FOREST, Va. --- Four teams collected more than 90 points with the University of the Lynchburg topping the chart following a vote of the league's head coaches towards the 2023 ODAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The Hornets secured 10 first place votes to power the defending league champs to 120 markers atop the 12-team table.

Washington and Lee University garnered the remaining top nods on the way to 109 total tallies. Roanoke College sits third with 98 points, while Hampden-Sydney College cracked the 90-point plateau with 96 markers.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and get a feel for what to expect for the upcoming men's lacrosse campaign.

2022 ODAC TOURNAMENT | BRACKET

• Lynchburg and Hampden-Sydney squared off for the ODAC title, their first championship meeting since H-SC lifted the ODAC trophy in 2017.
• Lynchburg, playing as the #2 seed, earned a 17-9 victory over third-seeded Roanoke in the semifinals to reach the tournament's final game eighth straight time (2014 season).
• Hampden-Sydney, seeded fifth in the seven-team field, posted a pair of upset victories starting with a 12-10 triumph at #4 Randolph-Macon in the quarterfinals followed by an 8-7 overtime win at top-seeded Washington and Lee on Bobby Clagett's extra-time winner.
• In the title game at W&L, the Hornets and Tigers locked in a tight contest through the first 30 minutes with Lynchburg taking a 5-3 lead to the intermission; the second half was a different story with Lynchburg outscoring H-SC, 13-4, on the way to an 18-7 victory.
• The win marked the Hornets second straight and ninth overall ODAC men's lacrosse title.

2022 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT

• The ODAC's top-three seeds participated in the NCAA Tournament with automatic qualifier Lynchburg joined by at-large picks Roanoke and Washington and Lee; each earned byes into the second round
• Lynchburg, playing at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., met Western New England in its opening contest; WNE posted a 14-10 result to abruptly end Lynchburg's stay in the field.
• Roanoke and Washington and Lee saw their seasons end in the second round as well, both by 14-8 scorelines; Roanoke, playing at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., fell to Gettysburg College; W&L, competing at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md., dropped its NCAA outing to Cabrini University.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING NATIONALLY ENTERING 2023

• USILA/Dynamic Men's Coaches Division III Preseason Poll: Lynchburg and Washington and Lee both feature inside the USILA/Dynamic Top-20 poll; Lynchburg is tied with Wesleyan (Conn.) for 11th with W&L sitting 19th ahead of Ursinus College; Hampden-Sydney (20) and Roanoke (8) both received votes towards the ranking; defending champs RIT lead the poll with 18-of-19 first place votes.
• USILA/Dynamic Preseason All-Americans: three ODAC stars earned USILA/Dynamic Preseason All-America status; H-SC defenseman Nick Morgan and Lynchburg middie Riley Mitchell collected First Team distinction, while W&L defenseman Harris Hubbard was tabbed to the Second Team.
• Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Preseason Top-20: the same 14 comprise the ODAC's contingent in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Top-20 poll, but all four sit 19th or better; Lynchburg is slotted eighth in the country, while Hampden-Sydney chimes in 14th; Washington and Lee holds the #17 post, while Roanoke opens 19th in Division III; reigning champs RIT again tops this survey.
• USA Lacrosse Magazine Division III Men's Preseason All-Americans: eight ODAC standouts dot the USA Lacrosse Magazine's list of preseason All-Americans; Lynchburg middie Riley Mitchell is again a first team selection; Roanoke attackman Luke Kammerman is joined by W&L middie Henry Holliday and defenseman Harris Hubbard and H-SC defenseman Nick Morgan on the second team; Lynchburg midfielder Dylan Wolfe and long-stick middfielder Chris Darminio appear on the third team; H-SC defenseman Conor Kilfeather, last year's ODAC Rookie of the Year, earned honorable mention status.

WELCOME TO THE ODAC!

• Averett University became the 15th full-time member of the ODAC on July 1 and begin its first season of ODAC men's lacrosse this spring; the Cougars previously played out of the USA South Athletic Conference.
• Head coach Tony Mackin, in his seventh year at Averett, became the program's first head coach in 2016.
• The Cougar's top returning scorer is Connor Taff, who posted 34 points on 23 goals and 11 assists.

RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each category from the 2021 spring season.
Save Pct./GAA Minimums | 33% of team goalkeeper minutes played

• Points | 111 - Luke Kammerman (RC); 81 - Connor McLean (BC); 76 - Chris Martel (BC)
• Goals | 66 - Chris Martel (BC); 54 - Wyatt Whitlow (RC); 52 - Luke Kammerman (RC)
• Assists | 59 - Luke Kammerman (RC); 42 - Connor McLean (BC); 35 - Jack Smith (R-MC)
• Face-Offs Won | 249-of-421 - Michael Kraus (LYN); 222-of-357 - Gabriel Alexander (BC); 200-of-382 - Jax Atkins (GC)
• Ground Balls | 157 - Gabriel Alexander (BC); 121 - Michael Kraus (LYN); 87 - Chris Darminio (LYN)
• Caused Turnovers | 30 - Wyatt Dwyer (GC); 27 - Robert Harvey (SU); 25 - Chris Darminio (LYN)
• GK Minutes Played | 1043:33 - Taylor Lewis (RC); 972:50 - Mark Isabelle (SU); 972:06 - Will Perry (H-SC)
• GK Saves | 237 - Mark Isabelle (SU); 231 - Taylor Lewis (RC); 217 - Will Perry (H-SC)
• Save Pct. | .565 - Will Perry (H-SC); .547 - Mark Isabelle (SU); .540 - Tyler Hadley (LYN)
• Goals Against Avg. | 8.75 - Tyler Hadley (LYN); 10.31 - Will Perry (H-SC); 10.99 - Patrick Moore (LYN)

