Marie McCool, the Most Valuable Player of the women’s lacrosse competition at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China, has been named as one of 30 individuals nominated for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2025. Voting for the award will begin on January 12.
McCool was the leading scorer in the sixes lacrosse tournament at The World Games, finishing with 20 goals and 32 points to lead the U.S. to the gold medal. McCool had a game-high six-point effort in the championship game, a 16-8 victory over Canada in August. McCool, who also led the U.S. with eight points (6g, 2a) in its semifinal win over Japan, had at least five points in all five games in the tournament. She shot a blistering 66.7 percent with her 20 goals coming on just 30 shots.
The World Games championship was part of a magical 2025 for McCool. She’s an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina and helped her alma mater capture the NCAA championship in May.
In June, McCool helped the U.S. women’s field lacrosse team win the inaugural Pan-American Women’s Lacrosse championship in Auburndale, Fla. McCool had a hat trick in the USA’s 21-11 victory over Canada.
She was back in the sixes format in September, helping the U.S. win the inaugural Atlas Cup at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.
The World Games championship in August was McCool’s second World Games title. She helped the U.S. win the lacrosse competition at The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland.
