Two Big Ten Teams Selected to NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament
Johns Hopkins and Penn State to compete for NCAA Championship
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Two Big Ten schools have qualified for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship. Big Ten regular season co-champion and tournament champion Penn State earned the conference's automatic berth, while regular season co-champion Johns Hopkins earned an at-large berth.
The NCAA field includes 18 teams with opening-round play-in games taking place on Wednesday, May 6, followed by eight first-round contests occurring Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10, on campus sites. Quarterfinal games will take place at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del. and at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. on May 16-17, with the semifinals and final slated for Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. on May 23 and May 25.
No. 8 seed Penn State (9-5) will host Patriot League champion Army at Panzer Stadium on Saturday, May 9 at 2:30 p.m. ET. This marks the fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Nittany Lions and ninth trip overall. Last season, Penn State was one of two Big Ten teams to advance to the semifinals.
Johns Hopkins (9-5) returns to the tournament for the first time since 2024. The Blue Jays will travel to New York to face No. 4 seed Cornell on Saturday, May 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays currently lead the NCAA in tournament appearances (49) and tournament victories (73).
Since the conference began sponsoring lacrosse in 2015, a Big Ten school has made the semifinals of every NCAA Tournament played. Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.