SPARKS, Md. — The case can be made for a number of teams to earn the top spot in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Men’s Preseason Top 20, but it’s Salisbury that enters 2022 season at No. 1.

The Sea Gulls lost in a thriller to RIT — ranked second — in the national championship game in May, and with a roster that is again stacked with talent, Salisbury is hoping to go on another long run through the postseason. The Sea Gulls have made it to the national semifinals every year since 2015.

Cross Ferrarra and Jarrett Bromwell lead the way for a team that returns most of its talent. RIT, which returns Ryan Barnable, Quinn Commandant and others, enters 2022 with new faces on defense after graduating its starting close defense last spring. For the preseason Top 20, that’s what separates Salisbury and RIT.

Tufts, Christopher Newport and Lynchburg round out the rest of the Top 5.

Continue below to see the entire Top 20.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III MEN’S TOP 20

1. Salisbury
2. RIT
3. Tufts
4. Christopher Newport
5. Lynchburg
6. York
7. Colorado College
8. Franklin & Marshall
9. St. John Fisher
10. Cabrini
11. Stevens
12. SUNY Cortland
13. Williams
14. Illinois Wesleyan
15. Stevenson
16. Centre
17. Denison
18. John Carroll
19. St. Lawrence
20. Wesleyan

Also considered (alphabetical order): Gettysburg, Ithaca, Ohio Wesleyan, Union, Washington and Lee