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT | 2022 ALL-ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE AWARDS
The 2023 season features 25-of-48 All-ODAC honorees from the 2022 spring campaign, including 7-of-16 members of last year's All-ODAC First Team. Reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Steve Koudelka features a roster led by six All-ODAC returners, while last year's ODAC Rookie of the Year, Conor Kilfeather, is joined by four all-league teammates from Hampden-Sydney. Roanoke heads the list of returners with 7-of-8 All-ODAC honorees back in Salem.

   ATTACKMEN (7)

• Luke Kammerman, RC -- All-ODAC First Team
• Chris Martel, BC -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Ray O'Brien, H-SC -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Connor McLean, BC -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Jack Smith, R-MC -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Luca Docking, RC -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Wyatt Whitlow, RC -- All-ODAC Third Team

   MIDFIELDERS (5)

• Riley Mitchell, LYN -- All-ODAC First Team
• Dylan Wolfe, LYN -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Henry Holliday, W&L -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Ethan Caldwell, RC -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Logan Clingerman, SU -- All-ODAC Third Team

   DEFENSEMEN (6)

• Nick Morgan, H-SC -- All-ODAC First Team
• Dom Zingo, LYN -- All-ODAC First Team
• Harris Hubbard, W&L -- All-ODAC First Team
• Henri Marindin, LYN -- All-ODAC Second Team
• RT Williamson, RC -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Jack Fechter, H-SC -- All-ODAC Third Team

   SPECIALISTS (5)

• Matt Gallagher, W&L -- All-ODAC First Team at face-off
• Chris Darminio, LYN -- All-ODAC First Team at long-stick
• Michael Kraus, LYN -- All-ODAC Second Team at face-off
• Gabriel Alexander, BC -- All-ODAC Third Team at face-off
• John Dias, RC -- All-ODAC Third Team at long-stick

   GOALKEEPERS (2)

• Will Perry, H-SC -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Taylor Lewis, RC -- All-ODAC Third Team

ODAC HEAD COACHES
Some of the best coaches in the business lead ODAC teams in all sports. Below we take a look at the career records and tenures for the league's men's lacrosse coaches entering the 2023 campaign.

• Mic Grant (BC) -- Overall: 111-103 (.519) in 14 years | at BC: 70-79 (.470) in 10 years
• Zach Louie (FC) -- First Season
• Mark Frey (GC) -- Overall: 57-76 (.429) in 8 years | at GC: 5-10 (.333) in 1 year
• Jason Rostan (HSC) -- Overall: 71-29 (.710) in 6 years | at H-SC: 71-29 (.710) in 6 years
  • 1x ODAC COY (2017)
• Steve Koudelka (LYN) -- Overall: 322-138 (.700) in 26 years | at LYN: 322-138 (.700) in 26 years
  • 7x ODAC COY (2003, 05, 11-12, 18, 21-22)
• Andy Sinclair (RAND) -- Overall: 39-128 (.234) in 11 years | at RAND: 39-128 (.234) in 11 years
• J.B. Sheridan (RMC) -- Overall: 101-94 (.518) in 12 years | at R-MC: 101-94 (.518) in 12 years
• Bill Pilat (RC) -- Overall: 375-167 (.692) in 34 years | at RC: 375-167 (.692) in 34 years
  • 11x ODAC COY (1990, 92-93, 96-97, 2005-07, 10, 13-14)
• Tim Marshall (SU) -- Overall: 61-89 (.407) in 10 years | at SU: 55-80 (.407) in 9 years
• J.P. Stewart (VWU) -- Overall: 139-155 (.473) in 20 years | at VWU: 139-155 (.473) in 20 years
• Gene McCabe (W&L) -- Overall: 240-112 (.682) in 21 years | at W&L: 186-94 (.664) in 16 years
  • 2x ODAC COY (2009, 19)

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• For the first time, ODAC schools will play a nine-game unbalanced league schedule as part of a potential 18-game maximum full slate.
• The first regular season games are set for the weekend of February 10-12 with first conference game featuring Ferrum at Lynchburg on Saturday, February 11.
• The 2023 ODAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament features seven teams and will be competed over four rounds
  • First Round: Sunday, April 30 at #6 Seed
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, May 2 at #3-4 Seeds
  • Semifinals: Thursday, May 4 at #1-2 Seeds
  • Championship: Saturday, May 6 at #1 Seed
• The selections for the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament will be determined on Sunday, May 7.

Listed below is the 2023 ODAC Men's Lacrosse Coaches Poll. For more information on ODAC men's lacrosse, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2023 ODAC MEN'S LACROSSE COACHES POLL