AUGUSTA, GA -- The University of Montevallo has been selected as the preseason favorite for the first-ever season of men's lacrosse in the Peach Belt Conference.  Four teams will compete in the inaugural campaign, which begins in early February.  UM received two first-place votes for eight total points while the University of Alabama-Huntsville received the other two first-place votes and finished second with seven points.  Lander and Shorter rounded out the voting.

In addition to the preseason coaches poll, teams have identified Players to Watch for the upcoming season.  Those player profiles can be seen below.

Like all spring sport programs, Montevallo's 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Falcons were 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference before the shutdown.  UM had been building on a successful 2019 season that saw them finish 3-3 in the GLVC and advance to the conference tournament for the first time.  The 2021 Falcons will be led by 11 juniors including leading scorer Thomas Vaesen and starting goalkeeper Kyle Little.  UM returns three of their top four scorers from last season's team.

UAH was 4-2 and 2-1 in the GLVC when the 2020 season ended in mid-March, ending a run that could have led to a return to the GLVC tournament after making the field in 2018.  First-year head coach Connor Doyle will have 11 seniors on his 2021 roster including leading scorer Luke LeVette and starting keeper Zak Welsh.  The Chargers return five of their top six scorers from last season.

The four teams comprising the first year of PBC men's lacrosse will play a double round-robin schedule with non-conference matches beginning on Saturday, Feb. 6, and conference play in mid-March.  All four teams will compete in the PBC Tournament, which will be held April 28 and May 1 at the site of the higher seeds.   Flagler College and Young Harris College will join the PBC for the 2022 season.

The coaches preseason poll is below with first-place votes in parentheses.  Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.

Peach Belt Men's Lacrosse
2021 Preseason Coaches Poll
 

Rank	Team	Points
1.	Montevallo (2)	8
2.	Alabama-Huntsville (2)	7
3.	Lander	6
4.	Shorter	3

---

Alabama-Huntsville

• Luke LeVette - R-Sr. - Attacker:   LeVette ended last season as 10th among then-active Division II players with 110 career goals, and the Columbus, Ohio native was also 24th in points with 136 for his career. During his time in Huntsville, LeVette has appeared in 43 contests, and he owns numerous program records including each of the top five single-game goal scoring marks. 
• Jacob Glen - Sr. - Midfielder:  Glen has appeared in 30 games for the Chargers in his three previous seasons, scoring 11 goals and adding 17 assists for 28 points. An All-GLVC honorable mention selection during his freshman season, the Calgary, Alberta, native owns 24 ground balls for his career.
• Zak Welsh - Sr. - Goalkeeper:   Welsh enters his senior season needing just one win to tie the UAH program record for wins in a career as he's logged eight through his first three seasons. The Columbus, Ohio, native has logged 227 saves which ranks second all-time at UAH, and in the pandemic-shortened season a year ago, he had a career-best .617 save percentage. 

Lander

• Adam Mather (Attackman - Soph, Cincinnati, OH)  – 14g, 12a for 26 points and 15 gbs last year.  Top performance last year was a 3 goal, 6 assist performance during a 23-10 win over Mars Hill.  Was also Freshman Science Scholar of the year in 2020.
• Carson Theriault (Attackman - Soph, Edmonton, AB) – Led the team in points 13g, 16a for 29 points last year.  Tied for 9th in the NCAA in assists per game with 2.67.  Top performance last year was a 4 goal, 6 assist performance versus Mars Hill.
• Sterling Blake (Defense - Soph, Port Moody, BC) – Led the team with 11 Caused turnovers last year and was top 25 in the NCAA in that category.   Top performance last year was a 4 CT, 3 GB game versus Emmanuel. 

Montevallo

• Thomas Vaesen, Jr., Attack- He is the programs leading scorer in goals, assists and total points. In 2019 Vaesen averaged 4.7 goals per game. He was named to the all-conference team (GLVC) both his freshman and sophomore seasons. In 2019 he registered 14 points on two separate occasions scoring 11 goals and adding 4 assists each time. Here is a link to the NCAA DII record book updated after the 2020 season.
• Kyle Little, Jr., Goalie- He is the programs leader in saves, save percentage and wins in goal. He was named GLVC goalkeeper of the year during his freshman and sophomore campaigns. During his career he has recorded 15 or more saves in a game 12 times and 20 or more saves in a game 4 times.  He was also named multiple time player of the week and made the USILA national team of the week a few times. Not sure exactly how many, but I’m sure you guys would have that information from previous stories.
• Dylan Witt-, So., Defense- He is the programs leader in caused turnovers. During his freshman season in 2019 Witt caused a team high 23 turnovers, which was more than twice as much as the next Falcon on the list. His career-high in caused turnovers came against Shorter where he caused 6 on 4/19/2019. In 1.5 years Witt has scooped up 48 ground balls, well on pace to be the first defensemen in program history to collect 100 ground balls in his career.

Shorter

• Trey Edge, So., Attack:  Trey is a natural attackman with a nose for the cage.  He lead the team in scoring his freshman season and was tied for highest point total in his sophomore season.  Trey earned the honor of “Offensive player of the week” in the GLVC early during his freshman season and has not stopped working to improve his game.  After a shortened sophomore year, he is poised to have an incredible junior season with more weapons around him than ever before.   
• Jacob Woodard, Jr., Midfield:  Jacob is the work horse of the Shorter lacrosse team.  His speed, IQ, stamina, and skill make him the perfect two-way midfielder.  Jacob transferred to Shorter from Hampton after his freshman year, and has earned the respect and appreciation of every member of the team during his time as a hawk.  He has been named a captain going into his senior year, and will play an integral role in the offense, defense, and locker room.
• Kincaid Dennis, So., Defender:  Kincaid is a junior defenseman that has started every game since he arrived at Shorter as a freshman.  His communication, ability, and leadership lead to him becoming a captain for his sophomore season.  He is a physical, smart, and athletic defender that will go toe to toe with any attackman that he comes up against.  Going into his second season as a captain, he is set to lead the defense from the front and make whatever sacrifice is needed to protect the goal.