attackmen a year ago while picking up 45 ground balls and causing 22 turnovers in 17 starts. Banks led a Georgetown defense that finished the season tied for seventh in the country in goals against average at 9.12 goals allowed per game.
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 their players.
Joseph and Banks were unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Additionally, Denver’s Cody Malawsky (attacker); Georgetown’s Anderson Moore (goalkeeper) and Ross Prince (face-off specialist; Marquette’s Nolan Rappis (attacker); and Villanova’s Jake Melchionni (long-stick midfielder) were also unanimous.
The full list of the preseason All-BIG EAST team is listed below.
BIG EAST Preseason Men’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes in ( )
1. Georgetown (5) 25 pts.
2. Villanova (1) 21
3. Denver 16
4. Marquette 12
5. Providence 11
6. St. John’s 5
BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Richie Joseph, A, Sr., Providence
BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Ty Banks, D, Jr., Georgetown ^
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team *
Cody Malawsky, A, R-Jr., Denver ^
Ty Banks, D, Jr., Georgetown ^
Rory Connor, A, Gr., Georgetown
Anderson Moore, GK, Jr., Georgetown ^
Robert Plath, D, So., Georgetown
Ross Prince, FOS, So., Georgetown ^
Jack Ransom, A, So., Georgetown
Peter Detwiler, M, Sr., Marquette
Nolan Rappis, A, Gr., Marquette ^
Rhett Chambers, A, Jr., Providence
Richie Joseph, A, Sr., Providence ^
Adrian Nowak, A, R-Jr., St. John's
Jake Melchionni, LSM, Jr., Villanova ^
Colin Michener, A, Sr., Villanova ^
Jack Shoemaker, D, Sr., Villanova ^
^denotes unanimous selection
*due to a tie, 15 players are on the All-BIG EAST Team