ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's lacrosse team was picked to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll, while placing three players on the preseason All-Conference team.

The 10 head coaches in the conference voted on the preseason poll, while the athletic media relations offices of each school voted for preseason All-Conference selections.

Second-team preseason All-SAC honors went to attackman Nate Raymond and short stick defensive midfielder Nathan Fraser, while goalkeeper Riley Semmes was a third-team choice for the Pioneers. Tusculum has four starters and five of its top seven scorers back from last year's team that finished 9-7 overall and 3-7 in the SAC for head coach Rodney Tapp, who begins his second season.

Raymond established single-season school records for goals (53), points (69) and shots (124) last season, while finishing tied for third in the SAC in goals and seventh in points. He scored at least one goal in all 16 matches and brings a streak of 26 consecutive games with a goal into the 2023 season. The Traceys Landing, Maryland native enters the season ranked fourth in program history with 94 goals and sixth in points with 121.

Fraser returns to play after sustaining a season-ending injury in last year's season opener. In 2021, Fraser played 12 matches and won 58 percent of his faceoffs while collecting 33 ground balls. The Kamloops, British Columbia native has played 17 career games and has 41 ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Semmes played five matches last season for the Pioneers, finishing with a 5.67 goals against average in just over 74 minutes of playing time. Semmes did not allow a goal in 45 minutes in his first career start against Shorter, and the Jemison, Alabama native had a .696 save percentage with 16 saves.

Lenoir-Rhyne took the top spot in the coaches poll with seven first-place votes and 79 points, followed by Limestone with two first-place votes and 72 points. Wingate had the other first-place vote and 68 points in the poll, followed by Newberry (56 points) and Anderson (47) in the top half of the poll. Catawba (36 points) was sixth, followed by the Pioneers (35), Coker (24), Lincoln Memorial (18) and Mars Hill (15).

Tusculum hosts Young Harris to open its 2023 season on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Pioneers will begin SAC play on Saturday, February 25 at Wingate and conclude the regular season on Saturday, April 22 at Mars Hill.

2023 SAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll

2023 SAC Men's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference
All-SAC First Team
A – Willie Grieco, Wingate
A – Myles Moffat, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Logan Gaddis, Anderson
MF – Toron Eccleston, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Baker Westmoreland, Newberry
MF – Danny Riley, Wingate
D – Victor Powell, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Peyton Farley, Wingate
D – Peyton Jefferson, Anderson
LP – Nathan Allan, Coker
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Colten McCracken, Lenoir-Rhyne
Face-off Spec. – Cam Weeks, Anderson
GK – Joey Heckel, Anderson

All-SAC Second Team
A – Beau Henson, Anderson
A – Chris Erneston, Limestone
A – Nate Raymond, Tusculum
MF – Mike McGarry, Limestone
MF – Curtis Bukta, Newberry
MF – Tommy Aguilar, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Chase Robertson, Anderson
D – Jack Travassos, Newberry
D – Brock Strong, Newberry
LP – Nate Ashley, Lenoir-Rhyne
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Nathan Fraser, Tusculum
Face-off Spec. – John Paulus, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – John Caponi, Wingate

All-SAC Third Team
A – Joe Venazio, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Cal Gibson, Coker
A – Trevor Kennedy, Mars Hill
MF – Garrett Hawkins, Anderson
MF – Ryley Zopfi, Anderson
MF – Bryce Reece, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Jordan Sullivan, Lincoln Memorial
D – Ryan Morrison, Limestone
D – Dillon Ricketts, Lincoln Memorial
LP – Joe Karnich, Wingate
Short-Stick Defensive MF - Ashton Wilson, Lincoln Memorial
Face-off Spec. – Tim Ladner, Limestone
GK – Riley Semmes, Tusculum