Syracuse finishes 1st in ACC Preseason Poll, 4 players named to All-ACC Team
Attack Joey Spallina and faceoff specialist John Mullen were two of Syracuse's four players to earn Preseason All-ACC team selections. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse men’s lacrosse finished first in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the conference announced Tuesday.
The conference also announced SU attackman Joey Spallina, midfielder Michael Leo, midfielder Luke Rhoa and goalie Jimmy McCool were included on the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Coming off its first ACC Tournament title game since 2016, as the No. 4 seed, Syracuse sat atop the five-team poll. Notre Dame, which won the conference last year and was defeated by the Orange in the ACC Tournament Semifinals, came in second in the Preseason Poll. North Carolina placed third, Duke came in fourth, while Virginia rounded out the ranking in fifth.
Spallina enters the 2026 season as the frontrunner to win the Tewaaraton Award and is 62 points away from breaking Mikey Powell’s program record of 307 career points. But his only goal, he said, is to bring SU its first national championship since 2009.
Seniors Leo and Rhoa are the crux of Syracuse’s midfield. Leo recorded 44 goals in 2025 and earned Inside Lacrosse All-American honors, while the two-handed long-range shooting threat Rhoa netted 27 goals last season.
McCool culminated his first season as SU’s starting netminder with ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after a career-high 20 saves against ND and 10 more stops versus Duke. McCool also logged a .535 saving percentage.
SU’s highly anticipated season begins against No. 17 Boston University Sunday. It hopes it ends with a national championship on Memorial Day in Charlottesville, Virginia.
