COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's lacrosse team was picked to win a sixth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title and had five players named to the Preseason All-RMAC team, which was announced in conjunction with the conference's preseason coaches' poll that was released on Wednesday.
The Mavericks, coming off a Rocky Mountain Division regular season and tournament title sweep as well as a second NCAA Division II tournament bid, received four of five possible first place votes to top the poll with 22 points.
Concordia University Irvine, who the Mavs beat in the tournament title game in 2025, also received a first place vote and took second in the poll with 18 points. Westminster was picked third with 17 points while Dominican received a first place vote to finish fourth in the poll with 14 points.
Adams State was fifth in the poll with 10 points while RMAC newcomer Northwest Nazarene rounded out the poll with nine.
In the poll, the conference's six head coaches ranked their opposition 1-5 without voting for their own squad.
The Mavs' picks to the preseason all-RMAC team are goalie
Shaden Shields, attackman
Connor Jensen, midfielder
Dillon Pless, defender
Brady Porter and short stick defensive midfielder
Deuce Kirschke.
The Preseason All-RMAC team is made up of the top returning players from last year's All-RMAC voting process.
Kirschke, Pless and Porter all earned First Team All-RMAC honors in 2025 while Jensen and Shields were second team honorees.
CMU finished 13-4 overall and 7-1 in RMAC play last year.
The Mavs will open the 2026 campaign next Sunday (Feb. 8) with a neutral-site game against Rockhurst in Alamosa. They will then head back to Alamosa to face Adams State in their RMAC opener on Feb. 14.
CMU will play its first of six total home games on Mar. 5 against Florida Southern.
The top four teams in the RMAC standings will contest the RMAC Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 24 and 26.
All RMAC men's lacrosse matches broadcast by its member institutions will only be available on the RMAC Network, with fans able to purchase a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
With the start of the spring sports seasons just around the corner, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is presenting its third RMAC Network "Peak Pricing" sale, beginning Thursday and available until Friday (Jan. 30). During the sale, fans can purchase the final months of an annual subscription for 25% off using the code RMACSPRING26 during the purchasing process.
