For the second straight year, the nation’s top collegiate club teams will gather in Wichita for the annual USA Lacrosse Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) National Championships, May 7-10 at the Stryker Sports Complex.
The WCLA national tournament, now in its 25th year, features 16 Division I women’s club teams and 11 Division II teams competing for their respective championships.
The four-day event begins on Wednesday with opening round games for all teams across both divisions. The tournament culminates with the D-II championship game on Friday, May 9 (10:30 am) and the D-I championship contest on Saturday, May 10 (12 pm).
Fans are welcome to attend and admission is free for all games with the exception of semifinal and championship games played in the stadium. Parking at the Stryker Sports Complex is free throughout the event.
Georgia (14-0 overall) arrives in Wichita as the top seed in Division I after winning the Southeastern Women’s Lacrosse League (SWLL) championship. The Bulldogs defeated Clemson Club in the SWLL final to claim the top seed and is making its 17th appearance in the championship tournament. The Dawgs, champions in 2016, are aiming for their second national title.
“Our motivation comes from the love of the game, and we perform at our best when we’re having fun and celebrating each other’s successes,” said Georgia’s club president Skylar DeLuca. “This team has so much talent, and our goal this season has been to use the depth of our roster and make the most of every play.”
No. 2 seed UCLA is the defending national champion and hopes to become just the fourth program to claim back-to-back D-I championships. The Bruins (13-0) join Georgia as the only other undefeated team in the D-I tournament field.
“We know our potential and how strong of a team we are, so we are heading to Wichita again with the same mentality and goal as last year, ready to show what we're made of,” said UCLA’s Caroline Irons. “The week requires mental and physical strength, and we find that in each other.”
UCLA made its run to the 2024 WCLA title as the third seed last year, defeating Northeastern, 13-8, in the championship game. Overall, there are seven prior champions among the 16 Division I teams in Wichita this year.
There are no first-time qualifiers in this year’s field, but No. 6 seed Central Florida is back at the championship for the first time since 2012, the longest drought among the Division I squads, and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara returns for the first time since 2016.
WCLA Division I - First Round Games – Wednesday, May 7
12:00 PM (Field 4) -- #1 Georgia (14-0) vs. #16 Washington (7-4)
12:00 PM (Field 5) -- #8 Utah (8-3) vs. #9 San Diego State Club (10-5)
12:00 PM (Field 6) -- #5 Boston College Club (10-3) vs #12 Virginia Tech Club (5-5)
12:00 PM (Field 7) -- #4 Northeastern (9-3) vs #13 Florida Club (7-6)
6:00 PM (Field 4) -- #3 Clemson Club (11-2) vs #14 Pittsburgh Club (6-4)
6:00 PM (Field 5) -- #6 Central Florida (12-3) vs #11 Arizona State Club (9-4)
6:00 PM (Field 6) -- #7 Michigan Club (7-5) vs #10 UC Santa Barbara (14-3)
6:00 PM (Field 7) -- #2 UCLA (13-0) vs #15 Texas A&M (12-1)
In Division II, CSU San Marcos (10-0) earned the top seed for the second straight year after repeating as champion of the Western Women’s Lacrosse League (WWLL). The Cougars are making their fifth overall appearance in the WCLA championship tournament and are the only undefeated D-II team in the nation.
“Being the number one seed again is representative of the hard work and the dedication our team has had this season to both our individual goals and our team goal of returning to the national tournament and winning,” said San Marcos team captain Audrey Street. “Regardless of the seed, our mindset is to play to our full potential and win.”
San Marcos advanced to last year’s national semifinals before losing to eventual champion Vermont. The Cougars hope that lessons learned from last year’s tournament experience will help carry them further in 2025.
“Our team learned a valuable lesson about mindset and adaptability in last year’s tournament, and what happens when these qualities are not present during a game,” Street said. “We struggled at times to adapt to the other team and to maintain a positive mindset. We have been working on that this year, so that we will trust in our hard work and persevere as a team through any mental challenges.”
In Division II, first round games begin Wednesday morning (the top three seeds have byes) with quarterfinal round games in the afternoon. Quarterfinal winners advance to Thursday afternoon’s semifinal games.
WCLA Division II Opening Day Games – Wednesday, May 7
9:00 AM (Field 4) --- #8 Fullerton College (8-2) vs.#9 Denver (7-5)
9:00 AM (Field 5) --- #6 Montana State (8-5) vs. #11 Drury (6-2-1)
9:00 AM (Field 6) --- #7 Missouri (10-1) vs. #10 Florida Golf Coast (6-4)
3:00 PM (Field 4) --- #4 UC San Diego (7-2) vs. #5 Florida Atlantic (9-1)
3:00 PM (Field 5) --- #1 CSU San Marcos (10-0) vs. Fullerton/Denver winner
3:00 PM (Field 6) --- #3 Concordia Irvine (10-3) vs. Montana State/Drury winner
3:00 PM (Field 7) --- #2 Boise State (8-1) vs. Missouri/FGCU winner
Division II consolation bracket games continue Thursday and Friday.
USA Lacrosse will provide video streaming through GoLive Sports of all D-I and D-II games throughout the tournament. Details to be available shortly at www.usalacrosse.com/wcla.
The WCLA is comprised of nearly 150 college club (non-varsity) teams from coast-to-coast that compete under the USA Lacrosse umbrella. From these, the most deserving Division I and Division II club teams qualify for the season-ending national championships, conducted annually since 2001 by USA Lacrosse.
Lacrosse Specialties, Here We Flo, Powell Lacrosse, Gatorade, and GoLive Sports serve as official event sponsors for the 2025 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championships, with local support provided by Wichita Youth Lacrosse, Visit Wichita, and Chicken N Pickle of Wichita. In addition, STX provides support for the Elevate 28 youth clinic scheduled for Friday, May 9.
Complete coverage of the championships – including stories, scores, updated schedules, brackets, and photos - will be available throughout the event on usalacrosse.com/wcla and www.usalacrosse/magazine, and via social media (@USA_Lacrosse) and @USALacrosseMag.
