The USA Lacrosse Preseason Polls have been released, and voters are high on the UNC men and women as the 2026 season approaches. The men’s team is ranked No. 5, while the women’s team is ranked No. 1 following its national championship 2025 season.
The UNC men’s team reached the NCAA Tournament in 2025, breaking a four-year drought for the program. The Tar Heels return their top two scorers from that team in Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala, both of whom received All-America honors last season (Duffy was third team, while Pietramala was honorable mention). Ahead of Carolina in the Top 5 are No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Syracuse, No. 3 Princeton and No. 4 Georgetown. Defending national champion Cornell is No. 6.
This season, Carolina is set to face 10 teams ranked in the Top 20: Syracuse, Princeton, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 8 Duke, No. 9 Penn State, No. 12 Harvard, No. 13 Virginia, No. 14 Army, No. 17 Johns Hopkins and No. 18 Towson. For a full look at the men’s rankings, click here. UNC’s full 2026 schedule can be found here. The Tar Heels will open the season Sunday, Feb. 1 at Towson.
The women’s team finished the 2025 season with a 22-0 record, capped by the program’s fourth national championship. Returning to the field for the Tar Heels in 2026 is Tewaaraton Award winner Chloe Humphrey, as well as six other All-America honorees. Below UNC in the Top 5 are 2025 national runners-up Northwestern at No. 2, ACC rival Boston College at No. 3, Florida at No. 4 and Princeton at No. 5.
Carolina will face Northwestern, Boston College and Florida during the 2026 regular season, as well as No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Virginia, No. 9 Clemson, No. 11 Syracuse, No. 17 Duke and No. 20 James Madison. For a full look at the women’s rankings, click here. For UNC’s entire 2026 schedule, click here. Carolina opens the 2026 season Saturday, Feb. 7 at James Madison.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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