Preseason USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
October 1, 2018
| Team | Points | (First Place Votes) | Last Poll | Record | Weeks in Poll | |
| 1 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 505 | (30) | 3 | 25-16-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State University | 456 | (3) | 2 | 26-10-5 | 1 |
| 3 | University of Notre Dame | 431 | 1 | 28-10-2 | 1 | |
| 4 | St Cloud State University | 379 | (1) | 6 | 25-9-6 | 1 |
| 5 | Providence College | 369 | 8 | 24-12-4 | 1 | |
| 6 | University of Michigan | 355 | 4 | 22-15-3 | 1 | |
| 7 | Cornell University | 296 | 7 | 25-6-2 | 1 | |
| 8 | Boston University | 243 | 11 | 22-14-4 | 1 | |
| 9 | Boston College | 233 | NR | 20-14-3 | 1 | |
| 10 | Minnesota State University | 189 | 9 | 29-10-1 | 1 | |
| 11 | University of Denver | 153 | 5 | 23-10-8 | 1 | |
| 12 | University of North Dakota | 147 | NR | 17-13-10 | 1 | |
| 13 | University of Minnesota | 100 | NR | 19-17-2 | 1 | |
| 14 | Princeton University | 72 | NR | 19-13-4 | 1 | |
| 15 | Penn State University | 45 | 13 | 18-15-5 | 1 |
Others receiving votes: Northeastern University 44, Western Michigan University 24, Clarkson University 22, Michigan Tech University 7, University of Massachusetts 6, University of Northern Michigan 3, Harvard University 2, United States Air Force Academy 2, Union College 1, Western Michigan University 1.
