By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa University and Westminster University, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s 2024 co-champions, were picked to win the Peach Belt Conference’s Rocky Mountain Division in the Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Preseason Poll released Wednesday.

The 2025 season will present a new era for RMAC men's lacrosse as its five members partner with the Peach Belt Conference, as associate members to provide an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament. The two conferences will operate their lacrosse programs in tandem under the auspices of the Peach Belt for 2025 as two divisions, each coming together for a championship game in May for the bid.

In conjunction with the release of the preseason poll, the Rocky Mountain Division also revealed its Preseason Player to Watch List, recognizing 14 of the league’s top men’s lacrosse student-athletes, including six returning First Team All-RMAC selections.

Peach Belt Conference Rocky Mountain Division 2025 Men’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Preseason Poll
PL	Team	Points
1.	Colorado Mesa (2)	14
	Westminster (2)	14
3.	Concordia (1)	11
4.	Dominican	6
5.	Adams State	5
First-place votes in parentheses. 4 points were awarded for a first-place vote, with one point less for each succeeding place. (Maximum score = 16). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their team

Colorado Mesa, which has won seven of the RMAC’s eight regular-season titles, received two first-place votes and 14 points. Westminster, which claimed a share of its second RMAC regular-season title last season, also received two first-place votes and 14 points.

Concordia University Irvine was picked third in the poll after receiving the remaining first-place vote and 11 points. Dominican University of California, the RMAC’s newest member, was picked to finish fourth and was followed by Adams State University in the five-team poll.

Colorado Mesa posted a 13-4 record last season and a 7-1 mark in RMAC play, with its lone loss coming on the road at co-champion Westminster. The Mavericks bounced back to win the tournament title courtesy of an overtime win against Concordia. That team finished with 11 All-RMAC selections, with four returning for the 2025 campaign. Senior attacker JJ Brummett leads the group of returnees after garnering honorable mention All-America recognition following a 54-goal campaign.

Westminster finished 2024 with an 11-3 overall mark and a 7-1 conference record, with its lone loss coming on the road at co-champion Colorado Mesa. However, the Griffins were stopped by Concordia in the RMAC semifinals. Still, their regular season success saw them grab four of the league’s postseason awards and nine All-RMAC honors. Junior midfielder Camden Rossie, the reigning RMAC Midfielder of the Year, highlights a group of four returning All-RMAC honorees for the Griffins.

The 2025 NCAA Division II regular season schedule begins Friday, Jan. 31. . The RMAC Division Tournament will be held Thursday, April 24 and Saturday, April 26. The winner advances to the AQ game which will be held at the Peach Belt Division Champion on Friday, May 2.
 

RMAC Preseason Player to Watch List

Ryan Berger, Junior, Goalkeeper, Adams State

• The reigning RMAC Goalie of the Year, Berger returns after recording 163 saves last season and averaging an RMAC best 11.64 saves per match. He also ranked third in goals-against average (19.26) among qualifying goalies.

Kris Owens, Senior, Midfielder, Adams State

• Owens was a First Team All-RMAC selection last season after scoring 17 goals and four assists for the Grizzlies.

JJ Brummett, Senior, Attack, Colorado Mesa

• A First Team All-RMAC selection and honorable mention All-American, Brumlett led the RMAC with 54 goals last season and ranked 14th among Division II scorers with 3.18 goals per match.

Dillon Pless, Junior, Midfielder, Colorado Mesa

• Another returning First Team All-RMAC honoree, Pless finished with 17 goals and five assists last season.

Deuce Kirschke, Junior, Midfielder, Colorado Mesa

• Kirschke was a First Team All-RMAC honoree as a short-stick defensive midfielder after recording 26 ground balls and six caused turnovers while adding five goals and an assist.

Caden Hathaway, Senior, Defense, Colorado Mesa

• Hathaway returned to All-RMAC form as a junior after forcing 28 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers in 16 games. He was the 2022 RMAC Freshman and Co-Defender of the Year.

Cade Poe, Graduate, Face Off Specialist, Concordia

• Poe was a First Team All-RMAC pick after winning a league-best 65.3% of his faceoffs last season and ranking seventh among Division II athletes. He also led the RMAC with 9.93 ground balls per game, ranking seventh in Division II in that category as well.

Daniel Yang, Senior, Goalie, Concordia

• Yang notched Second Team All-RMAC honors in 2024 after finishing second among league goalies in goals-against average (11.39) and save percentage (.481).

Chad McFadden, Graduate, Attack, Concordia

• McFadden was a Second Team All-RMAC pick last season after finishing fourth in goals per game (2.33) and fifth in points per game (3.47), finishing the season with 35 goals and 17 assists.

Joshua Peavey, Graduate, Faceoff Specialist, Dominican

• Peavey won 50.5% of his faceoffs last season, his first with Dominican, and won 64 ground balls in 12 games.

Andrew Duxbury, Senior, Midfielder, Westminster

• Duxbury was a Second Team All-RMAC as a short-stick defensive midfielder last season, playing in 13 games and recording five ground balls.

Camden Rossi, Junior, Midfield, Westminster

• The reigning RMAC Midfielder of the Year, Rossi returns after a 13-goal, five-assist campaign in 2024 that also saw him force 28 ground balls.

Jack Fairbanks, Senior, Face Off Specialist, Westminster

• Fairbanks nabbed Second Team All-RMAC recognition after finishing third in the league with a 58.9% face-off winning percentage that was 24th among Division II athletes.

Christian Jones, Junior, Goalie, Westminster

• Jones returns after starting 11 outings for the Griffins last season and earned Second Team All-RMAC honors after leading the league in goals-against average (10.98), save percentage (.565) and finishing second in saves per game (11.38). He was ninth among Division II goalies in save percentage last season.

About the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colo., with 15 member institutions across five states. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 67 NCAA Division II national champions and 54 national runners-up since 1992.
#EverythingElevated