MELBOURNE, Fla. – For the sixth consecutive season, Sunshine State Conference coaches select the University of Tampa as the preseason favorite. With 48 points and six first-place votes in the poll, the Spartans are expected to recapture the league championship.

Saint Leo University, the 2018 national runner-up and SSC champion, finishes second in poll voting with 40 points and a first-place vote, while Lynn University comes in a close third following 38 points and the final first-place vote. Florida Tech takes fourth in the ranking with 28 points, edging out Rollins College who sits in fifth after receiving 26 points. Rounding out the preseason ranking are Florida Southern College (23 points), Palm Beach Atlantic University (13 points), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (8 points). 

Last season, Saint Leo ended Tampa’s four-year run as SSC regular season champions. The Spartans, however, continued to be the only program to win the SSC men’s postseason tournament. Following a loss to Tampa in the SSC championship, Saint Leo bested the Spartans in the first round of the NCAA tournament and then defeated Lenior-Rhyne University before falling to Merrimack College in the national championship game.

Sunshine State Conference play opens up on March 16th with Embry-Riddle hosting Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Southern hosting Lynn. The SSC Championship will take place on April 25th and April 28th at a non-predetermined site. The NCAA Division II postseason for men’s lacrosse will start at non-predetermined sites on Friday, May 11th and concludes Sunday, May 27th in Philadelphia.

Below are the full results of the 2019 SSC preseason coaches’ poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).

 

 

 

 

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