Undefeated UC Santa Barbara retains its hold on the top spot in the WCLA Division I Top 20 this week after adding another impressive win to its resume, defeating No. 11 Cal Poly 13-10. The Gauchos now have 10 victories over ranked opponents this season.

No. 2 Florida Club also picked up a pair of wins over ranked teams this week, defeating No. 14 Central Florida and No. 15 Auburn to raise its record to 8-0. Defending champion Boston College Club, Michigan Club and Clemson Club round out this week’s top five.

Last year, Kayleigh Page of Georgia was named the WCLA’s attacker of the year and was also winner of the Amtahcha Award as the WCLA’s national player of the year. As a two-time All-American, Page returns for her senior season this spring hoping to lead the Bulldogs in their pursuit of a national club championship. USA Lacrosse recently spoke with Page about the 2026 season.

Hot starts are becoming the norm in Santa Barbara.

Last year, UC Santa Barbara started the season by winning 12 of its first 13 games, eventually advancing to the WCLA national tournament and finishing sixth in the nation with a 15-6 final record.

This spring, the Gauchos are perfect through 13 games and this week, they have taken over as the new No. 1 team in the national Top 20. Their resume certainly justifies their selection, with nine wins against ranked opponents, including No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 Georgia, No. 9 Virginia and No. 10 BYU.

Fueled by impressive early season victories, Florida Club has jumped to the top spot in the first WCLA Division I Top 20 ranking of the 2026 regular season.

Ranked eighth in the preseason, the Gators vaulted to No. 1 after a 3-0 showing in the Big Dawgs Classic, highlighted by wins over No. 3 Michigan Club and No. 6 Clemson Club. UF will put its No. 1 ranking to the test with three games in Arizona this week, including a meeting with No. 20 Utah.

For one weekend each year, the seaside community of Santa Barbara, located on the central California coast, becomes the epicenter of lacrosse as women’s collegiate club teams from around the country arrive for three days of sun, fun and intense competition.

Defending WCLA Division I national champion Boston College Club is kicking off its title defense the right way as the No. 1 team in the WCLA Division I Preseason Top 20. 

UCLA, national champion in 2024 and national runner-up in 2025 after losing in overtime to the Eagles in last year's championship game, checks in close behind at No. 2, followed by Georgia, Clemson and UC Santa Barbara, respectively. 

SPARKS, Md.  –  The USA Lacrosse Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) national championship event is moving to Naples, Florida in 2026, with all games to be played at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex. Dates for the 2026 championship tournament are May 12-15.

This marks the first time in the 25-year history of the WCLA event that the championship tournament will be hosted in Florida.

Back in mid-February, Boston College Club opened the 2025 season with trip south to play in Georgia’s Big Dawgs Tournament. The host Bulldogs handed the Eagles a season-opening 16-8 loss, one of 12 games this season in which Georgia’s high octane offense scored 15 goals or better.

Friday in Wichita, the teams met again in the national semifinals of the USA Lacrosse WCLA championship tournament, and this time, a suffocating BC defense limited Georgia to its lowest scoring output of the year as the Eagles prevailed, 9-6.

Last year, CSU San Marcos arrived in Wichita as the number one seed in the USA Lacrosse WCLA tournament’s Division II bracket, advanced to the national semifinals, and got steamrolled, falling 12-2 to eventual D-II champion Vermont.

One year later, the Cougars faced a similar scenario.

Once again, CSUSM arrived at this week’s WCLA championship tournament as the top seed and easily made its way into the semifinal round. But this year, the Cougars had clear intentions on rewriting the ending to the script.

A long opening day, hampered throughout by steady rain and showers, eventually saw most of the top seeded teams advance at the USA Lacrosse WCLA championship tournament Wednesday in Wichita.

Six of the top eight Division I seeds were victorious, moving into Thursday’s national quarterfinals. The only two that didn’t advance were felled in one-goal losses.