The Ranking of the D1 Men’s Lacrosse teams that we use is a combination of Massey Ratings and KRACH/Z-Ratings.  Before showing our pre-season rankings, it’s important to recognize that the difference between the majority of the ratings is relatively subtle.  For example, this is a match-up of the Massey and KRACH/Z-Ratings:

Massey KRACH/Z-Ratings
2 Maryland 1 Maryland
1 Yale 3 Yale
5 Albany NY 2 Albany
3 Loyola MD 6 Loyola
4 Denver 5 Denver
6 Duke 4 Duke
7 Johns Hopkins 7 Johns Hopkins
10 Virginia 8 Virginia
9 Notre Dame 9 Notre Dame
8 Cornell 11 Cornell
11 Villanova 10 Villanova
12 Rutgers 14 Rutgers
13 Bucknell 13 Bucknell
14 Penn St 16 Pennsylvania
20 Syracuse 12 Syracuse
15 Ohio St 17 Ohio State
16 Georgetown 18 Georgetown
21 Navy 15 Navy
19 Princeton 19 Princeton
18 Massachusetts 22 Massachusetts
17 Lehigh 24 Lehigh
22 Penn 20 Penn State
24 Michigan 21 Michigan
26 Vermont 23 Vermont
23 Robert Morris 27 Robert Morris
27 North Carolina 25 North Carolina
31 Harvard 26 Harvard
28 Towson 31 Towson
25 St Joseph’s PA 35 Stony Brook
29 Boston Univ 32 Boston University
33 Marquette 30 Marquette
36 Richmond 28 Richmond
32 Brown 33 Brown
37 Stony Brook 29 Saint Joseph’s
30 Bryant 37 Bryant
35 Army 34 Army
34 Hofstra 36 Hofstra
38 Colgate 38 Colgate
39 Drexel 40 Drexel
41 St John’s 39 St. John’s
40 Jacksonville 41 Jacksonville
42 High Point 42 High Point
44 Providence 43 Providence
43 Delaware 46 Delaware
45 UMBC 45 UMBC
48 Sacred Heart 47 Sacred Heart
46 Quinnipiac 49 Quinnipiac
51 Holy Cross 44 Holy Cross
49 MA Lowell 48 UMass Lowell
47 Detroit 51 Detroit
50 Fairfield 50 Fairfield
53 Mt St Mary’s 52 Mount St. Mary’s
52 Hobart & Smith 55 Hobart
54 Canisius 54 Canisius
57 Hartford 53 Hartford
55 Air Force 57 Air Force
58 Furman 56 Furman
59 Binghamton 58 Binghamton
56 Monmouth NJ 62 Monmouth
61 Mercer 59 Mercer
60 Cleveland St 61 Cleveland State
64 Dartmouth 60 Dartmouth
62 Bellarmine 63 Bellarmine
63 Marist 65 Marist
65 Siena 64 Siena
66 Lafayette 66 Lafayette
67 Manhattan 67 Manhattan
68 Wagner 68 Wagner
69 VMI 69 VMI
70 NJIT 70 NJIT

There are differences.  But the vast majority of these differences are relatively subtle.  The pre-season ranking we used (below) is an average of the two rankings above.  The top-rated team, Maryland, starts the 2018 season with 1,000 points, #2 Yale 990, #3 Albany 980, etc.  For the first five weeks, like a new house, each team is given time to settle.  For Week Six, the pre-season rankings are removed completely and each team is operating based on nothing but their 2018 results.

1000 – Maryland
990 – Yale
980 – Albany
970 – Loyola
960 – Denver
950 – Duke
940 – Johns Hopkins
930 – Virginia
920 – Notre Dame
910 – Cornell
900 – Villanova
890 – Rutgers
880 – Bucknell
870 – Pennsylvania
860 – Syracuse
850 – Ohio State
840 – Georgetown
830 – Navy
820 – Princeton
810 – Massachusetts
800 – Lehigh
790 – Penn State
780 – Michigan
770 – Vermont
760 – Robert Morris
750 – North Carolina
740 – Harvard
730 – Towson
720 – Stony Brook
710 – Boston University
700 – Marquette
690 – Richmond
680 – Brown
670 – Saint Joseph’s
660 – Bryant
650 – Army
640 – Hofstra
630 – Colgate
620 – Drexel
610 – St. John’s
600 – Jacksonville
590 – High Point
580 – Providence
570 – Delaware
560 – UMBC
550 – Sacred Heart
540 – Quinnipiac
530 – Holy Cross
520 – UMass Lowell
510 – Detroit
500 – Fairfield
490 – Mount St. Mary’s
480 – Hobart
470 – Canisius
460 – Hartford
450 – Air Force
440 – Furman
430 – Binghamton
420 – Monmouth
410 – Mercer
400 – Cleveland State
390 – Dartmouth
380 – Bellarmine
370 – Marist
360 – Siena
350 – Lafayette
340 – Manhattan
330 – Wagner
320 – VMI
310 – NJIT