HIGH POINT, N.C. – Senior Michael LeClair and sophomore Tim Troutner Jr. were named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team. Meanwhile, the High Point University men’s lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the league’s preseason poll, the conference announced on Thursday.
The Panthers finished the 2016 campaign in third place in the SoCon while LeClair made the All-SoCon Second Team and Troutner Jr. ended up on the all-freshman squad.
In the poll, Air Force was picked to repeat as the league champion earning 48 points and six of the seven first-place votes. Similarly, Richmond (43 points) garnered one first-place vote and is second in the poll after finishing as runner-up in 2016.
High Point, then, comes in third earning 37 points before Bellarmine (29) and Mercer (27) finished out a clustered top-5.
In the bottom third of the poll, Furman (17) and Jacksonville (16) are separated by one point as VMI (7) rounds out the rankings.
All-Southern Conference Preseason Selections
Michael LeClair | Senior | Attack | Elkridge, Md. | Mount St. Joseph
LeClair enters his final season in the Purple & White having tallied at least one point in 41 consecutive contests. In total, the attackman has racked up 131 points (67g, 64a) in three seasons while making All-SoCon Second Team each of the past two seasons. Likewise, the senior has recorded back-to-back 53-point campaigns while finishing in the top-two in the league in points in 2015 and 2016.
Tim Troutner Jr. | Sophomore | Goalie | Annapolis, Md. | St. Mary’s
Troutner Jr. took over in goal in HPU’s third game against the eventual national runner-up in Maryland and posted 16 saves against the Terrapins. From there, the Annapolis, Md. native never looked back tallying a .555 save percentage and an 8-4 record in the crease. Due to his exploits in 2016, Troutner Jr. was named to the SoCon All-Freshman squad.
2017 Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank Team (First-Place Votes) Points 1. Air Force (6) 48 2. Richmond (1) 43 3. High Point 37 4. Bellarmine 29 5. Mercer 27 6. Furman 18 7. Jacksonville 17 8. VMI 7
2017 Men’s Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference Team
Attack
Chris Walsch, Air Force, Jr.
Michael LeClair, High Point, Sr.
Mitch Goldberg, Richmond, Sr.
Midfield (tie)
Andrew Tien, Air Force, Jr.
Tucker Ciessau, Bellarmine, Sr.
Lucas Wittenberg, Mercer, So.
Jean-Luc Chetner, Richmond, Sr.
Defense
Brandon Jones, Air Force, So.
Ryan Dennis, Richmond, Sr.
Brendan Hynes, Richmond, Sr.
Goalkeeper (tie)
Tim Troutner Jr., High Point, So.
Ben Gleichenhaus, Jacksonville, Jr.
Faceoff Specialist
Peter Moran, Richmond, Sr.
Longstick Midfielder
Austin Cates, Richmond, Jr.