UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.–The Big Ten Conference announced the Men’s Lacrosse 2025 Preseason Poll and Players to Watch on Wednesday afternoon. The Players to Watch list includes three Penn State men’s lacrosse players: Jack Fracyon, Alex Ross, and Matt Traynor.
Fracyon received a Player to Watch nod after posting a 2024 season with an 11-5 record and stopped 13.88 shots per game which led the Big Ten. The Big Ten awarded him Specialist of the Year for a second consecutive year and twice named him Specialist of the Week. USA Lacrosse Magazine twice named him Division I Player of the Week. He recorded a career-high 19 saves against Michigan on April 13, 2024, and held opponents to under 10 goals in 11 games in his junior season. For his efforts, Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse named him an All-American. The Annapolis, Md. native currently tallies a career save percentage of 57.1% which ranks fifth in NCAA Division I.
Traynor posted 45 goals and seven assists in 2024. He registered four goals or more in four different games while he sat third in the Big Ten in goals and seventh in the Big Ten in points in his junior year. The Downingtown, Pa. native earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team and twice won the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award in 2024. On March 9, 2024, against Cornell, Traynor tallied a single-game high seven goals which aided in Penn State's massive 20-9 victory. In his career, Traynor has 78 goals and 14 assists for 92 points through three seasons.
Ross eared a Player to Watch honor after his 2024 performance, leading the Nittany Lions with 16 caused turnovers and 30 ground balls. The Davidsonville, Md. native forced turnovers in eight games out of the 16 he played in. Ross also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team and received All-American nods from USA Lacrosse and Inside Lacrosse. During his sophomore season, the Big Ten named him Defensive Player of the Week once for his play against Navy on February 24.
The Big Ten selected Johns Hopkins as the preseason favorite over 2024 NCAA tournament runner-up Maryland. The league ranked Penn State third in the Big Ten and Michigan, the 2024 Big Ten Tournament champion, fourth, with Ohio State and Rutgers filling out the rest of the poll.
Penn State opens the 2025 season on Saturday, February 1 against Colgate. The game starts at 1 p.m.