BOSTON — Vermont men's lacrosse was picked to finish third in the 2026 America East Preseason Poll with 24 points. The league also announced its Preseason All-Conference Team, which includes three Catamounts.
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The defending America East champions, UAlbany, earned the top spot in the preseason poll with six first-place votes and 36 points. Conference runner-up Bryant received one first-place vote and totaled 29 points. Vermont placed third with 24 points, followed by UMBC in fourth with 22 to complete the top four.
Ryker Demarest earned a preseason all-conference selection after being nominated to the America East All-Conference Second Team at the conclusion of last season. Demarest tallied four points on four goals last season. He finished the season with 14 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers.
Walter Zhao earned preseason honors after recording a game-winning goal and an assist for two points last season. He also totaled 38 ground balls and two caused turnovers, while finishing 55-of-79 on faceoffs (69.6%).
After earning America East All-Conference First Team honors the past two seasons, Jack Combs is the final Catamount to receive preseason honors following last season, where he scored four goals and tallied two assists for six points. He corralled 55 ground balls and had 24 caused turnovers.
2026 America East Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
|
Pl.
|
School
|
Pts. (1st)
|
|
1.
|
UAlbany
|
36 (6)
|
|
2.
|
Bryant
|
29 (1)
|
|
3.
|
Vermont
|
24
|
|
4.
|
UMBC
|
22
|
|
5.
|
Binghamton
|
19
|
|
6.
|
UMass Lowell
|
9
|
|
7.
|
NJIT
|
8
|
2026 America East Men's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference
|
A
|
Ryan Doherty (UAlbany)
|
|
A
|
Silas Richmond (UAlbany)
|
|
A
|
Dawson Rielly (Bryant)
|
|
M
|
Andrew Girolamo (Binghamton)
|
|
M
|
Daniel Kesselring (UAlbany)
|
|
M
|
Jackson Palumb (UAlbany)
|
|
D
|
Ryker Demarest (Vermont)
|
|
D
|
Dante Marinello (UMBC)
|
|
D
|
Luke Mead (Bryant)
|
|
D
|
Max Neeson (UAlbany)
|
|
FO
|
Walter Zhao (Vermont)
|
|
LSM
|
Jack Combs (Vermont)
|
|
SSDM
|
Matthew Rincon (Binghamton)
|
|
GK
|
Connor McMahon (UMBC)
|
Vermont opens the 2026 regular season on Friday, Feb. 13, with a road game against Queens in North Carolina.
For news and updates about the Vermont men's lacrosse program, follow @UVMMLAX on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
The Farmer Companies is the presenting sponsor of Vermont men's lacrosse
