ROCK HILL, S.C.--The South Atlantic Conference rounded out spring sport preseason polls on Friday, selecting No. 8 Anderson Men's Lacrosse to finish 2nd in the league.
Receiving two first-place votes and 97 overall points, the Trojans earned their best preseason ranking in program history. Anderson sits behind reigning SAC Champions, No. 5 Wingate, who boasts seven first-place votes and 104 total points. Earning one first-place vote and 96 points, No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne claimed third place, followed by No. 13 Newberry in fourth with 87 points.
Rounding out the Top-5 is Catawba, followed by Coker, Mars Hill, Lincoln Memorial, Tusculum and Emory & Henry.
The SAC also released the Men's Lacrosse Watch List, distinguishing six Trojans as 'Players to Watch.'
Radyn Badraun (Mission Viejo, Calif.) - Sr., M
Badraun played in all 18 games last season, totaling 58 goals and 18 assists for 76 points. His 2025 goal-tally finished 6th-best in the NCAA. In addition to three five-goal games, Badraun matched his career-high with six goals in AU's win over Newberry. He tallied two game-winners and seven man-up goals, collected 46 GBs and forced 10 CTOs. A 2026 Team Captain, his honors for last season include: First-Team All-Conference, SAC All-Tournament Team, USILA All-South Region First-Team, USA Lacrosse All-American Second-Team and USILA All-American Second-Team.
Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.) - Sr., A
A starter for all 18 games last season, Bitterman boasted a team-best program-record 63 goals and 77 points. Finishing with the 4th-best goal-count in the country, Bitterman led the NCAA in goals and goals/game after 12 games. He totaled 11 man-up goals, three game-winners, 37 GBs and two seven-goal games—both of which were against SAC opponents. Bitterman's honors for the season include: Second-Team All-SAC, USA Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention, USILA All-South Region Team and USILA All-American Honorable Mention.
Brayden Bushnoe (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) - Sr., M
Playing in all 18 games for the Black and Gold last season, 2026 Team Captain Bushnoe recorded 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points in 2025. He boasted a career-high seven-goal game against Embry-Riddle and scored four in Anderson's win over Wingate. His stat sheet also included 25 groundballs and six caused turnovers.
Aiden Dixon (Forest Hill, Md.) - Jr., M/FO
Dixon played in all 18 games last season, starting 12. He tallied ten goals, including a brace against Tusculum and Catawba and contributed eight assists. His sophomore campaign marked his second-straight season with 100+ GBs (105). Winning 177 of 273 FOs taken (64.8%), Dixon was a 2x SAC Specialist of the Week (3/24, 4/7/25) before being named the 2025 SAC Specialist of the Year. He was also selected for the All-SAC First-Team, USILA All-South Region Third-Team and USILA All-American HM.
Garrett Krsul (Lutz, Fla.) - R-So., D
A defensive stalwart for the Trojans, Krsul started 17 games last year. He forced 11 caused turnovers and collected 34 groundballs, in addition to two goals and three assists. He was named to the Academic All-District team.
Adin Laughlin (Wooster, Ohio) - R-Jr., G
Starting 13 of 14 games played last season, Laughlin recorded 142 saves for a 51.4 save percentage. A Second-Team All-SAC selection, Laughlin recorded 16 saves in AU's win over LR, 16 saves in AU's win at Wingate, and a career-high 19 saves in AU's SAC Semifinal victory also over LR. He totaled 13 GBs and forced four CTOs on the season.
2026 SAC Men's Lacorsse Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank School (1st Place Votes) Points
1 Wingate (7) 104
2 Anderson (2) 97
3 Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 96
4 Newberry 87
5 Catawba 76
6 Coker 65
7 Mars Hill 59
8 Lincoln Memorial 56
9 Tusculum 44
10 Emory & Henry 36
2026 SAC Men's Lacorsse Preseason Players to Watch
Anderson: Radyn Badraun, Ryan Bitterman, Brayden Bushnoe, Aiden Dixon, Garrett Krsul, Adin Laughlin
Catawba: Owen Conway, Steven Hernandez, Kier McKnight, Tanner Stout, Garrett Simi, Peyton Turner
Coker: Lennon Connolly, Michael Jensen, Brandon Calidonio, Ryan Forehand, Kaleb Hiltz, Elijah Utz
Emory & Henry: David Mewes, Jackson Jones, Gavin Starling, Brayden Hall, Jacob Mills, Noah Parrish
Lenoir-Rhyne: Donovan Powell, Morgan Madish, Matt Mancini, Jarrett Huff, Zack Salo, Parks Painter
Lincoln Memorial: Jenson Jones, Koen Burdette, Beckett O'Shea, Dominico Moscato, Connor Blondin, Lucas Weaver
Mars Hill: Sam Arendt, Jake Lynch, AJ Howland, Lukas Kight
Newberry: Brian Lake, Liam Vollans, Jaiden Terry, Ryan Morrison, Gage Vigar, Scott Williams
Tusculum: Luke Bowen, Tysen Fontenla, Aiden Lyman, Aiden Paczek, Jayden Rios, Ben Royer
Wingate: Kyle Spence, Joey Moran, Jaxon Grant, Graham Tillett, Quad Williams, Sam Goss
