SAN DIEGO – After shocking the No. 3 seed at the 2022 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance, Cal State San Marcos has been tabbed the Division II Southwestern Lacrosse Conference preseason favorite for 2023.

The Cougars (9-4), who rolled to the SLC title last spring, upset Kennesaw State in the first round at nationals, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

San Marcos grabbed seven first-place votes out of the 10 ballots cast to grab the top spot.

In order to win the SLC crown, San Marcos had to knock off UC San Diego, which had defeated the Cougars during the regular season. The Tritons gobbled up the remaining three first-place votes to sit at No. 2.

UCSD qualified for nationals last spring as an at-large entrant.

Northern Arizona (6-5) is slotted third and will look to rebound from ’22 and keep in the nationals mix.

Claremont (3-5) and Loyola Marymount (6-5) are tied for fourth in the 12-team league.

“The race to qualify for our conference tournament will be extremely competitive this spring,” said SLC president Matt Holman. “We have one of the largest Division II conferences in the country and each team has high expectations.”

2023 SLC Division II Preseason Coaches Poll