Michigan Earns At-Large NCAA Bid, Named Host for Second Time in Program History
5/3/2026 10:11:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan women's lacrosse team secured its fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid and sixth appearance in program history, earning the right to host the first and second rounds at U-M Lacrosse Stadium, as announced Sunday evening (May 3).
Michigan will face Mercer in the first round Friday (May 8) at 3 p.m. and will meet the winner of Stanford and Penn State, who play Friday at 6 p.m., in the second round.
The Wolverines will host the opening weekend for the second time in program history, previously doing so in 2019 as the No. 8 seed. Michigan has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons (2022-25) and is making its sixth overall appearance.
U-M reached its first NCAA Quarterfinal in 2024, defeating then-No. 4 Notre Dame in the second round on a last-second goal by Jill Smith.
This season, Michigan enters the tournament with a 12-6 overall record after advancing to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Wolverines went 8-5 against ranked opponents, highlighted by their first-ever win over No. 2 Maryland, along with victories over then-No. 5 Florida and then-No. 6 Boston College.
Michigan is joined by five other Big Ten programs in the 29-team field: Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers.
