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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.
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For the second year in a row, Florida returns to the field mere months after a final four appearance. But for the first time in three seasons, the Gators’ roster hasn’t undergone a massive overhaul.
You won’t hear questions like, “What are you going to do without Emma LoPinto? Danielle Pavenelli?” Or any of the other stars of Florida’s past.
Five of the Gators’ top seven goal scorers return, including Frannie Hahn (33G, 59A) and NCAA second-round heroine Kaitlyn Davies (51G, 8A). “Super soph” Clark Hamilton, who netted 55 goals during her freshman campaign, is back for round two.
Notably, however, team points leader and preseason first-team All-American Gianna Monaco (73G, 22A) is no longer listed on the Florida roster as of Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The expectations to play deep into May are still there and are baked into Florida’s culture — you could argue they have been since a glossy debut in 2010 and a final four berth two years later. But the last two years have upped the ante for a program that made exits in the quarterfinals or earlier from 2013-23.
“Making it to the final four is obviously a goal,” said O’Leary, the first and only coach in Florida’s Division I history. “But winning is the ultimate goal. Our upperclassmen do a fantastic job of setting those goals and ushering in those expectations and making them known to our freshmen.”
Speaking of freshmen, is it possible for one to crack the depth chart a la Hamilton with so much talent returning? Possible, especially in net, where Florida does, in fact, have a hole to fill.
It’s a nice change of pace for a program tasked with replacing much of its scoring ahead of the 2024 and 2025 seasons (which it did). Jordan Basso (37G, 38A), a fifth-year transfer from Gettysburg (Division III), is the sole departure on offense.
“We’ve been lucky enough to fill critical spots in the past with a great transfer or one of our current players stepping up to fill the void,” O’Leary said. “This year, we’re in a rather unique situation where we have to plug in a few holes. For the first time in a really long time, we have consistency on all parts of the field.”
Hahn missed part of the fall with a foot issue, but O’Leary said she picked “right up where she left off” when she returned. By that, O’Leary means that Hahn went back to feeding, shooting and showcasing her high lacrosse IQ.
Theresa Bragg (29CT, 23GB) and Ashley Dyer (23GB, 41CT) headline a list of defensive returners who will play in front of a new goalie.
For the first time in a really long time, we have consistency on all parts of the field.
Amanda O'Leary
Over the last two years, Florida started either Georgia Hoey or Elyse Finnelle, depending on which one was hot and/or healthy. Hoey graduated, and Finnelle, who had the edge on minutes and starts, is now competing for the starting job at Virginia.
Florida will once again have options with three goalies on the roster.
Susan Radebaugh is the lone candidate who saw action for Florida last season, producing a .467 save percentage in 10 games (119 minutes). Paige Crowther (13.21 GAA, .385 SV%) comes to Gainesville from Oregon, where she started 14 of 15 games last year for the Ducks. It was freshman Maya Soskin, a five-star recruit out of Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.), who saw the bulk of the minutes in the fall.
“Overall, she's just super athletic and makes saves,” O’Leary said. “I wouldn’t say she’s the most technically sound of all of them, but she’s got such quick hands. She just makes saves. If she’s not catching it, it’s hitting her body.”
But O’Leary wouldn’t anoint anyone during a November call. If last year exemplified anything goalie-wise, it’s that things can change on a dime — and injuries can happen.
Soskin is a leading candidate to start in net, but what about the rest of the class that’s loaded with four- and five-star recruits?
O’Leary expects attacker Autumn Blair and midfielders Caroline Hoskins, Alexa Stone and Kennedy Richardson to see significant time. Middie Molly Doran and defender Emma Sweeney are “right on the doorstep,” and others could follow suit.
“They’ve come in and made their presence known,” she said. “This is a class that came in well prepared to step on the field at the collegiate level.”
Beth Ann Mayer is a Long Island-based writer. She joined USA Lacrosse in 2022 after freelancing for Inside Lacrosse for five years. She first began covering the game as a student at Syracuse. When she's not writing, you can find her wrangling her husband, two children and surplus of pets.
