INDIANAPOLIS — With less than three weeks to go until selections, the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship Subcommittee has revealed its top 10 teams.
Using results through games of April 15, Maryland (13-1) earned the No. 1 seed. The Terrapins lead the nation in the Ratings Percentage Index and boast the best record against teams in the top 40 RPI at 10-1. The overall No. 2 seed is Northwestern (12-3). The Wildcats have seven wins over teams in the top 20 RPI including Northwestern and North Carolina.
Defending National Champion North Carolina (12-1) comes in as the No. 3 seed. The Tarheels’ lead the Atlantic Coast Conference with a record of 9-0. The top three seeds are crucial as those three seeds earn a bye into the second round on May 10.
The No. 4 seed, Syracuse (12-3), is on a 12-game winning streak with its last loss coming Feb. 20 against Stanford. Seeds 5 and 6, Navy (14-1) comes in at five, with eight wins in the top 40 RPI, and Johns Hopkins (12-3) is the No. 6 seed, touting wins over Stony Brook on March 8 (13-11) and Michigan on April 12 (13-6).
Finally, rounding out the top ten are Stony Brook (13-2), Michigan (10-4), Florida (12-2), and Colorado (10-3).
The ranking is based on the criteria used to select and seed the 29 teams for the Division I women’s lacrosse championship and in no particular order includes won-lost record, strength of schedule, eligibility and availability of student-athletes for NCAA Championships, RPI, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents, significant wins and losses, evaluation of the 10 highest-rated teams on an institutions schedule; defined by two components: Strength of schedule and winning percentage.
The top 10 teams announced in this release have no bearing on the final 29-team field for the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Featuring 15 automatic conference qualifiers and 14 at-large selections, the full bracket reveal take place at 9 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, May 3 on ESPNU.
The tournament begins Friday, May 8 on campus sites through the quarterfinals as teams look to earn a trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship May 22 & 24 at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.
NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Committee Top 10 Ranking
Record through games on April 15
- Maryland, 13-1
- Northwestern, 12-3
- North Carolina, 12-1
- Syracuse, 12-3
- Navy, 14-1
- Johns Hopkins, 12-3
- Stony Brook, 13-2
- Michigan, 10-4
- Florida, 12-2
- Colorado, 10-3
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