PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's lacrosse team was tabbed fifth out of 10 teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

After missing a postseason berth in 2025, the Gators are expected to rank among the top half of the conference and return to the PAC Championship Tournament this spring.

Allegheny received 46 points in the preseason coaches' poll, edging sixth-place Franciscan University by two points. The Gators trailed No. 4 Westminster College by a dozen points. The top three teams were Grove City College with 81 points, Chatham University with 70, and Saint Vincent College with 67. The defending champion Wolverines also earned a maximum of nine first-place votes.

The PAC's announcement also included its annual list of Players to Watch for the upcoming season. The Gators were represented by five student-athletes – all seniors – including four returning All-PAC honorees. Leading the Allegheny quintet was two-time All-PAC First Teamer JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson). The fourth-year attacker paced all of Division III with 3.75 assists per game and was fifth nationally with 5.88 points per game as a junior.

Defenseman Liam Kruck (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin) returns after earning an All-PAC Second Team nod last spring, while defender Jared Swisher (Cumberland, Maine/Berwick Academy) and goalie Garin Stearns (Hudson, Ohio/Revere) were both named All-PAC Honorable Mentions. Also included on the watchlist was short-stick middie Griffin Cates (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey), who received honorable mention accolades in 2024.

Allegheny's seventh season of varsity men's lacrosse kicks off on Saturday, February 14, when the Gators travel to Otterbein University for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest.