The Georgetown University men’s lacrosse team faces high expectations for the upcoming season after the squad was unanimously ranked No. 1 in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll Jan. 20 and 5 players were named as USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason All-Americans Jan. 20.
Junior defender Ty Banks was the unanimous choice for Big East preseason defensive player of the year. Banks is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign, where he was credited with collecting 45 ground balls and forcing 22 turnovers on defense. 3 of those collected ground balls came in the NCAA first round game, during which Banks also added an assist in a 16-12 win over No. 6 Duke.
Six Hoyas in total were given preseason all-Big East team honors. Graduate attacker Rory Connor, junior goalkeeper Anderson Moore, sophomore defender Robert Plath, sophomore faceoff specialist Ross Prince, sophomore attacker Jack Ransom and Banks were all named to the all-Big East preseason team. Moore, Prince and Banks were selected unanimously. No other school in the Big East had more than 3 players selected for preseason honors, unanimous or not.
Three Hoyas were ranked in the top 30 of Inside Lacrosse’s list of the 50 best NCAA players for the 2026 season. Banks led the pack at No. 19, followed by junior midfielder Liam Connor at No. 26 and Rory Connor at No. 29.
Georgetown was just one of 4 teams, along with the University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University and the University of Richmond, with 5 All-American selections from USA Lacrosse Magazine. Banks led the way with a second-team nod, while Liam Connor was named to the third team. Additionally, Rory Connor, Prince and Moore were given honorable mentions.
The early hype is in large part due to the offseason transfer portal additions of brothers Rory and Liam Connor, both transferring from Colgate University.
Graduate attacker Rory Connor played at Colgate for four seasons, scoring 113 goals and 81 assists for 194 points in just 47 career games. Last spring, Connor ranked fourth in scoring in the Patriot League with 2.88 goals per game and 4.82 points per game. Connor replicated his offensive success in the postseason, scoring twice and adding three assists in a victory against Boston University for the Patriot League championship. He rounded out a successful season with a first-team all-Patriot League selection and an All-American honorable mention from USA Lacrosse Magazine.
Junior midfielder Liam Connor, younger brother to Rory, played just two seasons at Colgate, recording 51 goals and 64 assists for 115 points over his 33-game career before transferring to Georgetown. As a sophomore, Connor ranked second in assists (2.83) and points (5) per game among Patriot League players. A clutch scorer with four game-winning goals, Connor added his final game-winner in the Patriot League championship game against Boston University. This spectacular play earned him a second-team all-Patriot League selection in his second and final season at Colgate.
As Colgate’s two top point scorers, Rory and Liam Connor propelled Colgate to the fourth-best offense in the nation in terms of goals scored per game. Georgetown, meanwhile, ranked outside of the top 15, so this offensive infusion may give the Hoyas a boost. The Connor brothers were only held scoreless in one game last season, a 10-goal loss to the University of Virginia.
In terms of returning talent, sophomore attacker Jack Ransom will look to improve on an impressive first year, where he scored 31 goals and added 5 assists. His 36 points ranked him third on the team and the highest among returning players. Ransom exploded for 9 goals against Villanova in the regular season finale, falling short of the NCAA Division I record by only 2 goals.
With many preseason accolades and much to be excited about from the Hoyas’ new look offense, it is shaping up to be an exciting season with Georgetown’s sights set on a national championship.
