WASHINGTON – Three Georgetown University men's lacrosse players were named Preseason All-BIG EAST, as announced by the league office on Wednesday. The Hoyas were also selected to finish in third place by the league's coaches, including one first-place vote.

Seniors Daniel Bucaro (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Lucas Wittenberg (Kennesaw, Ga./Harrison/Mercer), along with sophomore Gibson Smith (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) were each tabbed to the preseason all-league team. All three Hoyas collected All-BIG EAST recognition last season.

Daniel Bucaro, Senior, Attack
Preseason All-BIG EAST (unanimous selection)
Bucaro is a three-time All-BIG EAST honoree including back-to-back first team nods after being named second team and the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2016. A USILA Honorable Mention All-American and Tewaaraton Award nominee in 2018, he notched 34 goals to go with a team-high 21 assists for 55 points on the season despite playing in just 12 games. Bucaro eclipsed the 100 career point mark as a junior and is currently 10th all-time in career points on the Hilltop with 139.

Gibson Smith, Sophomore, Defense
Preseason All-BIG EAST
Smith garnered second team all-conference accolades after a stellar rookie campaign in 2018. He was second on the team in both ground balls (47) and caused turnovers (17), ranking third in the BIG EAST with 1.21 CTpg and eighth in GBpg at 3.36. Smith was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week once and was named to the weekly honor roll three additional times.

Lucas Wittenberg, Senior, Midfield
Preseason All-BIG EAST
Wittenberg was a second team all-league selection in 2018, his third career postseason nod after previously being named First Team All-Southern Conference at Mercer in 2017 and a First Team All-Freshman SoCon selection in 2016. He showed no signs of slowing down with his transition to the BIG EAST, scoring 23 goals to go with 20 assists for 43 points to rank fourth on the Hoyas. He was also named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team as the Hoyas won their first BIG EAST Championship in program history.

Georgetown earned a total of 17 votes to rank third in the preseason poll behind Denver (25) and Marquette (18). The Hoyas collected one first-place vote in the poll. Rounding out the poll was Villanova (15), Providence (10) and St. John's (5)

The Hoyas open the 2019 campaign at home against Sacred Heart on Saturday, Feb. 9 at noon at Cooper Field