Duke Grabs Honors on Inside Lacrosse Preseason Lists

DURHAM, N.C.—The annual Inside Lacrosse Faceoff Yearbook is available and fans will see Duke and Blue Devils names throughout the preseason lists compiled by the magazine. The Blue Devils come in at No. 3 in the preseason poll and have four players mentioned as preseason All-Americans.

The reigning NCAA Champion, Duke is listed at No. 3 in the preseason poll behind top-ranked Denver and No. 2 Notre Dame, both of which Duke had to beat on championship weekend to capture the 2014 NCAA crown.

Headlining the preseason All-America picks for Duke are junior midfielders Deemer Class and Myles Jones on the first team. Defensive midfielder Will Haus garnered third team recognition, while sophomore transfer Kyle Rowe is listed among the honorable mentions.

Class and Jones return from arguably the best midfield line in Duke lacrosse history, which included Christian Walsh. A first team All-American in 2014, Class tallied a Duke midfielder record 65 points – 38 goals and 27 assists – to rank second on the team in scoring.

Jones, a physical presence in the midfield, had nearly identical numbers as Class. The Huntington, N.Y., native recorded 37 goals and 26 assists en route to being named to the USILA All-America second team. He ranked fourth on the team in goals and third in assists.

Considered one of the best on-ball defenders in the game, Haus returns for his senior season after earning honorable mention All-America recognition. He totaled 11 goals for the Blue Devils from a defensive midfield role and picked up 44 ground balls as a key member of Duke's faceoff line. For his career, Haus has played in 61 games and has 129 ground balls to go with his 21 goals and 11 assists.

Rowe joins the Blue Devils after a stellar freshman campaign at Stony Brook. He ranked sixth nationally in faceoff percentage, winning 63 percent of his draws. His 248 faceoff wins overall were fourth in the nation. He also finished the season ranked third in Division I lacrosse with 10 ground balls per game, while his total of 160 were fourth.

Inside Lacrosse Faceoff Yearbook will continue to put out preseason lists in advance of the 2015 season starting in February. Stay tuned for more honors coming the Blue Devils' way.

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