The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has announced the results of their 2026 Men's Lacrosse Pre-Season Coaches Poll with the Chestnut Hill College Griffins picked to finish third. Voting is done by the leagues nine coaches.
The Griffins finished the 2025 season with a 6-2 conference record and a 7-6 overall mark, losing narrowly losing in the conference semi-finals to Georgian Court University 13-12 in overtime. Chestnut Hill had captured the conference championship in each of the previous four seasons.
Georgian Court went on to win the conference championship and was narrowly picked to finish first in this year's poll, garnering five first place votes and 61 points. Wilmington, the 2025 CACC regular season champion and tournament runner up received the remaining four first place votes and finished with 60 points, one behind the Lions.
The Griffins finished third with 43 points, four points ahead of fourth place University of Bridgeport (39). Holy Family University and Post University tied for the No. 5 slot, each receiving 36 points. Rounding out the coaches' choices were Dominican University New York (7th, 24 points), Felician University (8th, 16), and Caldwell University (9th, 9).
The regular season begins on February 7, when Holy Family travels to American International College. All league teams are scheduled to open their campaigns by February 22, with Wilmington and Caldwell beginning conference play on Wednesday, February 25.
Head Coach Jim DeCarlo begins his fourth season at the helm of the Chestnut Hill Men's lacrosse program. The Griffins open the seasson on February 21, 2026 with a game at Seton Hill University. The team begins conference play with their home opener on March 7 vs. the University of Bridgeport.
At season's end, the top five teams in the standings will reach the CACC Championship tournament. The No.5 seed will travel to the No. 4 seed in opening-round action on Saturday, April 25. The semifinals will be held on Wednesday, April 29, at campus sites, and Wilmington will host the championship final on Saturday, May 2, at its athletics complex in Newark, Del. The CACC champion will automatically qualify for the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship.
2026 CACC MEN'S LACROSSE PRESEASON COACHES POLL
(First-place votes in parentheses)
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Georgian Court University (5)
|
61
|
|
2.
|
Wilmington University (4)
|
60
|
|
3.
|
Chestnut Hill College
|
43
|
|
4.
|
University of Bridgeport
|
39
|
|
5.
|
Holy Family University
|
36
|
|
|
Post University
|
36
|
|
7.
|
Dominican University New York
|
24
|
|
8.
|
Felician University
|
16
|
|
9.
|
Caldwell University
|
9
|
