Upcoming Event: Men's Lacrosse versus Bellarmine on January 31, 2026 at 12 p.m.
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12 p.m.
Men's Lacrosse
vs Bellarmine
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Ranked Eighth in USA Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1/7/2026 12:30:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
SPARKS, Md. – The Duke men's lacrosse team will start the 2026 season ranked eighth according to USA Lacrosse Magazine's preseason poll presented by CWENCH Hydration. The Blue Devils open the campaign Jan. 31 against Bellarmine.
Duke landed in the eighth spot and is one of four ACC programs in the top 10. The Blue Devils finished last year with a 12-6 record, advancing to the ACC Championship title game and earning the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils are set to face six of the top 20 programs in the poll, including reigning NCAA Champion Cornell. All five ACC programs are in the top 20 with Virginia coming in at No. 13. Maryland is the preseason No. 1 and Syracuse at No. 2.
Under the direction of head coach John Danowski for the 20th season, the Blue Devils return a core of talent from last season, including National Midfielder of the Year and ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Aidan Maguire. Max Sloat and Benn Johnston are back for Duke after strong seasons in Duke's first midfield. Johnston was second on the team in goals (28) while Sloat ranked third in assists (16) and points (42). Sophomore attackman Liam Kershis returns with a season at attack under his belt, while a collection of talented freshmen and transfer athletes will bolster Duke's offense.
Defensively, the Blue Devils are excited to have the bulk of their defense back, including second-team All-American Charlie Johnson and first-team All-American Maguire. They are supported by the talents of Henry Bard, Nikolas Menendez, Mac Christmas, Connor Nolen and a handful of other Blue Devils this season. Maguire will continue his climb up the Duke records book, heading into his senior season ranked 10th in caused turnovers. His 51 takeaways are the most by a shortstick defensive midfielder in program history.
In goal, Patrick Jameison is back for his third season. The junior backstop has amassed 383 saves in his two seasons and sports a 9.99 career goals against average and .533 career save percentage.
Duke has a wealth of options at the faceoff dot with the return of Luke Engelke, Cal Girard and Ben McCarthy. All three took at least 90 faceoffs last season with Engelke leading the way with 226 and a .527 success rate.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's lacrosse, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMLAX".
#GoDuke
Duke landed in the eighth spot and is one of four ACC programs in the top 10. The Blue Devils finished last year with a 12-6 record, advancing to the ACC Championship title game and earning the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils are set to face six of the top 20 programs in the poll, including reigning NCAA Champion Cornell. All five ACC programs are in the top 20 with Virginia coming in at No. 13. Maryland is the preseason No. 1 and Syracuse at No. 2.
Under the direction of head coach John Danowski for the 20th season, the Blue Devils return a core of talent from last season, including National Midfielder of the Year and ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Aidan Maguire. Max Sloat and Benn Johnston are back for Duke after strong seasons in Duke's first midfield. Johnston was second on the team in goals (28) while Sloat ranked third in assists (16) and points (42). Sophomore attackman Liam Kershis returns with a season at attack under his belt, while a collection of talented freshmen and transfer athletes will bolster Duke's offense.
Defensively, the Blue Devils are excited to have the bulk of their defense back, including second-team All-American Charlie Johnson and first-team All-American Maguire. They are supported by the talents of Henry Bard, Nikolas Menendez, Mac Christmas, Connor Nolen and a handful of other Blue Devils this season. Maguire will continue his climb up the Duke records book, heading into his senior season ranked 10th in caused turnovers. His 51 takeaways are the most by a shortstick defensive midfielder in program history.
In goal, Patrick Jameison is back for his third season. The junior backstop has amassed 383 saves in his two seasons and sports a 9.99 career goals against average and .533 career save percentage.
Duke has a wealth of options at the faceoff dot with the return of Luke Engelke, Cal Girard and Ben McCarthy. All three took at least 90 faceoffs last season with Engelke leading the way with 226 and a .527 success rate.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's lacrosse, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMLAX".
#GoDuke
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