2024 NCAA lacrosse tournaments guide: Who’s in, schedule, how to watch and more
After the brackets were unveiled Sunday for the 2024 NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse tournaments, games begin this weekend in the quest for the national title.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who’s in?
MEN
In the 17-team men’s field, defending national champion Notre Dame received the No. 1 overall seed after going 12-1 and winning its third Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.
Here’s a look at the teams and their resumes, including Rating Percentage Index (RPI), which takes into account strength of schedule:
No. 1 seed Notre Dame: 12-1, ACC Tournament champion, 1st in RPI
No. 2 seed Duke: 12-5, ACC Tournament finalist, 2nd in RPI
No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins: 10-4, Big Ten Tournament semifinalist, 3rd in RPI
No. 4 seed Syracuse: 11-5, ACC Tournament semifinalist, 4th in RPI
No. 5 seed Denver: 11-3, Big East Tournament semifinalist, 6th in RPI
No. 6 seed Virginia: 10-5, ACC Tournament semifinalist, 5th in RPI
No. 7 seed Maryland: 8-5, Big Ten Tournament semifinalist, 7th in RPI
No. 8 seed Georgetown: 12-3, Big East Tournament champion, 10th in RPI
Penn State: 11-4, Big Ten Tournament finalist, 8th in RPI
Princeton: 11-4, Ivy League Tournament champion, 9th in RPI
Michigan: 10-6, Big Ten Tournament champion, 13th in RPI
Saint Joseph’s: 12-3, Atlantic 10 Tournament champion, 15th in RPI
Towson: 13-3, Coastal Athletic Association Tournament champion, 16th in RPI
Lehigh: 10-6, Patriot League Tournament champion, 21st in RPI
Utah: 12-4, Atlantic Sun Tournament champion, 24th in RPI
Albany: 9-7, America East Tournament champion, 35th in RPI
Sacred Heart: 13-4, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champion, 32nd in RPI
WOMEN
In the 29-team women’s tournament, Northwestern secured the No. 1 seed after going 15-2 and rolling to its fourth Big Ten Tournament title. Here’s a look at the teams and their resumes:
No. 1 seed Northwestern: 15-2, Big Ten Tournament champion, 1st in RPI
No. 2 seed Boston College: 16-3, ACC Tournament champion, 2nd in RPI
No. 3 seed Syracuse: 14-5, ACC Tournament finalist, 3rd in RPI
No. 4 seed Maryland: 12-5, Big Ten Tournament quarterfinalist, 6th in RPI
No. 5 seed Virginia: 14-4, ACC Tournament semifinalist, 10th in RPI
No. 6 seed Yale: 15-2, Ivy League Tournament champion, 4th in RPI
No. 7 seed Notre Dame: 15-3, ACC Tournament semifinalist, 11th in RPI
No. 8 seed Penn: 13-4, Ivy League Tournament finalist, 5th in RPI
Stony Brook: 17-2, CAA Tournament champion, 7th in RPI
Loyola Maryland: 17-2, Patriot League Tournament champion, 8th in RPI
Michigan: 14-3, Big Ten Tournament quarterfinalist, 9th in RPI
Johns Hopkins: 11-7, Big Ten Tournament semifinalist, 12th in RPI
Stanford: 13-4, Pac-12 Tournament champion, 13th in RPI
Denver: 15-3, Big East Tournament champion, 14th in RPI
Florida: 17-2, American Athletic Conference Tournament champion, 15th in RPI
Fairfield: 16-2, MAAC Tournament finalist, 16th in RPI
Princeton: 10-6, Ivy League Tournament semifinalist, 17th in RPI
North Carolina: 10-6, ACC Tournament quarterfinalist, 18th in RPI
James Madison: 13-5, AAC Tournament finalist, 19th in RPI
Drexel: 13-5, CAA Tournament finalist, 20th in RPI
Penn State: 11-7, Big Ten Tournament finalist, 21st in RPI
Niagara: 16-3, MAAC Tournament champion, 26th in RPI
Duke: 10-8, ACC Tournament quarterfinalist, 31st in RPI
Coastal Carolina: 14-5, ASUN Tournament champion, 33rd in RPI
Richmond: 13-5, Atlantic 10 Tournament champion, 38th in RPI
Mercer: 14-5, Big South Tournament champion, 41st in RPI
Binghamton: 12-6, America East Tournament champion, 42nd in RPI
LIU: 11-7, Northeast Conference Tournament champion, 73rd in RPI
Robert Morris: 8-11, Mid-American Conference Tournament champion, 102nd in RPI
Who got left out?
