TROY, N.Y. - Though the possibility of a season remains unknown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, US Lacrosse Magazine released its 2021 Nike Division III Men's Lacrosse Pre-Season Poll and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is ranked 17th in the country.

The Engineers, who are coached by Scott Hackett-Dalgliesh, are made up of 61 student-athletes, including 15 members of the Class of 2021 and 15 newcomers.

Rensselaer was nationally-ranked for the majority of the 2020 campaign before it was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. It had played six games through March 11 with four victories. RPI averaged 13.5 goals per game while allowing 11.5 with five of its contests decided by four goals or fewer.

Each of the team's top five point producers are on the 2021 roster, as are the top goalkeepers and face-off specialists.

Salisbury University is ranked first in the poll, which includes 20 schools, followed by Tufts University, RIT, Wesleyan and Ursinus.