2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament
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The 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 44th annual single-elimination tournament to help determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's college lacrosse. The semifinal and national championship rounds were played at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on May 22 for the semifinals and May 24 for the championship game.[2][3] All other rounds were played at campus sites, at the home field of the higher-seeded team, from May 8–14. First and second round games were broadcast on ESPN+, quarterfinals and semifinal games were broadcast on ESPNU, and the national championship was broadcast on ESPN.
| 2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Dates | May 8–24, 2026 | ||||
| Teams | 29 | ||||
| Finals site | Martin Stadium, Evanston, IL | ||||
| Champions | Northwestern (9th title) | ||||
| Runner-up | North Carolina (7th title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists | Johns Hopkins (1st Final Four) Maryland (29th Final Four) | ||||
| Winning coach | Kelly Amonte Hiller (9th title) | ||||
| MOP | Chloe Humphrey, North Carolina | ||||
| Attendance[1] | 8,316 finals | ||||
| |||||
Tournament field
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 29 teams were invited to participate. In total, 15 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments, while the remaining 14 teams qualified at-large based on their regular-season records.[2]
Teams
| Seed | School | Conference | Berth Type | RPI[4] | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern | Big Ten | Automatic | 1 | 15–3 |
| 2 | North Carolina | ACC | Automatic | 2 | 16–1 |
| 3 | Maryland | Big Ten | At-large | 3 | 16–3 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins | Big Ten | At-large | 7 | 14–4 |
| 5 | Stony Brook | CAA | Automatic | 4 | 17–2 |
| 6 | Navy | Patriot | Automatic | 5 | 18–1 |
| 7 | Michigan | Big Ten | At-large | 9 | 12–6 |
| 8 | Colorado | Big 12 | Automatic | 8 | 14–3 |
| Army West Point | Patriot | At-large | 12 | 14–4 | |
| Boston College | ACC | At-large | 19 | 9–7 | |
| Clemson | ACC | At-large | 14 | 14–5 | |
| Davidson | Atlantic 10 | Automatic | 34 | 15–4 | |
| Denver | Big East | Automatic | 13 | 15–3 | |
| Fairfield | MAAC | Automatic | 24 | 15–3 | |
| Florida | Big 12 | At-large | 10 | 15–3 | |
| Jacksonville | ASUN | Automatic | 33 | 13–5 | |
| James Madison | American | Automatic | 15 | 13–6 | |
| Loyola (MD) | Patriot | At-large | 23 | 12–7 | |
| Mercer | Big South | Automatic | 55 | 13–6 | |
| Notre Dame | ACC | At-large | 30 | 12–5 | |
| Penn St. | Big Ten | At-large | 18 | 12–6 | |
| Princeton | Ivy | Automatic | 16 | 11–6 | |
| Rutgers | Big Ten | At-large | 20 | 10–8 | |
| Stanford | ACC | At-large | 11 | 15–4 | |
| Stonehill | NEC | Automatic | 72 | 13–6 | |
| Syracuse | ACC | At-large | 6 | 13–5 | |
| UAlbany | American East | Automatic | 35 | 12–5 | |
| UMass | MAC | Automatic | 26 | 16–2 | |
| Yale | Ivy | At-large | 21 | 13–4 |
Bracket
Tournament bracket
| First Round May 8 Regional Campus Sites | Second Round May 10 Regional Campus Sites | Quarterfinals May 14 Campus Sites | Semifinals May 22 Martin Stadium | Final May 24 Martin Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern* | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| James Madison | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denver | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado* | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Colorado* | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Johns Hopkins | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Stony Brook* | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stonehill | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Stony Brook* | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Stony Brook | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Johns Hopkins | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army West Point | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fairfield | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army West Point | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Johns Hopkins* | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAlbany | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Johns Hopkins* | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Northwestern | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Carolina | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Carolina* | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davidson | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Carolina | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn St. | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan* | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Michigan* | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Carolina | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Maryland | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Navy* | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass | 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Navy* | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola (MD) | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Navy | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Maryland | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Maryland* | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
- *First and second round host[5]
Tournament notes
The North Carolina Tar Heels entered the tournament as the reigning national champions, after winning the national championship at the 2025 NCAA tournament. North Carolina entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the tournament in its title defense season. However, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament was earned by Northwestern. The Wildcats defeated the Tar Heels once during the regular season, 17–16 in overtime at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Wildcats went on to win the Big Ten women's lacrosse tournament finishing the season with a record of 15–3 and securing the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
Analysts and the media considered the national title favorite to be Northwestern, with North Carolina, Maryland and Johns Hopkins being among the other contenders.[6]
Among the top contenders for the national championship in 2026, Northwestern was playing for its ninth title and first since 2023, North Carolina was seeking back-to-back titles, Maryland was playing for its fifteenth title and first since 2019, and John Hopkins was hoping to win its first-ever national title.
Northwestern, North Carolina, and Maryland all earned first-round byes in the tournament.
Record by Conference
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | FR | SR | QF | SF | CG | NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ten | 6 | 11–5 | .688 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| ACC | 6 | 8–6 | .571 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Patriot | 3 | 3–3 | .500 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| American | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| CAA | 1 | 2–1 | .667 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Big 12 | 2 | 2–2 | .500 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| ASUN | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Atlantic 10 | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Big East | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| MAAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Ivy | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| American East | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Big South | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| MAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| NEC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |