Feb. 1, 2016
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Penn State men's lacrosse has been voted fourth in the 2016 Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll, as released by the conference this afternoon. Nittany Lions Matt Florence (Greenwood Village, Colo.), Drake Kreinz (Delafield, Wis.) and TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ont.) were also named Penn State's Players to Watch.
The preseason nod is the second straight for Kreinz and Sanders, who both earned 2015 Player to Watch honors prior to the inaugural season of Big Ten lacrosse.
Florence earns his first career Big Ten preseason honor, having capped off the season with Big Ten All-Tournament team honors. Making 10 starts for the Nittany Lions a year ago, he scored 16 goals and dished out assists for 24 points. In the Big Ten Tournament semifinal matchup against then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins, he recorded two goals and a pair of assists, while also taking a season-best nine shots.
A 2015 Academic All-Big Ten selection, Kreinz served once again as Penn State's top faceoff specialist, playing in 13 of 14 games last season. He finished 129-237 at the "X," concluding the season with a .544 winning percentage. He highlighted the year with a pair of goals at then-No. 13 Harvard, while also winning 14-of-20 faceoffs in a 9-8 win against Marist.
A USILA All-America honorable mention, Sanders returns as one of the Nittany Lions' top offensive contributors in 2016. Having earned both All-Big Ten honorable mention distinction and Academic All-Big Ten awards last year, he also led the team with 29 goals and 13 assists, totaling 42 points. Starting every game for the Nittany Lions, he logged at least two goals in nine outings, including each of the last three games last year. Sanders highlighted the season with a career-high five goals in a win against Marist last year.
Penn State is set to kick off the 2016 season hosting Robert Morris Saturday, Feb. 6 at noon in Holuba Hall. The Nittany Lions open the season receiving votes in both the USILA/Nike 2016 Preseason Coaches'Poll as well as the Cascade/Maverik DI Men's Media Top 20 poll.
2016 BIG TEN MEN'S LACROSSE PRESEASON POLL
(1) JOHNS HOPKINS
(2) Maryland
(3) Ohio State
(4) Penn State
(5) Michigan
(6) Rutgers
*Unanimous preseason favorite listed in ALL CAPS
2016 BIG TEN MEN'S LACROSSE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ryan Brown, Sr., A, Johns Hopkins
Nick Fields, Jr., D, Johns Hopkins
Shack Stanwick, So., A, Johns Hopkins
Isaiah Davis-Allen, Jr., M, Maryland
Colin Heacock, Jr., M, Maryland
Mac Pons, Jr., D, Maryland
Gerald Logan, Jr., GK, Michigan
Kyle Jackson, Sr., A, Michigan
Mikie Schlosser, Jr., M, Michigan
Carter Brown, Sr., A, Ohio State
Tom Carey, Jr., GK, Ohio State
Robby Haus, Sr., D, Ohio State
Matt Florence, Jr., M, Penn State
Drake Kreinz, Jr., M, Penn State
TJ Sanders, Sr., A, Penn State
Scott Bieda, Sr., A, Rutgers
Zack Sikora, Sr., M, Rutgers
Christian Trasolini, Jr., A, Rutgers