The UNC men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are both national seeds in their respective NCAA Tournament fields, which were announced Sunday night. The women’s team is the No. 2 overall seed in the bracket, while the men are No. 3 overall.
On the women’s side, the Tar Heels earned the No. 2 overall seed despite holding the No. 1 ranking in the national poll for much of the 2026 season. UNC enters the tournament with a 16-1 record, having won both the ACC regular season and tournament championships. This year’s NCAA Tournament bid is the 21st in a row and 27th overall for the program in its 31-year history. Carolina is 46-22 overall in NCAA Tournament games, and head coach Jenny Levy’s 46 tournament wins are the second-most in NCAA history. The Tar Heels are seeking their fifth national championship and second in as many years. UNC has never won back-to-back titles in program history.
As the No. 2 overall seed, UNC will face the winner of a play-in game between Clemson and Davidson, which will be contested Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m. at Dorrance Field. Carolina’s game against either the Tigers or the Wildcats is scheduled for Sunday, May 10 at 12 p.m.
Northwestern, which handed the Tar Heels their only defeat of the season, is the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. Notre Dame, Stanford, Clemson, Syracuse and Boston College represent the ACC as unseeded teams. For the full women’s bracket, click here.
The men’s team’s No. 3 overall seed is its highest since earning the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels enter the field 12-4 overall, though they are just 3-3 in their last six games after dropping the ACC Tournament title game to Virginia earlier Sunday. UNC will host Albany in its opening game Saturday at 12 p.m. The winner will face either Yale or No. 6 overall seed Syracuse, who Carolina has beaten twice already this season.
No. 1 overall seed Princeton, No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Richmond round out the top four seeds in the tournament field. No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Syracuse, No. 7 Cornell (the defending national champions) and No. 8 Penn State are the other national seeds. Duke also represents the ACC as an unseeded team, meaning all five ACC men’s lacrosse schools made the tournament field. For a full look at the bracket, click here.
The Tar Heels are seeking their sixth NCAA Tournament title in program history and second under head coach Joe Breschi’s leadership. UNC is also seeking its first NCAA Tournament win since 2021, after the team lost in the first round as the No. 8 overall seed in the 2025 tournament.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications
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