The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference released its 2026 Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll on Thursday and Lake Forest College was listed third.

Voting is done by the NACC head coaches and sports information directors. Each votes for the 12 schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (12 points for first, 11 for second, etc.).

Aurora University received all 24 first-place votes and the Spartans' 288 points were 42 more than second-place Concordia University Wisconsin. Lake Forest was third with 241 and the University of Dubuque fourth at 210. Milwaukee School of Engineering (188), Illinois Institute of Technology (173), Benedictine University (162), and Edgewood University (111) rounded out the top eight.

The 2025 Foresters placed third in the standings in the program's first season as a member of the NACC. They were 10-8 overall and prevailed in 8 of 11 league games before reaching the semifinals of the NACC Tournament. Defenseman Liam Bradley was named First Team All-NACC while four of his teammates earned Second Team All-NACC honors and four more, including NACC Freshman of the Year John Shannon, received Honorable Mention All-NACC accolades.

Phil Dodson's fifth season as the Foresters' head coach will begin at Carthage College on Saturday. A trip to Edgewood University the following Sunday will kick off conference play and the regular season will come to an end at Illinois Institute of Technology on April 22.

The top eight teams in the league will qualify for the NACC Tournament with the quarterfinals on April 25, semifinals on April 29, and final on May 2.

PLACE	TEAM (First Place Votes)	POINTS
1	Aurora University (24)	288
2	Concordia University Wisconsin	246
3	Lake Forest College	241
4	University of Dubuque	210
5	Milwaukee School of Engineering	186
6	Illinois Institute of Technology	173
7	Benedictine University	162
8	Edgewood University	111
9	Lawrence University	101
10	Cornell College	72
11	Beloit College	48
12	Marian University	34