SAN DIEGO -- After winning its second MCLA national championship in the last three years, Grand Canyon has been voted the preseason favorite in the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) by the league's coaches.

The Lopes (16-1) finished last season on a 13-game winning streak, including undefeated marches through the SLC tournament and the 2017 MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour.

Following Grand Canyon in second is Chapman (13-7), which lost to the Lopes in the national championship game after winning the whole enchilada in '16.

Arizona State (10-7), which bowed to GCU in the SLC title game last spring, is in third followed by UC Santa Barbara (8-6).

"This will be and interesting year for us," said Grand Canyon coach Manny Rapkin. "Seven of our starters depart, including all of our close defensemen and first-line midfielders. Arizona State and Chapman return almost everyone. UCSB, SDSU, Concordia, UNLV and Arizona should all be Top 25 teams. The conference is getting stronger every year."

Southwestern Lacrosse Conference Division I Preseason Poll