NCAA women's lacrosse bracket 2026: Schedule, TV channels, live streams, scores for college championship

NCAA women's lacrosse bracket 2026: Schedule, TV channels, live streams, scores for college championship originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The calendar flipping to May means it's NCAA lacrosse time once again. 

Every year brings something new but the usual suspects lead the way in the 2026 women's tournament. North Carolina, Northwestern, Maryland or Boston College has won every title but one since 2005 (the exception being James Madison in 2018), and the first three teams also lead the pre-tournament rankings this time. 

The Tar Heels defeated the Wildcats in last year's final, but Northwestern handed UNC its only regular-season loss this year in an overtime thriller in Chapel Hill back in March. Are those two on a collision course once again or will another team break through? 

Here's everything you need to know to watch this year's tournament. 

NCAA women's lacrosse bracket 2026

The bracket consists of 29 teams, with 15 automatic and 14 at-large selections. The top eight schools are seeded nationally and the top three receive first-round byes. 

This section will be filled in as seeds are announced. 

Where to watch NCAA women's lacrosse tournament

• TV channels: ESPNU (quarterfinals, semifinals), ESPN (championship)
• Live streams:ESPN app, fubo

The 2026 NCAA women's lacrosse tournament will air on multiple ESPN platforms, including the quarterfinals and semifinals on ESPNU and the championship game on ESPN.

All of those games will also be available to stream via fubo, which offers a free trial. Fans can also stream those games and every first- and second-round game with the ESPN app.

Now you can watch ESPN without cable. Stream live NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, college sports, plus SportsCenter, First Take, and all your favorite ESPN shows—anytime, anywhere—only in the ESPN app.

NCAA women's lacrosse tournament schedule, scores 2026

Friday, May 8: First round

This section will be filled in once matchups and schedules are announced.

Sunday, May 10: Second round

This section will be filled in once matchups are announced.

Thursday, May 14: Quarterfinals

Friday, May 22: Semifinals

Semifinals and final will be played at Northwestern

Sunday, May 24: Championship

NCAA women's lacrosse champions list

Here are the last 10 NCAA women's lacrosse champions and runners-up. There was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID-19.