DENVER – After advancing to the semifinals of the Division I MCLA national championships, Brigham Young is the favorite in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) in 2023, according to the league’s preseason coaches poll.

The Cougars (17-3), who breezed to the ’22 RMLC championship with a goal differential of plus-20 in two games, garnered three of the five first-place votes to grab the top spot.

"The RMLC is going to be tough this year. It's tough every year,” said BYU coach Matt Schneck. “We love being a part of the RMLC and its championship tradition, and consider it a huge honor to be selected by the coaches as the preseason favorite.

“As with every preseason poll, it's just a place to start. Now, we have to earn it.”

Colorado (8-6), which had its streak of 11-straight trips to nationals snapped last spring, was slotted second after advancing to the RMLC title game. The Buffaloes were aided by a first-place vote.

Utah Valley (9-4), which missed out of the RMLC tournament in ’22 via a tiebreaker, is expected to bounce back this spring and is ranked third. The Wolverines own the last first-place vote.

Colorado State sits in the fourth chair, a point ahead of “newcomer” Utah.

The Utes, who were one of the first programs with an NCAA mirror team to join the MCLA, won the Division II championship last spring and have moved to D-I in ’23.

2023 RMLC Division I Preseason Coaches Poll