Here’s a look at some of the notable teams who didn’t make the cut:
MEN
Penn: 9-6, Ivy League Tournament finalist, 11th in RPI
Cornell: 9-5, Ivy League Tournament semifinalist, 12th in RPI
Yale: 11-4, Ivy League Tournament semifinalist, 14th in RPI
Army West Point: 11-3, Patriot League Tournament semifinalist, 17th in RPI
Boston University: 10-7, Patriot League Tournament finalist, 18th in RPI
Villanova: 9-7, Big East Tournament finalist, 19th in RPI
Harvard: 8-5, fifth in Ivy League, 20th in RPI
Ohio State: 6-9, Big Ten Tournament quarterfinalist, 22nd in RPI
North Carolina: 7-7, fifth in ACC, 23rd in RPI
Loyola Maryland: 7-8, Patriot League Tournament quarterfinalist, 26th in RPI
Rutgers: 7-7, Big Ten Tournament quarterfinalist, 27th in RPI
Delaware: 9-5, CAA Tournament finalist, 29th in RPI
WOMEN
Navy: 15-4, Patriot League Tournament finalist, 22nd in RPI
Brown: 10-5, fifth in Ivy League, 23rd in RPI
Colorado: 13-6, Pac-12 Tournament finalist, 24th in RPI
Massachusetts: 13-5, Atlantic 10 Tournament finalist, 25th in RPI
Clemson: 11-7, ACC Tournament quarterfinalist, 27th in RPI
Southern California: 12-5, Pac-12 Tournament semifinalist, 28th in RPI
Harvard: 10-5, Ivy League Tournament semifinalist, 29th in RPI
Holy Cross: 12-6, Patriot League Tournament semifinalist, 30th in RPI
Siena: 13-6, MAAC Tournament semifinalist, 32nd in RPI
UConn: 11-7, Big East Tournament finalist, 43rd in RPI
Davidson: 11-7, Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinalist, 48th in RPI
Iona: 12-5, MAAC Tournament quarterfinalist, 57th in RPI
When do the games start?
First-round games begin Friday for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Here’s a look at the schedule:
MEN
First round
• Virginia vs. Saint Joseph’s, Saturday, noon, ESPNU
• Duke vs. Utah, Saturday, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
• Denver vs. Michigan, Saturday, 5 p.m, ESPNU
• Maryland vs. Princeton, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
• Johns Hopkins vs. Lehigh, Sunday, noon, ESPNU
• Georgetown vs. Penn State, Sunday, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
• Notre Dame vs. Albany, Sunday, 5 p.m., ESPNU
• Syracuse vs. Towson, Sunday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
WOMEN
First round (all games Friday)
• Maryland vs. Robert Morris, noon, ESPN+
• Yale vs. Binghamton, 1 p.m., ESPN+
• Notre Dame vs. Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m., ESPN+
• Penn vs. Richmond, 1 p.m., ESPN+
• Stony Brook vs. Niagara, 2 p.m., ESPN+
• Virginia vs. LIU, 3 p.m., ESPN+
• Penn State vs. James Madison, 3 p.m., ESPN+
• Denver vs. Stanford, 4 p.m., ESPN+
• Loyola Maryland vs. Duke, 4 p.m., ESPN+
• Johns Hopkins vs. Fairfield, 4 p.m., ESPN+
• Michigan vs. Mercer, 4 p.m., ESPN+
• Princeton vs. Drexel, 4 p.m., ESPN+
• Florida vs. North Carolina, 6 p.m., ESPN+
How can I watch?
ESPNU will broadcast all of the men’s tournament games through the quarterfinals. The semifinals will be broadcast on ESPN2, and the championship game will be televised on ESPN.
The first and second rounds of the women’s tournament will be livestreamed on ESPN+. ESPNU will broadcast the quarterfinals and semifinals, and the championship game will be televised on ESPN.
When and where is championship weekend?
As is tradition, the champions will be crowned on Memorial Day weekend.
The men’s quarterfinals will be held Saturday, May 18, at Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York, and Sunday, May 19, at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium. The women’s quarterfinals will be hosted by the higher seed on Thursday, May 16.
The men’s semifinals and championship game will be held Saturday, May 25, and Monday, May 27, respectively, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The women’s semifinals and championship game will take place Friday, May 24, and Sunday, May 26, respectively, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.