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Opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse season is Feb. 6.
Throughout the month of January, we'll pose three burning questions for each team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Preseason Top 20, presented by CWENCH Hydration, starting with No. 20 James Madison and finishing with No. 1 North Carolina.
Join the conversation on social media @USALMag (IG/X/FB). Wrong answers only.
Michigan’s No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament was its highest ever, and the Wolverines advanced to their fourth straight NCAA tournament before falling to Northwestern in the second round.
That season followed the 2024 year in which they raised the standard with a run to the NCAA quarterfinals and a ranking in the top 5 nationally for the first time under Hannah Nielsen.
This year, they’ll host the conference tournament but must replace some key parts. The Wolverines graduated second-team All-American goalie Erin O’Grady and their top three scorers from a year ago — the program’s all-time leading scorer Jill Smith, along with Kaylee Dyer and Julia Schwabe.
Third-team All-Americans Ava Class, a midfielder who will be captain for the second straight year, and Grace Callahan, the top defender from last year’s seventh-ranked defense, are back. Class (25G, 6A) is the second-leading returning scorer behind Calli Norris (37G, 6A). Callahan led the team with 24 caused turnovers.
Michigan is looking to be more consistent game-to-game. The Wolverines lost every game in which they gave up double-digit goals and won every game in which they didn’t.
The Wolverines have to find a replacement for the two-time Big Ten Goalie of the Year. Her .534 save percentage ranked second in the nation and led the conference. O’Grady remains on campus for graduate studies, and she’s been helping her successors train. There are three goalies, and it’s the youngest two who are frontrunners.
Madeline Jensen is a sophomore who did not see any action behind O’Grady last year, but only because O’Grady was so good.
“By the end of last season, she was playing great,” Nielsen said. “And if Erin needed a backup, we would have felt comfortable putting her in as a freshman if we needed to. She had a great fall.”
So did EJ Johnson. The freshman was a five-star recruit from Concord, N.H. The fall gave her an opportunity to adjust to the speed of the college game.
January practice will help iron out which plays for a defense that’s traditionally been top notch.
“We thankfully return a veteran defense in Grace Callahan, Taylor Cullen, and Jordyn Harrison that, while maybe the goalie might be younger this year or may lack some experience in some ways, those three are able to pick up the slack and cover for her,” Nielsen said.
I think last year we underperformed, and we lost a lot of one- or two-goal games. We need to put more effort into mindset.
Hannah Nielsen
There’s also a huge hole at the other end, where Michigan lost the trio of Smith, Dyer and Schwabe that accounted for 54 percent of the team’s points in 2025. Michigan scored 263 goals and had 128 assists last year, both program records.
Norris is a good starting point. She’s a team captain after making five starts in 20 games played last year.
“I’ve never seen her play better lacrosse than this fall,” Nielsen said. “We probably had two scrimmages, and she had nine goals in both games.”
Like her, others will be forced to take on larger roles. Peyton Shreves is a senior who will provide scoring out of a midfield that already returns Class, a two-time captain.
Emerson Pattillo is a junior who’s now fully recovered from a knee injury. Emma Bradbury has a lot of experience at X, and Caroline Byrd, who had a great start to her freshman year before an injury cut it short, help generate offense.
There are seven or eight players vying for starting spots on the offense.
“It’s going to take a team effort, which I think arguably might be a huge piece of our strength from the offense this year is that we do share the load and it’s not just one player that you have to watch out for,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen has been raising the standards at Michigan since she arrived. Over the past two seasons, the Wolverines have broken through with historic success at the national and conference levels. The Wolverines are looking to consistently make runs to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals and beyond, something that eluded them last year.
This year’s group will try to advance far without some of the big names that helped raise expectations.
“I don’t think we’re far off,” Nielsen said. “And yes, losing a lot on paper seems really significant, but I’ve been really happy with how the fall has progressed just from a team cohesion and high energy and youth development standpoint.”
Last year, narrow losses to Denver and Penn State hurt. Twice they lost tough games to Maryland. They have yet to make a final four.
“I think last year we underperformed, and we lost a lot of one- or two-goal games,” Nielsen said. “We need to put more effort into mindset.”
Given their inexperience in cage and on attack, there may be some growing pains expected. That’s where the draw could come in. It’s always important, and maybe it’s even more so for the Wolverines. Emma Burke had a program-record 135 draws as a freshman.
“She has come back more confident than ever,” Nielsen said. “So hopefully having just even like 1 or 2 percent more of the ball will also help our inexperienced offense.”
Justin Feil grew up in Central PA before lacrosse arrived. He was introduced to the game while covering Bill Tierney and Chris Sailer’s Princeton teams. Feil enjoys writing for several publications, coaching and running and has completed 23 straight Boston Marathons. Feil has contributed to USA Lacrosse Magazine since 2009 and edits the national high school rankings.
