BOSTON – Bryant took home the 2023 #AEMLAX Championship and the Bulldogs have been selected first in the 2024 #AEMLAX Preseason Poll, in a vote of the league’s coaches, as announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Bryant earned five first place votes and 47 total points to capture the top spot in the poll. 2023 regular-eeason champion Vermont was selected second with 39 points and one first place vote. 2023 #AEMLAX runner-pp UAlbany earned two first place votes and 38 points, while Binghamton was fourth with 33 points. UMBC (28), Merrimack (16), NJIT (16) and UMass Lowell (7) rounded out the poll.
2024 Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll
| School |
Points (1st) |
| 1. Bryant |
47 (5) |
| 2. Vermont |
39 (1) |
| 3. UAlbany |
38 (2) |
| 4. Binghamton |
33 |
| 5. UMBC |
28 |
| T6. Merrimack |
16 |
| T6. NJIT |
16 |
| 8. UMass Lowell |
7 |
What to Watch For:
- Bryant boasts a veteran-laden squad with a combined 24 redshirt juniors, seniors and graduate students in 2024. The Bulldogs bring back their top five scorers from a season ago, including #AEMLAX Rookie of the Year Johnny Hackett and fellow first-team All-Conference selection Kevin Groeninger.
- The Catamounts retained three of their top four scorers from2023, highlighted by Brock Haley. First-Team All-Conference midfielder Patrick Murphy is also back with the team.
- UAlbany All-America selection Jake Piseno returns after being named All-World for Team Haudenosaunee at the 2023 World Championships and the #AEMLAX Defensive Player of the Year. The Great Danes will also have their top two scorers from last season as well.
- #AEMLAX Goalkeeper of the Year Connor Winters looks to anchor the Binghamton defense once again, while leading scorer Matthew Keegan returns
- UMBC senior Ethan Robinson was first-team all-conference a year ago for the fifth best scoring defense in the nation.
The season gets underway on Saturday, January 3 with four games on the schedule. Vermont travels to top-10 Syracuse, while Merrimack hosts Bucknell. NJIT plays at St. John’s while UMass Lowell battles Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. Six more games take place the following Saturday, with Binghamton and Bryant opening up their seasons on the road. Complete 2024 #AEMLAX Schedule.
The top four teams in the conference standings will qualify for the 2024 America East Men’s Lacrosse Championship, which will be held at tournament's No. 1 seed. The semifinals take place on May 2 and the championship tilt on May 4. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, where #AEMLAX teams have combined to win 16 games all time, including UAlbany advancing to Championship Weekend in 2018.
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEMLAX contest this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
– Building the Complete Student-Athlete -