2015 College Lacrosse Preview: Johns Hopkins Picked as Big Ten Preseason Favorite

The Big Ten will enter its inaugural season of Division I competition in 2015. Structured with six schools -- Johns Hopkins (an affiliate member), Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers -- the league has the potential to not only throw a handful of team's into the NCAA Tournament -- including an automatic qualifier -- but also stand as one of the more complete and competitive leagues in college lacrosse's highest  level of play. There is still a freshness to the Big Ten's lacrosse concern, but the youth of the conference -- at least for lacrosse purposes -- is mitigated by the fact that it will be led by two of the nation's most decorated programs: The league's coaches have tabbed Johns Hopkins as the Big Ten's preseason favorite with Maryland slipping in directly behind the Jays.

The press release:

With the inaugural season of Big Ten men’s lacrosse less than two weeks away, Johns Hopkins was selected as the preseason favorite to claim the first Big Ten Championship.

Here's how the voting shook out:

The Big Ten did not release voting point totals or first-place vote information. For comparison purposes, here's how College Crosse projected the Big Ten going into the season.

The Big Ten apparently doesn't believe in preseason all-league honors. Instead, the league allowed each coach to select three players from his own team -- BIAS! -- to comprise a Players to Watch list. This is potentially the most Big Ten thing ever.