The 2026 regular season has come and gone. Just like that, the spring is almost over. The conference tournaments began this past weekend with the Big Ten and continue this week with Patriot League Tuesday and the rest of the conference tournaments beginning Thursday. I will get into each of the brackets and what to look for in each conference coming up after my updated rankings and bracketology update.
End of Regular Season Top 20:
1. Notre Dame
2. Princeton
3. Richmond
4. Syracuse
5. Cornell
6. UNC
7. Virginia
8. Hopkins
9. Georgetown
10. Duke
11. Maryland
12. Army
13. Penn State
14. Yale
15. Harvard
16. Towson
17. Ohio State
18. Loyola
19. Jacksonville
20. Rutgers
Bracketology
A lot of discourse has been tossed around the past week or so regarding a few teams sitting on the bubble. The top-20 is generally weaker this year than in previous years. In my opinion there are four teams as true “contenders”, a couple of teams with Cinderella potential, and then a bunch of junk that may lead to lopsided first round games.
The three teams on the forefront of everyone’s minds are Duke, Penn State and Maryland. All three have some good wins and bad losses. After Duke’s blowout of UNC this past weekend they jumped all the way to #8 in RPI. Penn State is down to #15 and Maryland sits right in the middle. Duke’s season is over. Maryland and Penn State play on Thursday in what some believe to be a play-in game. Let’s get into the prediction. Assume for the automatic qualifiers that the highest RPI is used.
1. Notre Dame vs Albany/Siena
8. Virginia vs Duke
4. Syracuse vs Army
5. Richmond vs Georgetown
3. North Carolina vs Towson
6. Cornell vs Maryland
2. Princeton vs Jacksonville/RMU
7. Hopkins vs Harvard
First Two Out: Penn State, Yale
I think the committee will value Duke’s recent victory over UNC and RPI ranking and give them the last spot. Penn State does have five top-20 wins but only 1 (same as Duke) in the top-5. The strength of the 11-20 teams is weaker than in past years so I don’t see much in those wins. Things could switch this week after the games are played.
America East – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
Vermont vs Bryant (+1.5)
UMBC vs Albany (-3.5)
Silas Richmond isnt going to squander his last chance to make a NCAA tournament especially as the host of their conference tournament. Albany is also undefeated in conference with their closest win a 3-goal defeat of UMBC. My pick: Albany
ACC – Semifinals Friday, Final Sunday
Virginia vs Notre Dame (-2.5)
Syracuse vs UNC (-1.5)
Two very intriguing matchups in a league that could get all five teams in the big dance. Notre Dame’s only blemish this season is to Virginia back in March. Syracuse didn’t have any close games to the other three teams, losing handily to ND and UNC and beating Virginia by a few. Notre Dame has been the best team so far this season but the best team usually doesn’t win here. My pick: UNC
Atlantic Sun – Semifinals Friday, Final Sunday
Mercer vs Jacksonville (-9.5)
Air Force vs Utah (-2.5)
A three-way tie atop the ASUN between Air Force, Utah and Jacksonville gives us a rematch of an OT win for AF over Utah this past weekend. Can lightning strike the same spot twice? I think the two better teams in Utah/Jacksonville will meet on Sunday for the championship. My pick: Jacksonville
A-10 – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
UMass vs Richmond (-8.5)
St. Joes vs High Point (+2.5)
At this point, the AQ is all Richmond. The Spiders have enjoyed their best season in program history and roll into the postseason ranked #3. Richmond fans should expect nothing less than a final four. High Point should be a pesky underdog to St. Joes and could make the upset run. They already have a win over St. Joes this season. My pick: Richmond
Big East – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
Denver vs Georgetown (-3.5)
Villanova vs Providence (+1.5)
Georgetown is another runaway in the Big East, who couldn’t find a team on the same level as the Hoyas this spring. Georgetown has put together a solid second half of the season and could be a dark horse team to get rolling down the stretch. My pick: Georgetown
Big Ten – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
Hopkins vs Michigan (+1.5)
Maryland vs Penn St (-1.5)
A lot at stake here so let’s get the first game out the way. Hopkins could lose their first round home game. Michigan has been hot in May lately and needs to win out to make the tournament. Onto Maryland/Penn State which I have as a play-in game. The loser should be out but I think Maryland will have an argument still if they lose. The Big Ten was not strong this year and all of these teams have simply lost too many games. My pick: Maryland
CAA – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
Monmouth vs Towson (-7.5)
Drexel vs Stony Brook (+2.5)
Towson has dominated CAA play this season and have been bouncing around the bottom of the rankings. Mikey Weishaar was selected very high in the PLL draft. Drexel should be hanging around on Saturday to challenge the Tigers but Towson has a fun, fast, solid squad this year. I could see them taking a top seed to the wire in a couple weeks. My pick: Towson
Ivy League – Semifinals Friday, Final Sunday
Harvard vs Cornell (-2.5)
Yale vs Princeton (-4.5)
Do not count out the underdogs here. The Ivy League has shown to have some parity this season with both Harvard and Yale having some big OOC and in conference wins. Princeton and Cornell are locks for the tournament, maybe even a home first round game. Harvard and Yale are sitting on the bubble with Penn State, Maryland and Duke. My pick: Princeton
MAAC – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
Merrimack vs Siena (-6.5)
Sacred Heart vs Marist (+1.5)
Merrimack snuck into the field with their play in win, and now has to face undefeated Siena who is playing for their late coach, Liam Gleason. Sacred Heart is favored as the #3 seed and will look to play upset to the favored Siena Saints. My pick: Siena
NEC – Semifinals Thursday, Final Saturday
VMI vs Robert Morris (-6.5)
Cleveland State vs LIU (-3.5)
Robert Morris ran through this league in the spring and they have not lost since mid-February. Their closest win was four goals. I think LIU can hang tougher with a championship on the line. Give me the Sharks to keep it close. My pick: Robert Morris
Patriot – Semifinals Friday, Final Sunday
Lehigh vs Army (-3.5)
Colgate vs Loyola (-1.5)
The league of utter chaos saw both road teams pick up quarterfinal wins last night in OT. Army has wins already over the rest of the field. They are the most experienced team left and have professional talent all over the field. I am intrigued to see the young Loyola team fight this weekend but dont think it will be enough. My pick: Army
The final spots in the 18-team bracket will be set this Sunday during the selection show. We are on to playoff lacrosse in 2026.
These are the best few weeks of the season for lacrosse fans. Enjoy!
Lacrosse Analyst
Sam Kuhn currently is the graduate assistant for the men’s lacrosse program at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and is working to complete his Masters of Business Administration in 2020. Sam graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018, where he received his Bachelors Degree in English and played lacrosse as well. In his four years, Sam was a two time All-NCAC selection, a first team All-Region selection in 2018, and surpassed 100 goals for his career, one of seven members in program history to do so. Sam has interned with Inside Lacrosse, and wrote for the sports section of The Wooster Voice.