WATERBURY, Conn. -- Just weeks away from the start of their 2026 season, Post University Men's Lacrosse has been picked to finish tied for fifth in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released on Wednesday, which picked Georgian Court University to narrowly beat out Wilmington University for the CACC crown. The Lions finished with 61 points and five first-place votes, while the Wildcats were right behind them with 60 points and four first-place votes.

The top three were rounded out by Chestnut Hill College with 43 points, followed by the University of Bridgeport in fourth with 39 points, which the Eagles have faced in the CACC Tournament and beaten each of the last two seasons. Tied with Holy Family University was Post at 39 points, with Dominican (N.Y.) behind them both at 24 points, followed by Felician University in eighth with 16 points, and Caldwell University in last with nine points. The top five teams make it into the CACC Tournament, with the fourth and fifth seeds playing each other in the CACC First Round for the right to take on the top seed in the conference.

Last season, the Eagles finished 9-7 overall and 5-3 in conference play, beating the Purple Knights in the CACC First Round matchup, 15-12, before falling to top-seeded Wilmington University, 25-10, in the CACC Semifinals. This season kicks off on the road against AIC on February 18th, with the home opener slated for February 25th against Assumption University. Other non-conference games will include a road trip to Chowan University and Molloy University, with a home matchup against D'Youville University in April.

Head Coach Pat Yannarelli will head into his third season leading the program, finishing fourth in each of his first two years before falling to Wilmington University in the CACC Semifinals. The Eagles have made the CACC Semifinals each of the last three seasons overall, which were their first three CACC Semifinals appearances in program history. Yannarelli's team will have leading goal scorer Leighton Cooke back for his senior year after he scored 54 goals with 28 assists for a team-leading 82 points, earning CACC First Team All-Conference honors.

However, both Robbie McGrayne (50 goals, 23 assists) and Hunter McCarty (38 goals, 29 assists) both are gone after graduating, although Will Brien (31 goals, 13 assists) and Ryan Denike (18 goals, 36 assists) are both back, giving Post three of their top five goal scorers back. Defensively, James Sproul, who set multiple program records, graduated last spring after a campaign in which he had 106 groundballs and 51 caused turnovers. 

The faceoff dot will see Charlie Foster more frequently as well after Jaxon Holden transferred out ahead of the season. Foster won 103-of-209 faceoffs last season for the Eagles in his freshman year. The goalie room will look the same with Aiden Waller, Liam McCurry, and Dominick Zichelli all back. Waller played the most out of the trio, appearing in 12 games and recording a 10.70 goals-against average with a .545 save percentage and a 7-4 record overall.

The Eagles take the field on February 18th against AIC on the road at 4:00 PM to open up their season.