WATERBURY, Conn. -- In the first-ever New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) Preseason Watch List, both senior attacker Leighton Cooke and freshman attacker Cameron Maunders were named to it from Post University Men's Lacrosse as announced by the organization on Monday morning.

Cooke is coming off his best campaign with the Eagles, recording 54 goals and 28 assists in 16 games during his junior year for Post, as well as 35 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. The senior was also named to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Honor Roll three times, was a one-time Player of the Week, and CACC First Team All-Conference, in addition to being on the CACC All-Academic Team. 

In his first season with the program, Maunders comes from Ottawa, Ontario, and he played for St. Mark High School, where he was a two-time All-Conference player and State champion. 

The Preseason Watch List is replacing the NEILA All-New England Preseason Teams, and is intended to give greater exposure and more balanced representation to all of the teams and student-athletes in New England. Each New England team was permitted to submit one returning student-athlete and one incoming student-athlete (freshman or transfer) to be included on the 2026 NEILA Preseason Watch List. 

In addition to the player's biographical information, coaches had the opportunity to provide a brief explanation of the returning player's previous contributions or the expectations for the incoming student-athlete.

The entire list of NEILA Preseason Watch List individuals is available at the link above. The Eagles take the field on Wednesday against AIC on the road at 4:00 PM to open up their season.