The 2021 Midwest Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Wednesday and the Foresters were seventh on the list.
Voting is done by the MWC head men's cross country coaches. Each coach votes for the other eight teams in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no cross country season in 2020-21. The Lake Forest men placed seventh at the 2019 MWC Championships after placing third in four of the previous five seasons.
The Foresters' top returning runner is senior Christian Reyes, who earned All-MWC honors with a 15th-place finish at the league's most recent championship meet.
James Akita, who became the head coach of the program in February of 2020, will finally begin his first season with the Foresters at the Elmhurst Early Bird Invitational on Friday, September 3. The team will then host the annual Forester Invitational on Friday, September 10, at Foss Park Golf Course in nearby North Chicago, Illinois. Lake Forest will also attend regular season meets hosted by Wheaton College, Lawrence University, and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse before traveling to Ripon, Wisconsin, for the 2021 MWC Championship Meet. The NCAA Division III Midwest Regional will take place in Rock Island, Illinois, two weeks later and the NCAA Division III Championships will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 20.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Grinnell College (4) | 55 |
| 2 | Ripon College (2) | 50 |
| 3 | Lawrence University (2) | 48 |
| 4 | Monmouth College (1) | 47 |
| 5 | Cornell College | 43 |
| 6 | Illinois College | 25 |
| 7 | Lake Forest College | 24 |
| 8 | Beloit College | 19 |
| 9 | Knox College | 13 |
