via SSC press release
MELBOURNE, Fla. – For the eighth consecutive season, Sunshine State Conference men’s lacrosse coaches select the University of Tampa as the preseason favorite. With 36 points and six first-place votes in the poll, the Spartans are expected to recapture the league’s regular-season championship.
Florida Southern College is chosen as the top challenger by finishing second in the poll with 26 points. Rollins College lands in third place with 22 points and also draws the final first-place vote. Lynn University and Saint Leo University are tied in fourth place with 19 points apiece, while Florida Tech (18 points) and Palm Beach Atlantic University (6 points) round out this season’s rankings.
Record Book: “SSC Men’s Lacrosse Records: “2014 – 2020”
SSC teams played between four and eight games in 2020 by the time the season was cut short due to the Coronavirus. Tampa finished the shortened season with a league-best 8-0 overall record, while the rest of the league collectively hovered around .500. No team played a conference game in 2020.
In 2019, Lynn became the third program to win the SSC regular-season championship since men’s lacrosse became a sponsored sport in 2014. Tampa, nonetheless, maintained its stranglehold on the league’s postseason title, winning the SSC tournament for a sixth consecutive season. Following the conference tournament, the Spartans hosted and defeated Wingate University in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Tampa then traveled to Gaffney, South Carolina, where they lost a double-overtime national quarterfinal battle to Limestone College.
The 2021 season opens up with Tampa at Saint Leo on March 19th, followed by FSC at Florida Tech and PBA at Lynn on March 20th. See the full schedule
here. There is no SSC postseason championship in 2021. The NCAA Division II postseason begins May 12th at non-predetermined sites
Below are the full results of the 2021 SSC preseason coaches’ poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| 2021 SSC MEN’S LACROSSE PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
| Rank |
School (FPV) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Tampa (6) |
36 |
| 2 |
Florida Southern |
27 |
| 3 |
Rollins (1) |
22 |
| T4 |
Lynn |
19 |
| T4 |
Saint Leo |
19 |
| 6 |
Florida Tech |
18 |
| 7 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
6 |
SSC Men’s Lacrosse History: Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams | All-Americans | Record Book
| Previous SSC Men’s Lacrosse Polls |
| Year |
Predicted Winner
(Actual Finish) |
Regular Season Champ
(Preseason Prediction) |
Regular Season Champ
(Preseason Prediction) |
| 2020 |
Tampa (N/A) |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
Not Awarded Due to COVID-19 |
| 2019 |
Tampa (2nd) |
Lynn (3rd) |
Tampa (1st) |
| 2018 |
Tampa (3rd) |
Saint Leo (2nd) |
Tampa (1st) |
| 2017 |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
| 2016 |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
| 2015 |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
| 2014 |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
Tampa (1st) |
